Factors affecting adoption behaviour of small scale farmers in Mariga local government area of Niger state Nigeria: the case of rice farmers.

Abstract

The adoption of improved rice varieties among small scale farmers in Mariga local government area of Niger State, Nigeria, were examined. It was discovered that about 95.8 percent of the respondents are aware of the availability of improved rice varieties and their major sources of information are through friends/neighbors/relatives (53%) and extension agents (41.7) The major reason for non adoption of improved rice varieties according to the farmers are high cost of inputs (66.7%) and lack of contact with extension agents (70%), while the extension agents felt that lack of credit facilities (90%), inadequate extension services (90%) and non participation in extension activities (75) are the factors affecting the adoption of improved rice varieties. The result of Chi-square (χ2) analysis reveals that there was significant relationship between the following variables and the adoption of improved rice varieties by farmers: sources of information, marital status, Age of the farmers. Household size and the educational level of the farmers. It is recommended that all agricultural development schemes and interventions programs in the study area should focus more on factors affecting adoption behavior of farmers in order to encourage adoption and sustain the use of agricultural innovations.Keywords: Factors, Adoption, behavior, rice, small- scale farmer.