Mixed Cropping in Northern Nigeria II. Cereals and Cotton

Abstract

SUMMARY: Cotton is widely grown as a cash crop by subsistence farmers of Northern Nigeria, although it is invariably sown too late to produce yields that would allow economic use of insecticides to control insect pests. This late sowing is because subsistence farmers always emphasize the production of food crops, delaying sowing of cotton until these are established. Experiments are described in which cotton was sown early within the cereal, without affecting cereal yields yet producing significantly greater cash returns than sole cereal.