UTILIZATION OF POST HARVEST TECHNOLOGIES AMONG YAM FARMERS IN SELECTED LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREAS OF NIGER STATE, NIGERIA.

Abstract

Yam is an important tuber crop in Nigeria. However, its availability is affected by rate of deterioration arising from poor postharvest handling. Hence, farmers use various techniques to minimize the loss. Therefore, this study examined the utilization of post harvest technologies among yam farmers in selected local Government areas of Niger state, Nigeria. Data were collected from 195 respondents and analyzed with descriptive statistics. The result revealed that, the mean age of the respondent was 35.0 years and highly experienced in food crops production with mean of 18.0 years experience. Majority of the respondents (79%) had formal education. However data analysis reveals that yam barn storage technique ranked first in terms of types and level of utilization by the farmers with the highest weighted mean (WM=3.87) while, open sided shelve was the least (WM=1.43). It is therefore recommended that extension agents should actively disseminate information on improved storage techniques to yam farmers in the study area as well as the need to use such techniques