Factors affecting the rate of adoption of agricultural technology among small scale rice farmers in Gwagwalada Area Council of FCT, Nigeria

Abstract

Rice (Oryza sativa) is the most important food crop in the world, being a staple food for more than half of the world’s population, predominantly in Asia and Africa where more than 90% of the rice is grown and consumed. The research study focused on factors affecting the rate of adoption of agricultural technology among small scale rice farmers in the study area. A simple random sampling was used to collect data from 120 respondents in which each member in the area council wards such as Dobi, Gwako,Ikwa, Paiko Tungamaje and Gwagwalada Centre has equal chance of being selected and the selection of all the members is independent of one another. The sample procedure is by the use of well-structured questionnaire, which was administered in the study area. With the use of SPSS, a descriptive analysis of the data was performed. The study's findings indicated that few agricultural innovations are being used by rice farmers in the study area. Herbicide spraying (70.83%), fertilizer application (67.50%), pesticide use (65.0%), and ‘improved seeds (60.83%) were the main agricultural technological innovations used in the research region. The cost of innovation (mean = 3.74), the lack of adoption training for farmers (mean = 3.53), the inability to acquire financing facilities (mean = 3.48) and the inadequate extension service (mean = 3.25) were the main barriers to innovation adoption among rice farmers in the study area. Farmers' demographic traits, such as gender, education level, and farm size, have an impact on the adoption of innovation. Therefore, government and pertinent organizations should encourage farmer’s education on the application of new innovations, and extension agents should visit regularly and make new ideas available to farmers.