What Drives Technology Utilisation, Learning and Transfer in Agriculture? Lessons from Nigerian Women Farmers (original) (raw)
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2019
The survey was conducted to identify constraints to participation of rural women in technology dissemination of Women in Agriculture Program (WIA) in Imo State, Nigeria. Questionnaire was used to collect data from a sample of 60 respondents. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics such as frequency, percentage and mean score. Results showed that 33.0% of the respondents were aged between 41 and 50 years, majority (75.0%) were married, 88.0% had formal education and 55.3% engaged in farming and trading, while 56.6% had a household size of 6-10 persons. The respondents participated in the activities like processing and utilization of food crops (16.7%), harvesting and storage of food crops (16.7%), dry season vegetable production (13.3%), processing and utilization of livestock products (10.0%), processing and utilization of soya bean into soya milk and soya meal (6.7%). The study recommended that rural women should be encouraged Original Research Article Okeke et al.; ARJA, 11(3): 1-7, 2019; Article no.ARJA.50080 2 to join cooperative societies in order to pull their resources together. It also highlighted the need for promotion of rural women's activities through adequate provision of credit facilities by government at all levels for optimum productivity.
2020
The study examined factors influencing adoption of improved agricultural technologies (IATs) among smallholder farmers in rural communities of Kaduna State.The study was conducted in Giwa and Sabon-gari Local Government Areas. Three objectives guided the study. The study adopted a descriptive research design. Purposive sampling technique was employed to select the farming communities for the study. Two rural communities (Bassawa and Shika) were purposely selected out of 16 villages primarily because of their age-long agricultural technologies. The sample size of the study was 200 smallholder farmers made up of 100 farmers from each of the communities which were purposively selected. Primary data were collected using a structured interview schedule, focus group discussion and in-depth interview while the secondary data which relate to the objectives of the study were collected from the office of the Kaduna State Agricultural Development Project (ADP) and National Agricultural Extension and Research Liaison Services (NAERLS), ABU, Zaria. Data were analyzed using frequency and percentages. Results from the findings of the study revealed a positive significant (p<0.05) influence on adoption of agricultural technology and farmers' educational levels, gender and age also had a positive significant influence on the adoption of technology. Therefore, the following recommendations were made: there is need to increase farmers' capital and credit facilities and make funds accessible to the farmers. Also, it is therefore imperative for Government to ensure that policies that support the adoption of improved agricultural technologies are put in place.
2020
Women farmers in agrarian communities of Enugu State could not market their farm products profitably because they could not involve electronic technology. Whatever they produced are sold to consumer intermediaries at the farm gate. Some are sold to open market in small bites at low cost hence they remain poor. This poverty lingers on because those women farmers could not involve technologies in the sale of their products beyond their communities and among competing producers been exploited by middlemen. If technology is involved in the marketing of their products their goods will extend inform of exports to other states and beyond with higher value claim; but to obtain the change in their profits margin they require training in the use of technology in marketing their farm products. This study, therefore, focused on the identification of technology training needs of women farmers in the use of cell phone, computer, and internet for enhancing profit for marketing their farm products....
Nigeria's Agriculture and Technology Use: Current Structure and Challenges
Path of Science, 2024
Abstract. Nigeria's agricultural sector plays a crucial role in the economy. It employs not less than 70% of the labour force and contributes to improving food security. However, the agricultural sector faces a series of challenges, including poor and inefficient use of technology. This research reviewed the literature on Nigeria's agricultural sector and farmers' use of technology. It analysed the current behavioural responses of the farmers to technology applications and programmes that target technology adoption in Nigeria, thereby describing one of the successful agricultural programmes in Nigeria and the procedural steps followed in executing the programme. The findings show that Nigeria has a low investment in agricultural technology. Nigeria has rich agricultural potential yet to be fully explored or exploited, with 77% of the country's land mass being arable. Evidence shows that Nigeria's agricultural sector leans more toward smallholder farming, with not less than 70% of farmers falling under this category. Smallholders produce 80% of the local stable foods. Most Nigerian farmers lagged in using technologies, with not more than 1% of all the farming households owning tractors and more than 70% of the farmers depending on crude implements. Reports on irrigation use show that not more than 6% of the arable land is irrigated. Information technology has not significantly impacted Nigeria's agricultural sector because many farmers have not used modern information communication technology (ICT) in their agricultural activities. Nigeria's agriculture growth is below the level required to reduce poverty and food insecurity. For instance, the released 2024 food security statistics reveal that 79% of Nigerians live in one form of food insecurity crisis or the other, of which 20% are plunged into severe food insecurity and 59% wallow in moderate food insecurity. Nigeria's agricultural sector value-added per capita rose less than 1% annually for over a decade (not less than 20 years). However, the trend in technology adoption is changing in Nigeria, with many farmers expressing willingness to pay for technology adoption. There is more market for hiring technology services. This research recommends that the government should critically evaluate its policies before implementation, as these could positively or negatively hamper the growth of the agricultural sector. Entrepreneurial market-driven hired technology services that would promote the efficient use of technology should be encouraged.
Adoption pattern of farmers in Southwest, Nigeria: the case of maize and cassava farmers
2010
It was discovered that only 36.06 percent from the respondents abandoned the adopted technologies afterwards while 64.94 percent sustained the use. The major reasons for partial adoption of set of technologies include the following: unavailability of capital, insufficient supply of input/non – affordability of inputs, high cost of production due to ever rising inflation rate, low research and extension outreach to farmers due to poor funding of research and extension, poor transportation system among other reasons. The objective was to investigate the farmers’ demographic, economic, sociocultural and environmental characteristics as well as the contribution to adoption pattern index of these and some other independent variables.The study revealed that sustained users and abandoned users were not significantly different at (5 %) level in sex (χ = 0.94), marital status (χ = 0.05), social status (χ = 3.43), religious affiliate (χ = 3.17), income level (t=-0.85), educational level (t =0...
