Determinants of choice of Climate Smart Agricultural practices adoption among yam based farming households in Ogun State, Nigeria

Abstract

Agriculture is highly vulnerable to the effect of climate change even though is the most weather dependent of human activities. Thus, there is a need for sustainable approach to practice of agriculture in the region. This study examined the determinants of adoption of Climate Smart Agricultural (CSA) practices among yam based farming households in Ogun State, Nigeria. A sample of 160 respondents were selected through multi stage sampling technique from two out of the four Agricultural Development Programme (ADP) zones in the state and data were collected with the use of structured questionnaire, which was also used as an interview guide. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and multivariate probit model. The findings showed that 89.38% of the yam based farmers were men. Majority (65%) of the farmers were between 41 to 60 years. Also, it was revealed that only 16.3% of the respondents did not have any form of formal education. Mulching was found to be the CSA practice that is mostly adopted in the area with 90.6% of the respondents adopting the practice while mixed farming was the least adopted with 20.6% of the respondents adopting it. Also, it was revealed that on the average, a farmer adopted three out of the five practices considered. Furthermore, the multivariate probit results revealed the following factors that influence adoption of the various CSA practices; radio information, farm size, volume of credit, farming experience, number of contact with extension agent, and membership of cooperative society were positively significant at 1%, 5% and 10 % while sex, age, years of education, use of credit, access to extension service and membership of farmers association were negatively significant at 1%, 5% and 10 %. The study recommended that CSA practices should be introduced to yam based farmers not as a new set of technology but should be diffused to them as an improvement on those indigenous practices they are used to, to enable fast adoption of CSA practice in the area.