ABSTRACT
This
study was carried out to examine the adoption of Oba 98 maize production
technologies by farmers in Delta State. Specifically, the study ascertained
major sources of information on Oba 98 maize production technologies;
determined the extent of adoption of Oba 98 maize production technologies;
determined factors influencing the adoption of Oba 98 maize pro-duction
technologies; and identified perceived constraints to adoption of Oba 98 maize
pro-duction technologies. The study was carried out in Delta State. Multistage
sampling tech-nique was used to select the sample size for the study. In the
first stage, six (6) LGAs were purposively selected out of 25 LGAs based on
their popularity on maize farming. In the second stage two (2) towns farming
communities that are popular in maize production were randomly selected from
the six (6) LGAs giving a total of twelve (12) town farming com-munities. In
the third stage, ten (10) maize farmers were selected from a list of maize
farmers from the twelve communities through simple random sampling technique,
giving a total of one hundred and twenty (120) maize farmers. Data collected on
socio economic characteris-tics were analyzed using descriptive statistics
consisting of percentages, frequency and mean scores. Objectives 1 and 2 were
analyzed using frequencies and percentages. Objective 3 was analyzed using
multiple regression, while objective 4 was analyzed using mean score and
standard deviations. The statistical products and service solutions (SPSS)
version 20.0 consti-tuted the software package used for the analysis. The study
revealed that greater proportion (27.5%) of the respondents were within the age
range of 31-40 years. Majority (65.8%) were male. About 43% had household size
of between 8 -11 persons. Majority (72.5%) were mar-ried. About 35% had more
than 10 years farming experience. Also, 30% acquired primary school education.
Majority (91.7%) were Christians. Furthermore, 45.8% received between N
10,000 and N 100,000 as income realized from the sale of maize. Majority
(95%) cultivated less than 3 ha of land. A greater proportion (65.8%) inherited
their farmland. Majority (61.7%) did not have access to credit facilities, but
38.8% received credit from institutional sources. Greater proportion (29.7%)
had thrift savings as non-institutional source of credit. Majority (69.2%) of
the respondents used hired labour as their major source of labour for ma-ize
production. Also, majority (73.3%) had been visited by extension agents.
Majority (87.5%) belonged to one or more social organizations. Data collected
on sources of informa-tion revealed that majority (33.3%) received information
from radio. Technologies mainly adopted included use of planting space of 75cm
by 25cm with adoption mean score of 3.48, use of post emergence herbicides with
adoption mean score of 2.45and use of insecticides to control pest with
adoption mean score of 3.38. Major constraints to adoption of innovations were
poor access to sources of agricultural information with a mean score of 2.87,
poor ac-cessibility to institutional credits with a mean score of 2.86,
inadequate rural roads with a mean score of 2.84 , inadequate extension contact
with a mean score of 2.81, in adequacy of modern storage and processing
facilities with a mean score of 2.77, poor health status of rural farmers with
a mean score of 2.71, weak market information with a mean score of 2.67,
scar-city and high cost of inputs with a mean score of 2.62 and ignorance of
usefulness of the technologies with a mean score of 2.53. Conclusively, mean
age was 37 years, mean house-hold size was 10 family members, mean farming
experience was 11 years and mean number of years spent in school was 12 years.
The only personal characteristic that influenced adop-tion was annual income
realized from the sale of maize. It is recommended that farmers should be
encouraged to participate actively in farmers/social organizations and co-operative
societies in order to strengthen their group action and as such act as
effective channels for extension information delivery system to farmers, when
maize farmers are in cooperative so-cieties they take advantage of government
policies and programmes and attract more funds to themselves. Also, farmers
should be linked to sources of affordable credit so as to enable them purchase
necessary inputs and their complementary need.
CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background information
Maize (Zea mays L.) is the most important cereal crop in
sub-Saharan Africa. Maize is also one of the three most important cereal crops
in the world (International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, 2006).Maize is
easy to process, readily digested and an affordable cereal. (Ismaila, Gana,
Tswanya & Dogara, 2010; Kudi, Bolaji, Akinola & Nasa’l, 2011).
International Institute for Tropical Agriculture, (IITA) (2006) asserted that
every part of maize plant has economic value. The grains, leaves, stalk, tassel
and cob can be used to produce large varieties of food and non-food products.
Also, maize is one of the most important crops in Nigeria because it is a major
source of dietary fiber and calories which are a good source of energy and it
is used industrially for production of food, beverage, and livestock feed.
Maize grains are rich in vitamins A, C and E, carbohydrates, and essential
minerals, and contain about 9% protein (IITA, 2010). Food and Agriculture
Organization (2011) estimated that the land area planted with maize in West and
Central Africa alone increased from 3.2 million hectares in 1961 to 10.5
million hectares in 2010. This expansion of the land area devoted to maize
cultivation in Nigeria resulted in increased production of maize from 2.4 million
metric tons in 1961 to 7.6 million metric tons in 2010 (National Bureau of
Statistics, 2011). Despite the observed increases the demand for maize as a
result of various domestic uses still out weights supply (Menkir &
Akintunde 2001).
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) (2007) estimated that 158 million
hectares of maize are harvested worldwide. Africa harvests 29 million hectares
with Nigeria, being the largest producer in sub-Saharan Africa. According to
Ado (2012) the bulk of maize production in Nigeria is located in the derived
savanna zone. The Central Bank of Nigeria Annual Report and Statement of
Accounts (2010) stated that 6.4 million tons of maize was
Factors like diseases and pests, poor storage facilities, declining soil
fertility which is exacerbated by the high cost and/or unavailability of
fertilizer, lack of financial and human resources, high seeds price and
inaccessible roads which often prevents extension staff from getting to rural
communities have been observed as key constraints to maize production in the
country (Babatunde, Fayode & Bardo, 2008). In view of this, the Federal
Government of Nigeria established research institutes such as National Cereal
Research Institute, (NCRI), Badeggi, National Agricultural Extension Research
Liaison Services (NAERLS), Institute of Agriculture Research and Training
(IAR&T) and international bodies such as International Institute for
Tropical Agriculture (IITA) aimed at promoting maize and other cereals
production for household’s food security and poverty alleviation. Some of these
efforts are focused on biological and agronomic researches for the development
of high yielding varieties. International Institute of Tropical Agriculture,
Cereal Research Institute, Badeggi, and Institute of Agriculture Research and
Training(IAR&T) developed improved maize varieties and they include:
NARZO-15(TZPB), NARZO-16(TZB) NARZO-20(TZSR-W), NARZO-24(DMR-LSRW),
NARZO-26(DMR-ESRW), NARZH-(8321-18), Oba super 1, Oba 98, New Kaduna, Oba super
3(H16-8), Oba super 5(HY02-2), Oba super 98, Ife maize hyb 3 and Ife maize hyb
4. Most of these introduced technologies have been accepted by farmers and are
widely spread in states of Nigeria.
International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA, 2009) asserted
that the recent achievements by breeders in the development and release of
superior maize varieties with higher yield potentials and better resistance to
pests and diseases have played a major role in increasing maize production in
the country. FMARD (2010) asserted that improving maize production is
considered to be one of the most important strategies for food security in....
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