Technology Adoption and Agricultural Development in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA): A Nigerian Case Study
Journal of Cultural and Religious Studies
This study examines the impact of technology adoption on food security in Sub-Saharan Africa. Using Ukum rural community, Benue State, Nigeria, as case study site which significantly represents other Nigerian-SSA farming communities, the study tracks the impact of farmers' adoption or non-adoption of improved technology on food security vis-à-vis factors shaping their choices. It aims to make the case that adoption boosts productivity and improves food security among others. Fifty farmer-participants were randomly selected using participant observation, structured interviews, questionnaires and photographing for data collection. Applying descriptive statistics including frequencies, tables, charts and percentages, field data were analyzed. Study findings strongly suggest that the main factors significantly affecting adoption of technology include cultural values, institutionalized land tenures, cropland size, poverty, literacy level, technology complexity, agricultural extension services, age and sex. Results suggest significant correlation between literacy level, economic power and technology adoption: younger, more educated farmers with higher economic status tend to adopt new technologies; farmers with access to agricultural extension services and credit facilities were more inclined to adopting new technologies; women were found more disadvantaged in the male-centered, exclusionary land tenure practice. Consequently, the study recommends sustained public sector interventions aiming to reduce food insecurity in the region.
Technology Usage and Awareness among Smallholder Farmers in Gwagwalada Area Council, Abuja, Nigeria
The usage of ICT has recently received global attention due to its link (both in developed and developing nations) to the adoption of new farming technologies. The purpose of this study was to investigate technology usage and awareness among smallholder farmers in Gwagwalada Area Council, Abuja, Nigeria. It investigated the impact of ICT awareness and use, including radio, television, laptop computer, desktop computer, fax machine, cable television, projector, digital camera tablets, smart phone, and internet, using primary data collected from 100 respondents using structured questionnaires and a simple random sampling technique. The majority of respondents (30%) were between the ages of 36 and 45, with males accounting for 51% and females contributing for 41%. Descriptive (frequency and percentage) and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data. The analysis revealed that the use of modern ICTs such as mobile phones and cable television has a significant impact on the agricultural productivity of smallholder farmers, as evidenced by the respondents' rapid increase in productivity and improvement in their standard of living. Farmers' challenges, however, included high costs, lack of training, and ICT service failure. The Nigerian government should promote a liberal policy that will improve rural infrastructure and provide an enabling environment, and remote residents should have access to the internet and other mobile communication technologies, which would increase their overall use of ICT services.
Journal of Agricultural and Practice, 2023
Rice (Oryza sativa) is the most important food crop in the world, being a staple food for more than half of the world's population, predominantly in Asia and Africa where more than 90% of the rice is grown and consumed. The research study focused on factors affecting the rate of adoption of agricultural technology among small scale rice farmers in the study area. A simple random sampling was used to collect data from 120 respondents in which each member in the area council wards such as Dobi, Gwako,Ikwa, Paiko Tungamaje and Gwagwalada Centre has equal chance of being selected and the selection of all the members is independent of one another. The sample procedure is by the use of wellstructured questionnaire, which was administered in the study area. With the use of SPSS, a descriptive analysis of the data was performed. The study's findings indicated that few agricultural innovations are being used by rice farmers in the study area. Herbicide spraying (70.83%), fertilizer application (67.50%), pesticide use (65.0%), and 'improved seeds (60.83%) were the main agricultural technological innovations used in the research region. The cost of innovation (mean = 3.74), the lack of adoption training for farmers (mean = 3.53), the inability to acquire financing facilities (mean = 3.48) and the inadequate extension service (mean = 3.25) were the main barriers to innovation adoption among rice farmers in the study area. Farmers' demographic traits, such as gender, education level, and farm size, have an impact on the adoption of innovation. Therefore, government and pertinent organizations should encourage farmer's education on the application of new innovations, and extension agents should visit regularly and make new ideas available to farmers.
Deleted Journal, 2024
This study analyzed the effectiveness of agricultural technologies dissemination and adoption among rural farmers in Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, Nigeria. Data were collected through interview schedule and well-structured questionnaires from 90 rural farmers. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The result showed that plantain sucker multiplication (=3.0), provitamin A cassava (= 3.4), and value addition (= 3.0) were the various agricultural technologies development practice by research. The result showed that extension agents (= 2.3) as well as friends and relations (=3.6) were the various channels through which the developed technologies were disseminated. The result further showed that awareness (= 2.9), interest (= 3.1), trial (= 3.1), evaluation (= 3.0), and adoption (= 3.1) were the various categories of adoption of agricultural technologies disseminated. The study also showed that complexity of technology (= 2.8), triability of technology (= 3.5), relative advantage and cost (= 3.6) were the various attributes that influenced the adoption of agricultural technologies by rural farmers. The regression result indicated that the coefficient of agricultural innovations (0.222) was positive and statistically significant at 1%. The ANOVA result showed that F-test (4.074) was greater than the tabulated F-value (3.04) at 5% level of significance. It was concluded that extension agents, contact farms, space and print, friends and relations were the various channels through which agricultural extension technologies were disseminated. Hence, the study recommended that the development of new agricultural technologies must be pursued with vigorous provision of extension services to farmers.