SOCIO-ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF THE ADOPTION OF SELECTED IMPROVED SOYBEAN (Glycine max) VARIETIES IN TOFA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF KANO STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

Adoption of improved production practices is the key to higher production of crops by farmers. The technical knowledge of farmers appears to be the key link to higher level of adoption. This study aimed at socio-economic analysis of the adoption of improved soybean (Glycine max) varieties in Tofa local government area of Kano state. Multistage sampling technique was used to select 98 soybean farmers; which were interviewed with the use of structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and logit regression model were used for data analysis. The finding of the study revealed that majority of the farmers were males (99%) and married (96.9%) that have 1hectare farm size average devoted for soybean production and 43% of them have farming as their major occupation also about 81% of them have different levels of formal education. Adoption level of soybean varieties was on the average for the two varieties in the study area, the socioeconomic factors that positively affected the adoption of the TGX-1448-2E Soybean variety were income level (P < 0.1), farm size (P < 0.05), and extension contact (P < 0.1). While for TGX-1448-2E Soybean variety none of the socio-economics factors were significant, Improved soybean variety adoption was due to the major characteristics of the variety, however major constraint’s to both varieties technology adoption include high cost of labor and inputs. Hence, improving farmer’s access to financial support or credit will enhance soybean adoption in the study area.