Institutional Determinants of Sustainable Land Management Adoption in the Lake Chad Basin of North East Nigeria

Sustainable land management encompasses a suite of practices including conservation tillage, agroforestry, terracing, and cover cropping designed to arrest land degradation, restore soil productivity, and build resilience to climatic stresses. In the Lake Chad basin area of North East Nigeria, covering parts of Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa States, severe land degradation combined with persistent insecurity has created one of the continent's most pressing sustainable land management challenges. This study investigates the institutional determinants of sustainable land management adoption in the Lake Chad basin of North East Nigeria, drawing on institutional economics theory to examine how formal and informal institutions shape farmer incentives and capacities for soil conservation investment. A mixed methods research design was employed, integrating primary survey data from 360 farming households with community-level institutional mapping and key informant interviews with local government officials and community leaders. The survey was implemented across conflict-affected and conflict-adjacent communities to examine how institutional functioning is affected by insecurity contexts. Multinomial probit regression was used to model adoption of multiple sustainable land management practice bundles. Results indicate that functional customary land governance institutions, including clearly recognised land allocation authorities and dispute resolution mechanisms, were stronger determinants of sustainable land management investment than formal land documentation. Social capital, measured by trust indices and cooperative participation, was positively associated with adoption of practices requiring collective action. Insecurity significantly reduced adoption of long-gestation practices like agroforestry. The study contributes an institutional analysis framework for sustainable land management programmes in conflict-affected dryland systems. Keywords: sustainable land management, institutional determinants, Lake Chad basin, North East Nigeria, land degradation