Environmental impacts of cocoa and rubber cultivation in Nigeria

The authors' study examined the environmental impacts of cocoa and rubber cultivation on soil and water in six Nigerian states where their production is intensive. Primary data were collected by the administration of questionnaires to 180 farmers selected through a multistage random sampling process. These data were subjected to gross margin and cost-benefit analyses. Soil and water samples collected from the study locations were also subjected to chemical assays. The study found that cocoa cultivation remained an attractive economic venture at the current lending rate of 35%, but that rubber cultivation did not. It also found that nutrients and metal pollution levels were very low on cocoa and rubber farms. However, it was concluded that this result was obtained as a consequence of farmers' low levels of use of agrochemicals. A warning was issued to the effect that attempts to make agrochemicals more available and accessible to farmers in future might portend negative environmental impacts that must be prepared for.