DETERMINANTS OF ADOPTION OF IMPROVED MAIZE VARIETIES IN KANO-KATSINA-MARADI, WEST AFRICA

The introduction of improved maize ( Zea mays L.) varieties has met with only partial success, as measured by rates of adoption. As such, efforts have been made by International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) to accelerate the process of maize seed adoption in Africa, through learning sites including the Kano-Katsina-Maradi (KKM PLS) in West Africa. The objective of this study was to ascertain the degree of success and factors affecting the adoption of improved maize seed varieties in the KKM PLS. The study used data from a midline survey sample of 1,800 households in 180 villages in the study area. Tobit regression model was used to identify the degree and characteristics important for adoption of improved maize seed varieties. Results indicated that affordability, knowledge on use and suitable packaging of technology were important adoption determinants. Other factors were gender, total farm size and extension agent visits. Households with older and more educated heads were also significantly more likely to adopt technologies.L\u2019introduction des vari\ue9t\ue9s am\ue9lior\ue9es de ma\uefs ( Zea mays L.) a connu de succ\ue8s partiel, comme indiqu\ue9e par les taux d\u2019adoption. Ainsi, des efforts ont \ue9t\ue9 men\ue9s par l\u2019Institut International d\u2019Agriculture Tropicale (IITA) pour accel\ue9rer les processus d\u2019adoption des semences de ma\uefs en Africa, \ue0 travers les sites d\u2019apprentissage y compris le Kano-Katsina-Maradi (KKM PLS) en Afrique de l\u2019Ouest. L\u2019objectif de cette \ue9tude \ue9tait de s\u2019assurer du degr\ue9 du succ\ue8s et les facteurs affectant l\u2019adoption des semences de vari\ue9tes am\ue9lior\ue9es de ma\uefs en KKM PLS. L\u2019\ue9tude a utilis\ue9 les donn\ue9es d\u2019un \ue9chantillon d\u2019enqu\ueate bas\ue9e sur une ligne m\ue9diane de 1800 m\ue9nages en 180 villages dans le milieu d\u2019\ue9tude. Le model de r\ue9gression de Tobi \ue9tait utlis\ue9 pour identifier le degr\ue9 et les caract\ue9ristiques importantes pour l\u2019adoption des semences de vari\ue9t\ue9s am\ue9lior\ue9es de ma\uefs. Les r\ue9sultats ont montrr\ue9 que l\u2019 accessibilit\ue9, la connaissance sur l\u2019usage et un paquet technologique ad\ue9quat \ue9taient les plus importants d\ue9terminants d\u2019adoption. Les autres facteurs \ue9taient le genre, la superficie totale du champ et les visites des agents de vulgarisation. Les m\ue9nages avec des personnes plus ag\ue9es et plus instruites ont significativement plus de chance d\u2019adopter les technologies

Attitudes towards risk among maize farmers in the dry savanna zone of Nigeria: some prospective policies for improving food production

Open Access JournalThis paper applies econometric analyses to quantitatively determine the individual risk attitudes of sampled maize farmers in the dry savanna zone of Nigeria. The extent of the risk attitudes are then made the basis for categorizing the farmers into three groups of low, intermediate and high risk averse maize farmers. This categorization now forms a necessary condition for improving the typology of the farmers, which is hypothesized to be influenced by socio-economic, demographic and other extrinsic “risk factor”. The typology is essentially made possible by discriminant analyses, which re-categorized the farmers into their appropriate risk groups. A four-stage sampling technique leading to the selection of a final sample of about 350 maize farmers was adopted. Results show that, about 8, 42% and 50% of the farmers are respectively lowly, intermediately and highly averse to maize risk. About 72% of the hypothesized variables were found to be responsible for the risk aversion among the sampled farmers. These variables are the basis of policy recommendation to address issues generated by four types of risks identified in maize production namely natural, social, economic and technical risks. These areimportant for harnessing crop technology and to alleviate hunger and poverty in Africa

The influence of social networking on food security status of cassava farming households in Nigeria

Open Access Journal; Published online: 4 Jul 2020Food security, at national and household levels, is on the decline because traditional capital (physical, natural, human and financial) has not fully led to its improvement. There is an increasing shift of attention to social capital as an element that explains household food security, but there is a lack of adequately documented information on this. Therefore, this study investigates the effects of social capital on food security, using data collected on a cross-section of 775 cassava farming households from four zones of Nigeria. About 58% of the respondents (cassava farming households) fall under the intermediate category in terms of the benefits received from belonging in social groups. Age and educational level increased the probability to receive benefit from group activities (p < 0.05), while membership density, labor contribution and decision making significantly affected the level of benefit received (p < 0.10). Based on the estimated food security line, 41% of the cassava households were food secure, while 59% were food insecure. Membership density, cash and labor contribution significantly affected food security. Membership density (p < 0.10) and cash contribution (p < 0.05) increased the probability of being food secure. It was recommended that cassava farming households should be encouraged or aided to form cooperatives or farmers’ groups, participate in the activities, and make financial contributions to investments that reduce manual labor-input in the farming activities to enhance household food security

