Factors Affecting the Adoption of Improved Sorghum practices by small holder Farmers in Soba and Zaria Local Government Areas of Kaduna State, Nigeria.
Factors Affecting the Adoption of Improved Sorghum practices by small holder Farmers in Soba and Zaria Local Government Areas of Kaduna State, Nigeria.
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Date
1999
Authors
Orojobi, Joshua Oyewole
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Abstract
The Federal and State Governments of Nigeria have invested huge sums of money into
the agricultural sector and food production in the last three decades. Despite these efforts, the
development of agriculture is not yet satisfactory and our dream of self-sufficiency in food
production in the country is yet to be realised. This is because majority of the farmers still
depend on low yielding crop varieties and they still follow the indigenous cultural practices on
their farms while modern farm inputs were not extensively used despite the efforts of Research
Institutes.
This study examined the level of awareness and adoption of improved sorghum varieties
and related recommended farm practices. It also explored the relationships between selected
independent variabiles and adoption of agricultural innovations.
The study was conducted in Soba and Zaria Local Government Areas of Kaduna State.
The primary data was from a sample of 313 respondents in 18 villages. Both the villages and the
respondents in each village were randomly selected. The data collected were subjected to
statistical analysis. Frequency distribution of the key variables were obtained to provide counts,
percentages distribution in tabular form. Pearson Product-Moment correlation tests were used to
determine the relationships between adoption of agricultural innovations and selected independent
varibales while step-wise multiple regression analysis technique was used to determine the best
combination of variables predictive of adoption behaviour of farmers.
This study found that the level of awareness of improved seeds, seed dressing chemicals,
correct spacing, fertilizer application rate and the use of storage chemicals was high, while the
level of awareness of seed rate and use of herbicides was low. The study also found that the
level of adoption of improved sorghum varieties was above average (53%) while the level of
adoption of seed dressing chemicals, fertilizer application rate and the use of storage chemicals
was high. The level of adoption of correct spacing, seed rate, thinning and the use of herbicides
was low.
This study found that the major factors constraining adoption of agricultural innovations
in the area included inadequate access to farm inputs, inadequate technical advice and information
from extension, lack of money and farm credit to employ labour and to buy farm inputs, high
cost of farm inputs and high cost of labour. The study also found that formal education, level of
literacy, farm income, family size, farm labour force, number of farm plots, membership of
social organisations, farm credit, extension services exposure, mass media exposure and
awareness of agricultural innovations were positively and significantly related to adoption of
agricultural innovations while age and years of farming experience were not significantly related
to adoption of agricultural innovations at .05 level of significance. This study found that
awareness of agricultural innovations, extension services exposure, farm size, formal education
and family size were predictive of adoprion behaviour of farmers.
This study recommended that extension workers have to provide effective and efficient
services to the farmers. In addition, agricultural education programmes on radio and television
should be increased to create awareness needed to enhance adoption. Agricultural Research
Institutes should increase research work into farms and farmers problems and development of
high yielding, disease resistant new varieties of seed for farmers to adopt. Research should be
intensified into mixed cropping system spacing of such crops, fertilizer requirements for mixed
cropping bearing in mind the environmental conditions, so especially climate and soils of the
area. Farm inputs including credit should be provided at favorable conditions that farmers can
easily get them.
Adoption of agricultural innovations research needs to be multi-disciplinary because many
variables are involved. Future studies should not only cover socio-economic variables, but
should include environmental and spatial variables at different ecological zones to discover the
missing variables influencing adoption behaviour of farmers.
Description
A Thesis Submitted to the Postgraduate School, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, in
partial Fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.):
Agricultural Extension and Rural Sociology.
Department of Agricultural
Economics and Rural Sociology,
Faculty of Agriculture,
Ahmadu Bello University,
Zaria,. Nigeria.
1999
Keywords
Factors,, Affecting,, Adoption,, Improved,, Sorghum,, practices,, holder,, Farmers,, Soba,, Zaria,, Local, Government,, Areas, Kaduna State,, Nigeria.