FACTORS INFLUENCING ADOPTION OF IMPROVED SOYABEAN PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGIES AMONG FARMERS

This study determined the factors influencing adoption of recommended soyabean production in Ijumu and Kabba Bunu Local Government Areas of Kogi State, Nigeria. A Combination of purposive and simple random sampling technique were used to select a total of one hundred and sixty four (164) farmers for this study. Analytical tools used were descriptive statistics and regression analysis. The result of the analysis show that majority (76%) of the respondents were within the age range of 20-49 years; majority (90%) were literate; about 38% had farming experience of 11-20 years with a mean of 16 years. The majority of the farmers (57%) had contact with extension agents; majority (56%) were married, and majority (82%) were male. However, majority (60%) of the respondents had farm size that ranges between 0.1-2.0 hectares; 77% were members of cooperative associations while majority (55%) had no access to credit and therefore financed their production through their personal savings. The results also show that majority (87%) of the farmers were aware of planting healthy/viable seeds. Majority (76%) of the respondents obtained information on the recommended soyabean practices through extension agents in the study area. The relationship between selected socio economic institutional factors and the adoption of recommended soyabeans production practices show that out of nine variables, six variables had significant influence on adoption of the technologies. The results also indicate that there was high adoption of some practices, planting date, planting on flat ground, recommended weeding time and recommended harvesting time which may be due to the simplicity of the practices and the attribute of not requiring too much money on labour to implement. However, there was low adoption of improved practices like planting on ridges, herbicides application, recommended processing method and recommended soyabean planter. Finally, the most severe constraints faced by farmers in the adoption of recommended soyabean production practices were high cost of labour (62%), high cost of the technology (53%) and low access to credit about 36% of the respondents. It is thereby recommended that government and non-governmental organizations dealing with extension agent should therefore embark on the facilitation techniques of delivery. This will enable the farmers to identify their problems, determine their need and discovered their potentials rather than always feeding them with information.

1.1     Background of the Study

Soybean (Glycine max) is relatively new crop in Africa. Until recently, it was seen as being appropriate only for large- scale commercial farming for production of seed that are used in making livestock feed. The major soybean producing countries in the world are the United States, Brazil, China, Nigeria, India, Argentina, South Africa and Uganda (IITA, 2009).Soyabean cultivation in Nigeria starts in May / June with land clearing, and its harvesting normally done in October through November. The crop is harvested 3-4 months after planting, depending on the time of sowing and the variety. Benue state is the dominant soybean producing area but several other states, such as Kaduna, Plateau, Nasarawa are increasing in production. Soybean can contribute to the enhanced sustainability of intensified cropping systems by improving soil fertility through nitrogen fixation, permitting a longer duration of ground cover in the cropping sequence, and providing useful crop residue for animal feed (Rolling and Wagemater,

1998).

Over the last two decades, International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) has made substantial effort to improve the productivity of the crop by developing high yielding, early maturing varieties capable of nodulating in association with the local rhizobia, and possessing and other good agronomic traits. The improved soybean varieties released in Nigeria include TGX 306-036c, TGX 1485—IED, TGX 53-02D and TGX 440—1E. The identification of seed collected from farmers revealed that farmers were planting the following varieties: M351- 1E, TGX 1448-2E, TGX 306-036C and TGX 1485-lED IITA, 2009.