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.

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.

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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