Unsustainable agricultural/farming methods/practices (such as slash-and-burn, felling of trees and shrubs and application of chemical fertilizers and insecticides) by crop farmers in the Southern Region of Nigeria are known to have been doing a lot of harm to the soil, the environment and even the health of the farmers themselves. The purpose of this study was to identify, through an empirical/participatory process, the unsustainable methods/practices mostly adopted by the farmers (with focus on those from Abak and Etinan Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Akwa Ibom State), as well as the Environmental Adult Education (EAE) programmes that would make the farmers adopt sustainable methods/practices which would increase their occupational outputs as well as protect their environment and personal health. Four Research Questions and one Null Hypothesis guided the study. 222 (40%) of the 554 registered crop farmers in the two LGAs were selected for the study through proportionate random sampling. Percentages, means, standard deviation and the T-test were the statistical methods used to analyze the data obtained through a structured Questionnaire developed by the researchers. Based on the responses of the farmers, a number of EAE programmes were identified for achieving the purpose stated above. The researchers have strongly recommended implementation of the programmes as well as guidelines for effecting the implementation.
Keywords: Environmental Adult Education, Programme, Sustainable agriculture, Unsustainable, crop farming, farming methods
