Abstract
Despite the socio-economic potentials of shea tree and it ability to grow well in Niger State, the tree crop is yet to be domesticated in farms. Thus, the study examined the attitude of farmers towards the cultivation of shea tree in Niger State, Nigeria. To achieve the study objectives, 210 respondents were randomly selected for the study and data were collected using validated interview schedule with reliability coefficient of 0.85. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and logit regression model. Result indicated that the mean age of the respondents was 52 years. Number of shea trees owned by 50.48% of the respondents ranged from15–20 trees which mostly grow naturally. Result further revealed that the respondents had favourable attitude towards most of the issues bordering on shea trees domestication. The issues that attracted least unfavourable attitude were long gestation period and inadequate awareness on the need to plant and manage wild trees. Factors that influenced willingness to plant shea trees were sex, attitude, land ownership, educational level and marital status. Therefore, it was recommended that youths, women and married couples should be encouraged by government to go into shea trees cultivation. It was also suggested that farmers should be educated by extension agents to encourage on-farm shea tree planting culture and agroforestry initiatives.J. Bangladesh Agril. Univ. 16(2): 271-275, August 2018
Highlights
Shea butter tree is indigenous to Sub-Saharan Africa of which Nigeria is the largest producer of shea nuts in West Africa
The shea trees have potentials to contribute significantly to the economic and industrial development of Nigeria and by extension improving the quality of life of the people (Lovett, 2004; FAOSTAT, 2013)
The finding suggests that most of the people who were involved in farming activities in the study area are approaching old age, which is not good for agricultural transformation. This finding is in line with the reports of Adeolu and Taiwo (2004) who stressed that the average age of farmers was 50 years
Summary
In Nigeria, the abundance of shea trees exists in and thrives almost exclusively in the North, where they mostly grow naturally in the wild. The shea trees have potentials to contribute significantly to the economic and industrial development of Nigeria and by extension improving the quality of life of the people (Lovett, 2004; FAOSTAT, 2013). Shea tree products are widely used for domestic purpose for eating, cooking, lightening, skin moisturizer and commercially as ingredients in cosmetic, pharmaceutical and edible products (Akihisa et al, 2010). In recent times shea tree has gained a lot of recognition as an economic tree both locally and internationally because of high demand for its butter and wide range of industrial application of its products
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