Adoption of Recommended Agrochemical Practices among Cowpea Farmers in Kontagora and Mashegu Local Government Areas of Niger State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study was carried out to assess adoption of recommended agrochemical safety practices among cowpea farmers in Kontagora and Mashegu Local Government Areas of Niger State, Nigeria. One hundred and forty (140) cowpea framers were randomly selected for interview. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Ordinary Least Square (OLS) regression. The results revealed that majority (77.2%) of the farmers were married and had just primary school education (43.6%). About half (47.9%) of the farmers were within 36-45 years of age with mean age of 36 years. Also, 63.6% of the farmers had household size of between 6-10 people with a mean of 7 people. More so, half (50.7%) of the farmers had farming experience of 6-10 age years. Majority (75.0%) of the farmers had farm size of 2.5–3.5 hectares, while 41.5% had access to extension contact. OLS results revealed household size had negative and significant influence on adoption rate of recommended agrochemical safety practices (p<0.01), level of education, farm size, cooperative membership, level of income and access to credit had positive and significant influence on adoption rate of recommended agrochemical safety practices (p<0.05) while extension contact had positive and significant influence (p<0.10). The results further showed farmers in the study area were aware of most of the recommended agrochemical safety practices. In addition, more than half (51.7%) of the farmers had moderately adopted the recommended agrochemical safely practices. Constraints identified include high cost of protective gadgets (x̄ = 2.62) and low literacy level among farmers (x̄ = 2.50). It was therefore recommended that farmers should be provided with protective gadgets by relevant stakeholders like NGOs at subsidized rate. More so, extension agents should sensitize and encourage the farmer to attend adult education classes in order to improve their literacy level