TRADITIONAL SOIL AND LAND APPRAISAL ON FADAMA LANDS IN NORTHEAST NIGERIA

As part of a study of recession farming on the 'fadama' lands on a seg ment of the Komadugu-Yobe floodplain, a survey was carried out to inve stigate the local farmers' perception of soil types and management pra ctices. The farmers are clearly aware of the differences in soil type on the fadama and they possess unique skills in managing their farm la nds. The farmers classify fadama soils for recession farming by assess ing soil texture and soil drainage conditions by feel and observation. Integrating such local knowledge into soil surveys will lead to bette r practical definition of mapping units and give soil names that have more meaning for the farmers.