ANALYSIS OF ADOPTION OF THE USAID/IITA IMPROVED COWPEA PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGIES IN KATSINA STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

The study analyzed the adoption of USAID/IITA improved cowpea production technologies in Katsina State, Nigeria. Multi-stage random sampling technique was employed for the selection of the respondents. A sample size of 135 cowpea farmers was randomly selected for the study. Primary data for the study were obtained through the use of structured interview schedule. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics and regression analysis. The results revealed that cowpea farmers were predominantly male (98%), had a mean age of 44 years, mean years of farming experience of 23, more than half (58.5%) had formal education at various level, mean household size of 12 persons and a mean farm size of 2 hectares. The logistic regression showed that gender, membership of association, participation in USAID/IITA cowpea training, extension contact, and availability/use of credit positively and significantly at P<0.01, P<0.05 and P<0.1, respectively, influenced adoption of USAID/IITA improved cowpea production technologies. The estimated regression coefficient of gender was positive and significant at 5% for adoption of disease control. The estimated regression coefficient of membership of association was positive and significant at 10% for adoption of recommended planting date. The study concluded that technologies package was highly adopted by the respondents and all the constraints to adoption were perceived as severe except storage problems and poor access to major output markets that were reported as not constraints. It was therefore recommended that more efforts from all the cowpea stakeholders should be geared towards diffusing the technologies to all other parts of the study area; and the USAID/IITA needs to provide additional support/intervention to cowpea farmers so as to raise the adoption level higher