Effect of Farmer Field School Training on Cowpea Production among Small Scale Farmers in Kebbi State, Nigeria

dc.date.accessioned2022-12-14T16:00:01Z
dc.date.available2022-12-14T16:00:01Z
dc.date.issued2018
dc.description.abstractNigeria being considered as the largest producer of cowpea in the world, still has the majority of small- scale cowpea farmers producing below the expected yield per hectare. Relevant agricultural training for these small-scale farmers on new technologies and management practices using group-based approach like Farmer Field School (FFS), may assist in improving the farmersโ€™ level of production. The study therefore, assessed the effect of farmer field school training on cowpea production among small-scale farmers in Kebbi State, Nigeria. The objectives were to: (i) examine the socio-economic characteristics of the farmers; (ii) examine participants perception of the relevance of FFS training;(iii) determine the factors influencing small-scale farmers participation in FFS training; (iv) determine the effect of FFS training on cowpea production on FFS and non-FFS participants; (v) examine economic status of FFS and non-FFS participants vi compare the income of FFS and non-participants (vii) identify the constraints faced by FFS farmers. A four-stage sampling technique was used to select 288 respondents. First stage involved a purposive selection from the list of FFS sites in each agro-ecological zone. Second stage involved a random selection of 1 local government area in each zone selected. Third stage involved random selection of 4 FFS participating communities. Fourth stage involved random selection of 30% of cowpea farmers (480) to give sample size of 144 participants. Same procedure was used to select 144 non-FFS participants. Data were collected using questionnaire, while descriptive statistics and probit regression were employed for analysis. The finding of the study were that: i. majority of the participants were male (81.9%), married (77.8%), mean age (41years, farming experience (18.5years), and average farm size (1.6/hectares). Similarly, majority of the non-participants were male (81.2%), married (79.2%), mean age (44.8years), farming experience (15.3 years) and average farm size (1.30/hectares); ii. the participants perceived training received on cowpea production as relevant-land preparation techniques(๐‘‹ฬ…๐‘ค=3.59),recommended spacing (๐‘‹ฬ…๐‘ค =3.50), time of planting and method of pests and diseases control ( ๐‘‹ฬ…๐‘ค = 3.39). 20 iii. the variables that significantly influenced participation in the training were age (p<0.05), household size (p<0.10), extension contact (p<0.01), credit access (p<0.0.05), farm size (p<0.01), cowpea farm size (p<0.01) and cooperative membership (p<0.01); iv. the training increased the yield of participants by 100.50kg/hectare above their counterparts. v. higher proportion (47.2%) of the participants were in middle economic status while half (50.0%) of the non-participants were in low economic status; vi. the mean income of the participants (N 180,277.78) was significantly higher than that of non-participants (p<0.05) and vii. the major constraints experienced by the participants in the programme were inadequate capital (๐‘‹ฬ…๐‘ค =3.47) and higher cost of (๐‘‹ฬ…๐‘ค =3.54). The study concluded that FFS training had significant effect on the participantsโ€™ cowpea yields, on-farm income and common items of economic value. The study therefore recommended that FFS programme should be extended to non-participating LGAs in Kebbi State, this will help in attaining self-sufficiency in cowpea production in the state and Nigeria in general.
dc.identifier.urihttps://nerd.ethesis.ng/handle/123456789/604
dc.titleEffect of Farmer Field School Training on Cowpea Production among Small Scale Farmers in Kebbi State, Nigeria
Files
Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Name:
5. EFFECT OF FARMER FIELD SCHOOL TRAINING ON COWPEA PRODUCTION AMONG SMALL SCALE FARMERS IN KEBBI STATE, NIGERIA.pdf
Size:
2.51 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
license.txt
Size:
1.71 KB
Format:
Item-specific license agreed to upon submission
Description: