Determinants of adoption of biosecurity principles by poultry farmers in Kwara State, Nigeria

The study assessed the determinant factors influencing the adoption of biosecurity principles by poultry farmers in Kwara State, Nigeria. The major objective was to determine poultry farmer awareness and adoption of various biosecurity principles. A multistage sampling technique was used to select the respondents. Data for the study were collected from 92 respondents, through the use of structured questionnaire and interview schedule. Data were subjected to both descriptive and inferential statistic (Logit regression analysis). The results revealed that majority of the poultry farmers were still within their productive and active age (M=47years), majority were well educated (M=15years) and majority (60 %) reared both broilers and layers.  The study also showed that there was 100% awareness and trial of all the biosecurity principles under consideration The most adopted biosecurity principles with 100% adoption however, were provision of adequate ventilation, removal of dead birds, offering of good quality feed and water, vaccination and provision of proper medication. The result further revealed that respondents with larger number of birds (1.994), access to credit (1.715), frequent contact with extension agents (2.183) and access to training (2.083) had high propensity to adoption of biosecurity activities. The respondents perceived all the biosecurity principles under consideration as effective in preventing looses in their farms. They however, perceived the following constraints as severe constraints: inadequate capital (M=2.96), disease and parasites (M=2.97) and inadequate credit facility (M= 2.74). The study concludes that poultry farmers’ awareness of biosecurity activities was high, with moderate rate of adoption of the activities; they however, perceived biosecurity principles as effective means of preventing diseases infection.Keywords: Adoption, biosecurity principles, poultry, farmer

Factors affecting adoption behaviour of small scale farmers in Mariga local government area of Niger state Nigeria: the case of rice farmers.

The adoption of improved rice varieties among small scale farmers in Mariga local government area of Niger State, Nigeria, were examined. It was discovered that about 95.8 percent of the respondents are aware of the availability of improved rice varieties and their major sources of information are through friends/neighbors/relatives (53%) and extension agents (41.7) The major reason for non adoption of improved rice varieties according to the farmers are high cost of inputs (66.7%) and lack of contact with extension agents (70%), while the extension agents felt that lack of credit facilities (90%), inadequate extension services (90%) and non participation in extension activities (75) are the factors affecting the adoption of improved rice varieties. The result of Chi-square (χ2) analysis reveals that there was significant relationship between the following variables and the adoption of improved rice varieties by farmers: sources of information, marital status, Age of the farmers. Household size and the educational level of the farmers. It is recommended that all agricultural development schemes and interventions programs in the study area should focus more on factors affecting adoption behavior of farmers in order to encourage adoption and sustain the use of agricultural innovations.Keywords: Factors, Adoption, behavior, rice, small- scale farmer

Agricultural Credit Utilization among Small Scale Women Farmers in Selected Wards Of Bida Local Government Area Of Niger State, Nigeria

The study investigated agricultural credit utilization among small-scale women farmers in selected wards of Bida Local Government Area of Niger State. The specific objectives were to: identify the major sources of credit to small-scale farmers ; and determine the benefit (if any) which small-scale women farmers had derived after acquiring credit for their farm operations. Data were collected from one hundred respondents randomly selected from five wards with the aid of structured interview schedule. Statistical tools used for data analysis were frequency distribution, percentage and student t-test. Up to fifty-six percent of the respondents claimed that they obtained their credit from various sources for their farm operations. The results showed that t-calculated (17.581) was greater than t-critical (1.9842) at 1% level of significance. Similarly, a total of 47.0 % of the respondents opined that their farm produce increased their income which ranged between N31,000 - N40,000 after acquiring credit from the Cooperative Bank. It was concluded that small-scale women farmers’ income increased when they had access to credit facilities from banks. Therefore, it was recommended that the regulatory body responsible to oversee the activities of (NACRDB) monitor regularly the disbursement of agricultural loan to women farmers at the appropriate planning season with reasonable interest charge and that extension agents should ensure that the loan is utilized for only agricultural purposes. Key words: Credit utilization, small-scale farmer’s income generation, Niger State

Agricultural information systems and communication networks: the case of poultry farmers in the federal capital territory Abuja, Nigeria

The study examined the Agricultural Information and communication networks among poultry farmers in three (3) area councils of the Federal Capital Territory Abuja, Nigeria. Snow-ball sampling technique was adopted for the study, a total of One hundred and twenty-two (122) respondents were sampled for the study. The main objective was to examine the communication sources and networking available to poultry farmers. Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data collected. The study revealed that majority (60%) of the respondents were still in their productive age, male were the majority (81.1%) , while 79.3% had one form of education or the other. The study also showed that majority of the respondents (71.3%) had between 901-1100 birds and 56.2% sold their birds directly to the consumers. The study showed that information disseminated via extension agents, radio, poultry farmers associations and feed millers were found to be effective means of networking among poultry farmers. Out of the thirteen independent variables under consideration: Age, Gender, Household size, Educational level, Years of experience, Access to credit, Access to training, Membership of co-operations and access to communication networks were found to be statistically significant and influence the frequency of access to information. All the constraints under consideration affecting access to information were found to be serious constraints in exception of poor market structures and poor transportation. The study concludes that socio-economic and institutional variables significantly and positively influence poultry farmer’s access to information and communication networks.  Keywords: Information system, Communication, Network, Poultry farmer