EFFECTS OF FARMER-FIELD-SCHOOL (FFS) AND FARMER-BUSINESS-SCHOOL (FBS) APPROACHES ON COCOA PRODUCTION IN ONDO AND OSUN STATES, NIGERIA

Abstract

The study was designed to investigate the effects of Farmer Field School (FFS) and Farmer Business School (FBS) approaches on cocoa production in Ondo and Osun States, Nigeria. Data were collected with the aid of interview schedule from three hundred and twenty (320) purposively selected cocoa farmers using a multistage sampling procedure. The results of the study indicated that majority of the respondents for FFS (68.8%), Non-participants (63.3%), FFS-to-FBS (62.5%) and FBS (55.1%) were below 50 years of age. However, about 44.7% completed primary school and 19.6% completed secondary school indicating low level of education among the respondents. The profitability of the respondents after involvement in FFS (₦4,150,860, ₦5,128,880, ₦5,578,135), FBS (₦12,393,900, ₦15,688,435, ₦18,818,997) and transformed FFS-to-FBS (₦6,104,700, ₦7,923,785, ₦8,856,792) started increasing each year from 2011 to 2013. About 78.8% of the respondents adopted agro-ecosystem analysis after getting involved in FFS. Majority (85.0%) of the respondents adopted profit/financial management after getting involved in FBS approach. The study revealed that majority of the respondents FFS (80.0%) and FBS (86.3%) had bad road network problems. Majority (60.0%) of the respondents with mean value of (𝑋̅=4.34) generated favourable perception towards the statement that participation in FFS approach has helped them in adopting improved harvesting techniques. Moreover, majority (63.3%) of the respondents with mean value of (𝑋̅=4.66) developed favourable perception towards the statement that FBS has promoted interaction/friendship among farmers. Hypothesis testing using chi-square (𝜒2) test revealed that marital status (cal 𝜒2 = 10.043, p < 0.05) and educational level (cal 𝜒2 = 26.584, p < 0.05) were significantly associated with the involvement of farmers in FFS approach. Also, at p< 0.05, correlation (r) analysis showed that age (r = -0.025), general annual income (r = -0.112) and farm size (r = -0.132) were significantly associated with the involvement of respondents in FFS approach. Chi-square (𝜒2) test also showed that marital status (cal 𝜒2 = 10.043, p < 0.05) and educational level (cal 𝜒2 = 26.584, p < 0.05) had significant relationship with the involvement of farmers in FBS approach. The result of ANOVA showed that there were significant differences in the profitability of the respondents in FFS alone, FBS alone and transferred FFS-to-FBS from 2010 to 2013, year 2010 ( F = 10.624, p ˂ 0.05 ), year 2011( F = 24.310, p ˂ 0.05 ) year 2012 ( F = 22.436, p ˂ 0.05 ) and year 2013 ( F = 13.616, p ˂ 0.05 ). Furthermore, the result of t-test showed that there was a significant difference between FFS’ introduced technologies and FBS’s innovative skills (t= -2.362, p < 0.05). In conclusion, FFS addressed Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), while FBS was centered on business orientation and marketing skills. It was therefore, recommended that agricultural policy makers and stakeholders in Nigeria should mainstream these programmes (FFS and FBS) to accommodate other food and cash crops as a whole in the country in order to boost food production and profitability of farmers.