FACTORS INFLUENCING ADOPTION OF IMPROVED MAIZE TECHNOLOGIES AMONG FARMERS IN GIWA LOCAL GOVERNMENTAREA, KADUNA STATE, NIGERIA

FACTORS INFLUENCING ADOPTION OF IMPROVED MAIZE TECHNOLOGIES AMONG FARMERS IN GIWA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, KADUNA STATE, NIGERIA

                                                  CHAFTER ONE

1.0      Introduction 1.1     Background 

The vital role of agriculture in the development of the economies of Third World nations, including Nigeria, is undeniable (Eastwood et al. 2006). Agriculture accounts for over 70% of the non-oil exports and provides over 80% of the food needs of the country. Nigeria has a total land area of 98.3million hectares or 48% are under cultivation. Agriculture is practiced at a subsistence level in Nigeria. This is characterized by numerous farmers operating several scattered small and fragmented plots of land using traditional methods like land rotation and bush burning and crude implements like hoes and cutlasses (Adegboye, 2004). The sector is almost entirely dominated by small-scale, resource-poor crop producers living in rural areas.

Emphasizing the role of agriculture in rural development, Abel (2005) affirmed that agriculture is the engine of growth for poor countries and poor people, and agricultural development is one of the most effective ways to alleviate hunger and poverty. Slow growth in agricultural production has been a serious problem in Sub-Sahara Africa, challenging domestic and international policymakers. According to Acoba (2000), agricultural development is a complex process that is affected by the interaction and interrelation of many factors. These factors range from natural resource endowment to the respective area. As part of agricultural development in certain agro-ecosystems, the business involves the use of appropriate technology packages, the provision of farm inputs, and the existence of infrastructural and supporting institutions such as financial and extension institutions, post-harvest, and marketing services of agricultural products. Similarly, Soentoro and Hermento, (2000) 

affirmed that intensifying agricultural technology transfer without improving infrastructures and creating an enabling environment for farmers to adopt the technology would not solve the main problem of food security. Similarly, Odebode, (2007) stated that agriculture is a major sector of

Nigeria's economy as it provides food and processed products for the population as well as provision of raw materials for agro-allied industries.

 Rising income of much of the developing countries and the consequent growth in meat and poultry consumption have resulted in a rapid increase in the demand for maize as livestock feed. This trend is particularly evident in East and Southeast Asia, where maize requirements are projected to rise from 150million tons in 1995 to 280million in 2020 (IFRI, 2000). Meanwhile, in the least developed parts of the world, unabated population growth and the persistence of poverty have maintained upward pressure on the demand for food, maize; this is the case in Sub-Saharan Africa, Central America, and parts of South Asia. Annual maize demand in Sub-Saharan Africa is expected to double to 52million tons by 2020. The exploding demand for maize presents an urgent challenge for most developing countries with large populations, like Nigeria; as the accelerating demand for maize increases the domestic supply, future output growth must come from intensifying production on current maize land (IFRI, 2000).

To improve agricultural production, such as maize, some form of appropriate technology is necessary.  Studies in maize production in different parts of Nigeria have shown an increasing importance of the crop amidst growing utilization by food processing industries and livestock feed mills.  

Maize (Zea mays) is a major stable cereal crop of great importance in many countries of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Maize has been in the diet of Nigerians for centuries. It is the third most important cereal crop after sorghum and millet. Similarly, Porter (2006) stated that maize consumption was formerly considered a poor man?s food, but recent consumption patterns indicate maize as a major staple food in almost every household in Nigeria, especially by low- and middle-income groups. Porter (2006) further reported that since the ban on the importation of cereals by the Federal Government of Nigeria in 1986, there has been an increasing demand for maize by households and agro-allied industries in Nigeria. As a cash crop, it has been used to substitute for imported grains, flour, couscous, baby foods, confectioneries, and animal and livestock feeds. It is worthy to note that maize technologies have contributed significantly to some dimensions of members' well-being, and if technologies are adopted and sustained with full use of recommended inputs, it can alleviate the problem of peasant farmers and will obviously boost food production (Sasakawa 2000, 2006).

"Appropriate technologies" in this context are defined as the latest scientific and technological developments that have been adjusted to suit the local conditions to the highest possible degree (FAO, 1996).  

1.2.       Statements of the problem

According to IITA 2007, maize, which constitutes a major staple food crop in Nigeria and even in Africa, has in recent times suffered low productivity. IITA (2007) further buttressed that the factors that could have been responsible for the low productivity could be attributed to inadequate application and use of recommended improved maize technologies. According to IITA (2007), increased productivity from 1984 was due to an increase in land under cultivation rather than intensive cultivation. A number of factors could have been responsible for the low productivity; these include little or no use of improved seeds, herbicides, and fertilizers; increased levels of biotic and abiotic constraints; and the fact that prices of inputs have tripled in the last ten years.

 IITTA, (2007) further reported that global warming and its associated effects have changed rainfall patterns, leading to erratic and unreliable rainfall in some cases, resulting in drought. Furthermore, the little or no use of fertilizer or organic manure has resulted in soils becoming poorer with an opportunistic expansion or striga infestation problems. Continuous growing of crops for cash also results in the build-up and carryover of pests, notably stem borers, from one crop to the next within the same environment. Farmers in the study area have access to these improved maize technologies to increase production, such as improved seeds, seed dressing, appropriate methods of pest/disease control, appropriate quantities of organic and inorganic fertilizer, appropriate planting spacing, and appropriate methods of fertilizer application. The farmers in the study area have not been able to take adequate advantage of these technologies as a result of low income, low savings, low capital, low investment, lack of entrepreneurial skills, and low output—a concept often referred to as the vicious cycle of poverty (Nwagbo et al., 1989). Based on this, average maize yields are low compared to the potential of this study area. This low production has created serious food deficits.

It is against this background that this study intends to answer the following research questions.

i.               What are the socio-economic characteristics of farmers in the study area?

ii.              What are the sources of information to farmers in the study area?

iii.            What are the factors influencing the adoption of the improved maize technologies by farmers in the study area?

iv.            What are the effects of adopting the improved technologies on farmers in terms of output, income, and level of living in the study area?

v.              What are the constraints that farmers faced in the adoption of the improved maize production technologies in the study area?

1.3        Objectives of the study

 The main objective of this study is to gain an insight on factors influencing the adoption of improved maize production technologies among farmers in Giwa Local Government Area of

Kaduna State, Nigeria:             

The specific objectives are to:

i. describe the socio-economic characteristics of farmers in the study area; ii. identify the sources of information to farmers in the study areas; iii. Identify factors influencing the adoption of the improved maize technologies by farmers in the study area.

iv.            determine the effect of adopting the improved technologies on farmers' yield, income and level of living before and after adoption in the area; and

v.              Identify the constraints that farmers faced in the adoption of the improved maize production technologies in the study area.

1.4             Hypothesis of the study

HO:  There is no significant relationship between socio-economic variables of the respondents and their adoption of improved maize technologies among farmers. 

1.5             Justification of the study

Firstly, the cultivation of maize was formerly for subsistence purpose, but it has gradually become an important commercial crop in which many agro-allied industries depend on as the raw materials. Since farmers? contributions to availability of such raw materials, and hence Nigeria?s bid to sustainable food security, effort most therefore be intensified to address all general problem and constraints militating against large scale maize production in Nigeria.

Secondly, the package investigated (improved maize technologies) would enhance productivity, income generation, wealth creation, and poverty reduction and ameliorate the current food insecurity confronting the study area and Nigeria in general.

Thirdly, the study will strengthen farmers? linkages for intensive maize production in the subsequent farming seasons. Also would provide required data on the current adoption status of the farmers. It will also provide both researchers and extension workers with relevant information on farmers? socio-economic characteristics influencing adoption of the technology package and other individual decisions.

Finally, it is hoped that the study would give an insight to the local government, Kaduna State Agricultural Development Programme, and national and international agencies on the importance of encouraging farmers to be proactive towards the adoption of these improved farm practices for cost reduction, training, and retraining of farmers to refresh ideas. It is based on this note that this study was designed to investigate how the socio-economic characteristics of farmers could affect their relationship to the adoption of improved technologies on maize production.