Estimating multidimensional poverty AmongCassava producers in Nigeria: patterns and socioeconomic determinants

Open Access Journal; Published online: 02 Jul 2020The scourge of poverty, including its correlates, has been witnessing an incremental sequence over the years in Nigeria despite the natural endowment of the country. Efforts by various stakeholders to address this problem have not yielded tangible results. Using cross-sectional data collected in 2015 on 775 cassava farmers spread across four geographical zones, this study estimates multidimensional poverty of cassava producers in Nigeria. This is to determine the factors responsible for poverty increase and contribution(s) of these factors to poverty. The study found that about 74% of the respondents were multidimensionally poor. Assets and public/housing utility were the main contributors to aggregate multidimensional poverty index (MPI), while education and health contributed most to povertyreduction. The results also showed major contributing indicators to MPI to be formal employment, school enrolment, years of schooling, frequency of hospital visits, and household assets’ ownership. The South-eastzone of Nigeria had the highest adjusted headcount of poverty among cassava producers. The estimated coefficient of age, farming experience, years of schooling, household size, and access to informal credit were significant determinants of poverty in the study area. In conclusion, the results suggest that although Nigeria is a federation of more than 30 states that continue to rely on nation-wide policy initiatives of the central government, policies on cassava aiming to lift millions of people out of poverty should instead vary according to the peculiar poverty dimensions of each federation unit. We suggest reform in the agriculture sector that will emphasize facilitation and access to incentives (credits, training, extension, cooperate system, etc.) by younger farmers to engage in modern cassava farming, thereby, enhancing the chances of rural cassava growers to move out of poverty

Analysing optimum and alternative farm plans for risk averse grain crop farmers in Kaduna state, northern Nigeria

It has been argued that the limited success of Nigeria in rural development programmes could be due to absence of a prior analysis of attitudes towards, risk inherent in traditional agriculture. This paper was therefore conceived to explain farmers’ cropping patterns vis-à-vis their attitudes towards risk. The paper applied an analytical procedure that made use of the conventional linear programming, and the Target Minimization of total absolute deviations (Target MOTAD) as the major tools. Results indicate that farmers’ existing and profit maximizing crop plans are risk inefficient. They also show that there are increasing levels of risks of the farm plans as the farm size decreases. Sustainable farm plans that minimize risk and can ensure desirable returns (gross margins) are suggested for the three identified categories of farers that were surveyed for the analysis. The study provides a critical methodological framework that can help understand the alternative ways in which these farmers actually manage risk, particularly in a complex and unstable economic environment such as Nigeria

Factors influencing risk aversion among maize farmers in the Northern Guinea Savanna of Nigeria: implications for sustainable crop development programmes

The attitudes of farmers towards risks influence their decision to invest into farming. Understanding the factors that influence these attitudes is important for crop development. This paper uses a combination of Ridge and Tobit regression analyses to determine the factors influencing risk aversion among maize farmers in the Northern Guinea Savanna agro-ecological zone of Nigeria. Preliminary categorization of a cross-sectional sample of 348 farmers show that 8.91% are risk preferers, 48.56% are risk averters while the remaining 42.53% are risk neutral farmers. Risk aversion among the sampled farming households was found to be influenced by socioeconomic factors (e.g. age of household head, household size) and farm specific variables (e.g. proportion of income from maize, non-farm income). Probability and elasticity estimates from further Tobit analysis revealed that an improvement on the variables considered can actually reduce high risk aversion. The key socioeconomic and farm specific variables that have direct bearing on the farmers’ risk attitudes, as revealed in this study, indicate the important and crucial role that extension could play in sensitizing both the research, donor agencies, government and the famers on the need to target particular areas of the farm families’ needs. Since the major issues raised here impinge on the farmers’ financial status, enterprise diversification which can guarantee the security of the farmers’ immediate financial future is a key element in planning at regular farming seasons and intervals. This will in effect, result in increased maize productivity. The findings in this study have policy implications for crop development programmes

Economic perspectives of the diversity of risks among crop farmers in the Northern Guinea Savanna of Nigeria

In this study, we examine the diversity of risks that affect fanning in the Northern Guinea Savanna of Nigeria. We also investigate the perspectives of these risks in relation to their economic implications on the farming enterprises. We also show that through reorganization of these risks, some derived factors have the ability to present themselves whether as corresponding to existing categorization of the variables or not and also to enable us know which of the factors is more important than the other. Gross margin and factor analytical methods were used in computing the estimated results on a cross sectional sample of 348 farming households. Results show that farmers who were grouped llllder natural risk incWTed the least mean production cost of NIl, 115.61 while the highest mean production cost of N15,998.18 was incWTed by farmers grouped llllder production risks. The highest mean revenue of N18, 998.16 was recorded by farmers llllder production risk which translated into a mean gross margin of N65, 999.85. Verifying whether some derived factors would correspond to the existing categorization of 14 risk types (from five sources) which the farmers faced, results from the factor analysis and the consequent F-test from ANOVA show no marked or significant differences among the identified factors and the existing risk sources. Consequently, the individual effect or importance of the original 14 risk types that the sampled farmers considered important can be dully represented and effectively regrouped into five sources (factors) as natural, technical, social, ecosocial and biochemical

