DETERMINANTS OF TECHNOLOGIES’ ADOPTION BY CASSAVA FARMERS IN ONDO STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

This study determined the factors affecting the adoption of technologies by cassava farmers in Ondo State, Nigeria. Multistage sampling procedure was adopted in the selection of respondents. Primary data were collected through structured questionnaire which were analysed using descriptive statistics, multiple regression model, safety first principle of risk estimation and ordinal logistic regression model. The findings revealed that about 47.9% of the cassava farmers were between the ages of 41 and 50 years with mean age being 48 years. Cassava production in the study area was male dominated with only 23.9% of the farmers being female. Furthermore, 94% of the farmers completed at least primary school education. The result from the estimation of the risk attitude revealed that about 64% and 28% belongs to intermediate and high risk aversed category respectively. About half of the farmers (50.4%) were found to be adopters in all technology segments while 23.1% of them were adopters in only one technology segment and 17.9% from two segments. Improved stem cutting was the most adopted technology while TME 419 was the most adopted technology in improved stem cutting segment. The result of the ordinal logistic regression revealed that farmers’ age, access to credit, yield, membership of co-operative society and the interaction between marital status and gender had positive influence on farmers’ adoption status while gender, participation in insurance, high risk aversion, choice of farming as major occupation to be factors inhibiting adoption of cassava production technologies. The study further revealed that inadequacy of finance was most prominent among the reported challenges to adoption. It is recommended that access of cassava farmers to credit facilities should be facilitated and extension agents should be advised to promote adoption of cassava production technologies