Assessment of cocoa growers' farm management practices in Ondo State, Nigeria

M.G Olujide,S.O Adeogun

doi:10.5424/sjar/2006042-189

Abstract

This study assesses the farm management practices of cocoa growers in Ondo State, southwestern Nigeria. One hundred and twenty three farmers were selected (using simple random sampling) from the list of cocoa farmers belonging to the Cocoa Farmers' Association of Nigeria (CFAN) in Ondo State. All were asked to complete a questionnaire on the farm hygiene and management practices they followed. The majority of respondents were married men who used family labour on their farms, and who had a varying number of years of farming experience. No significant relationships were found among age, marital status, years of farming experience and gender. However, the use of farm hygiene practices showed a significant relationship with educational status and grower attitude towards the adoption of appropriate crop growing practices. The majority of respondents commonly used chemicals rather than crop growing practices to ensure crop hygiene; few undertook practices such as pruning, the removal of diseased pods and mistletoe, the application of organic fertilizers, or the breaking of pods off-farm. A limited number combined crop growing practices with the use of chemicals to control pests and diseases. The lack of credit facilities, weeds, pests, diseases, parasites and marketing difficulties were all recognised as constraints limiting production. The present findings suggest that the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria (CRIN), the Ministry of Agriculture, and relevant non-governmental organizations should organize a sensitisation programme/training scheme to de-emphasize the use of chemicals and encourage the use of appropriate crop growing practices for improving farm hygiene.

Highlights

The production of cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) in Nigeria, which generates foreign exchange earnings for financing capital projects, has declined
A plantation crop, was the dominant foreign exchange earner from the early 1960s through the 1970s, after which the discovery and exploitation of oil led to a shift away from the country’s agrarian economy base
Socio-economic and structural factors associated with the fluctuating performance of cocoa production in Nigeria include the civil war of the late 1960s, the oil boom of the 1970s, and the severe droughts of the 1970s and 1980s

Summary

Introduction

The production of cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) in Nigeria, which generates foreign exchange earnings for financing capital projects, has declined. A plantation crop, was the dominant foreign exchange earner from the early 1960s through the 1970s, after which the discovery and exploitation of oil led to a shift away from the country’s agrarian economy base. Significant in terms of internal revenue generation, and at the grower level is important in terms of employment and income Socio-economic and structural factors associated with the fluctuating performance of cocoa production in Nigeria include the civil war of the late 1960s, the oil boom of the 1970s, and the severe droughts of the 1970s and 1980s. Few farmers appear to be adopting farm hygiene and management techniques to minimize these problems

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Conclusion