Assessment of the Level of Adoption of Organic Farming Technologies by Rice Farmers in Benue State, Nigeria
1Ukohol, Francis Y.; 2Asema, Ruth M.; 3Bassey, Jimmy I. & 4Ominikari, Abraham. G.
1Institute of Food Security, Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, Benue State, Nigeria
2Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, Benue State, Nigeria
3Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, Abia State, Nigeria
4Federal Polytechnic Ekowe, Bayelsa State
Email: ukoholfrancis@yahoo.com
ABSTRACT
The study assessed the level of adoption of organic farming technologies by rice farmers in Benue State, Nigeria. Purposive and multi-stage sampling techniques were used to select 135 rice farmers. The data for the study were collected through the use of questionnaire and were analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The results showed that majority (82.2%) of the respondents were married with household size of 6-10 persons. The organic farming technologies adopted by rice farmers were; green manuring (96.3%), crop rotation (96.3%), bush fallowing (81.5%) and shifting cultivation (80.7%). The study further showed that the farmer’s perceived accessibility of sources of information on organic fertilizer were through friends/neigbours/relations ( =2.75), farmer/field school ( =1.35) and radio ( =2.07). The study also identified the various types of organic farming technologies available; farmyard manure (96.3%), green manure (96.0%), compost manure (31.9%) and crop rotation (98.5%). The logit regression analysis on the effect of the socio-economic of the rice farmers on the adoption of organic farming technology was significant at 5% level of probability. The study concluded that farmyard manure, green manure, crop rotation, mulching and shifting cultivation were the organic farming technologies perceived to be available and adopted. Hence, the study recommended that there is need for farmers to be given skill-based training on how to make compost, farm yard manure and on the general principles of organic farming.Key words: Adoption, Assessment, Rice farmers, Technologies
