EFFECT OF FARMERS’ FIELD SCHOOL (FFS) ON THE PROFITABILITY OF COCOA FARMERS IN ONDO STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

Over the years cocoa production has been declining and various interventions have been directed at improving production and profitability of cocoa in Nigeria. One of these interventions is the Farmers’ Field School (FFS) approach. This study was conducted to examine the effect of farmers’ field school on the profitability of cocoa farmers in Ondo State, Nigeria. The primary data used for this study were collected through the administration of structured questionnaire. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select 120 respondents for the study (60 participating and 60 non-participating farmers). Data collected were analyzed with the use of descriptive statistics such as frequencies, percentages, mean were used to analyze the data collected in addition to probit regression analysis as well as the likert scale. The results from the descriptive statistics for participating and non participating cocoa farmers showed that majority of the farmers were old with mean ages of 55 and 48 years respectively. In the case of sex, the results showed that cocoa farming is male dominant in the study area. Results of likert scale showed that many of the cocoa farmers who participated in FFS had favourable disposition to the perception statements of opinion on attitudinal scale. The probit regression model showed that level of education, farming experience, farm size, and number of visits by extension agents had significant influence on the level of participation of cocoa farmers in FFS in the study area. Also a coefficient of multiple determination 82.9% variation in the dependent variable was explained by the independent variables. The result of the gross margin analysis revealed that FFS participants made higher profit than their Non FFS counterparts. The result of the hypothesis showed that there is significant difference between the income of participants and non-participants of FFS farmers at 1% level of significance in the study area.