Using a linear discriminant analysis approach of baseline conditions to develop household categories in the Sudan Savanna ( KKM PLS SSA CP ), Nigeria

To address the problem of the continued deterioration of livelihood and food security in the sub Saharan Africa, the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) through the sub Saharan Africa Challenge Programme (SSA CP) is implementing the Integrated Agricultural Research for Development (IAR4D). The IAR4D is a multistakeholder agricultural research approach which is currently being implemented at Pilot Learning Sites (PLSs) in three regions of Africa: (I) the Kano-Katsina-Maradi (KKM) PLS in West Africa, (2) the Lake Kivu (LK) PLS in East and Central Africa and (3) the Zimbabwe-Malawi-Mozambique (ZMM) PLS in Southern Africa. The objective of this paper was to employ some baseline data of the Sudan Savanna Task Force of the KKM PLS in West Africa, in a linear discriminant analysis to investigate some of the factors that characterised the farmers based on some starting conditions. The study was also to show whether the farmers that have been baselined have common characteristics that can hypothetically separate them on the basis of belonging to three distinct groups for the implementation of the IAR4D. The sampled respondents were initially classified into three groups of baseline farmers. The grouping was done on the basis of whether the farmers are IAR4D (intervention) or conventional (ARD) or clean sites farmers. This is necessary for the end line survey and for the impact evaluation of the programme. Data on a sub-sample of 300 baselined respondents were used for analysis (92-IAR4D/intervention farmers, 96-ARD/conventional farmers and 112-clean farmers). Results indicated an overall rate of 99% of farmers correctly classified into their respective sites. A number of indicative baseline variables (about 67% of the hypothesized variables) which can be regarded as those which distinguish farmers into those which predictably belong to IAR4D/intervention farmers, ARD/conventional farmers and clean farmers were identified to be significantly important. The different villages chosen for the program evaluation are also correctly identified within their groups. Therefore, three distinct categories of villages are available for evaluating the programme impact

Analysing the prospect of the IAR4D's innovation platforms in improving the productive efficiencies of cereal-legume farmers in the Sudan Savanna of Nigeria

This paper analysed the baseline productive efficiencies of the cereal–legume farmers in the Sudan Savanna of Nigeria. The paper also investigated the factors that affected the technical efficiency of the sampled farmers. Baseline data collected on cereal-legume farmers who belong to four Innovation Platforms were used for analysis. Results showed that sorghum-legume farmers obtained higher crop output, which is higher than the average for the total sample. There is decreasing return-to-scale in farming operations in the study area, however, unit increases in cultivated area, seed use and fertilizer/chemical application will improve the output by 17%, 20% and 29%, respectively. The mean technical efficiencies for the maize-legume, sorghum-legume farmers and for the pooled sample were found to be 85%, 74% and 79%, respectively. The frequencies of occurrence of the predicted technical efficiencies indicate that the highest number of farmers (for the total sample) have technical efficiencies between 80% and 90%. The sample frequency distribution indicates a clustering of technical efficiencies in the region of 0.8-0.9 efficiency range, implying that the farmers are fairly efficient. Given the variation in the level of technical efficiency, there appears to be considerable room for effecting improvements in the technical efficiencies of the farmers in the study area. Factors influencing technical inefficiency of farmers in the study area are age of farmers, farming experience, credit access, extension contact and interaction with other farmers and farmers’ groups, implying that being an IP member will help improve productive efficiencies. The results of this study have clearly demonstrated that almost all the hypothesized factors affecting the productive efficiencies of the sampled farmers are significant; an improvement in farmers’ productivity will be recorded if a reinforcement of the IP activities that are aligned with the findings here is ensured. This will increase the potential of the IAR4D to help in improving the productive efficiencies of the farmers, which is one of its key objectives

Stakeholder participation in innovation platform and implications for Integrated Agricultural Research for Development (IAR4D)

In sub-Saharan Africa, there is increasing interest for the adaptation and use of the innovation systems approach to advance learning and development in the Agricultural Research and Development (ARD) sector. This crave is constrained by unavailability of a proven blue print that describe the paradigm shift from the linear approach and how such could function under different socio-economic, cultural and political climate. This paper uses three case studies from the Sub Saharan Africa Challenge Program (SSA CP) to accentuate approaches and strategies for the successful use of the innovation system approach in agricultural research and development. The paper shows that the establishment of Innovation Platforms under the premise of Integrated Agricultural Research for Development (IAR4D) at the grass-root uses social networks and capital to mobilize for collective action necessary to meet market demand. It also shows that the ensued iterative structure is suitable for dealing with policy issues that constrain value chain at district level, while the apex structure is functional in dealing with policy issues at national and regional level. This paper proposes a coordinated ARD strategy that links innovation platforms at the continental, sub-regional, national and the grass root as the best practices for comprehensive use of innovation system approach