Traditional soil and land appraisal on fadama lands in northeast Nigeria

Abstract. As part of a study of recession farming on the 'fadama' lands on a segment of the Komadugu-Yobe floodplain, a survey was carried out to investigate the local farmers' perception of soil types and management practices. The farmers are clearly aware of the differences in soil type on the fadama and they possess unique skills in managing their farm lands. The farmers classify fadama soils for recession farming by assessing soil texture and soil drainage conditions by feel and observation. Integrating such local knowledge into soil surveys will lead to better practical definition of mapping units and give soil names that have more meaning for the farmers.