PERCEPTION OF FARMERS ON THE IMPACT OF GAS FLARING ON CROPS IN ETCHE, RIVERS STATE
Keywords:
Gas Flaring,, Gas Flaring in Nigeria, Environmental Implications of Gas Flaring and Climate Change.Abstract
The study examined the perception of farmers on the impact of gas flaring on crops in Etche, Rivers State. Two (2) research questions were posed for the study while cross-sectional survey design was adopted. The population of the study comprised 249,939 adult between the ages of 18-50 in Etche Local Government of Rivers state and the sample for the study was three hundred 300 farmers drawn from 30 villages in Etche LGA. A multistage sampling procedure was applied. In Stage 1, 30 villages were selected from the 104 villages in the study area using simple random sampling. In Stage 2, lists of farmers in each selected village were compiled. From each village list, 10 farmers were selected using simple random sampling, giving a total sample of 300. To ensure representation across key demographics, a proportionate stratified sampling approach was applied. Instrument for data collection was a self-constructed closed ended questionnaire titled Gas Flaring and Negative Impact on Crops and Vegetation Questionnaire (GFNICV).” The instrument was validated by the two experts in the Department of Geography and Environmental Management and the reliability of 0.89 was established using the Cronbach Alpha which shows high internal consistency. Data were presented in tables and chart and mean score were used to answer the research questions while the Chi-Square statistical tool was used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 significance level. The results revealed that farmers perceive that gas flaring negatively affects cassava and yam yield in Etche, Rivers State among other findings. It was concluded that gas flaring negatively affects both cassava and yam yield in Etche, River State as it directly impact soil fertility, crop yield and destroys their vegetation which impoverish farmers. It was recommended among others that federal and state environmental agencies should increase monitoring and issue penalties for illegal flaring.
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