Abstract: Wetlands have immense poverty-fighting potentials and in Nigeria, more and more people are dependent on wetlands for their livelihoods. To examine the social factors affecting the current status of the wetlands utilization for agriculture in Nigeria, a simple random sampling technique was used to select 200 farmers cultivating wetlands and a structured questionnaire was applied to elicit the information on the social factors. Data collected were described using frequency and percentage and a multiple regression analysis was used to identify significant variables that are determinants of wetland utilization. The results of the analysis showed that significant variables included crop preferences, farming system, culture, taste, land tenure, knowledge of wetland cultivation, perceived suitability, farmers’ tribe, location of wetland, and farmers’ age. It was concluded with suggestions for the right combination of policies, public awareness, and appropriate farming methods in order to improve wetland utilization in Nigeria.

Key words: social factors, current status, wetlands utilization, agriculture, sawah rice production