Socio-Economic factors influencing Sesame Production among Farmers in Bade Local Government Area, Yobe State, Nigeria

Abstract

Sesame is one of the major crops produced in Yobe State, Nigeria. However, its production is influenced by some socioeconomic factors. The socio-economic determinants of sesame (Sesame indicum L) production among farmers in Bade LGA, Yobe State, Nigeria were investigated. Primary data were collected with the use of a structured questionnaire from 180 respondents selected using two-stage sampling technique. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics and multiple regression analysis. Findings show that sesame farmers between the age of 20-39 years old dominated sesame production (57.22%) in the study area. About 61.11% of the respondents were male while 38.89% female were involved in the sesame production in the study area. Age, sex and marital status had a positive and significant influence on sesame production in the study area. The major constraints to sesame production were poor access roads, high cost of input and insecurity. The findings suggest that improved sesame production could be achieved by giving consideration to some significant variables identified; farmer’s cooperative should be initiated to offer opportunities to members to have access to capital/credit and other inputs. Government should make policies that will facilitate farmers’ access to education and training. Also, consideration should also be given to rural infrastructure and inputs subsidies not limited to fertilizer as these were among the notable constraints faced by farmers. Government should look into the inherent potential of sesame business as that will increase foreign earnings and local industries for processing sesame into industrial usage. Keywords: Socio-economic, sesame, constraints, Yobe State