Volume 59, Issue 329, May 2023

Attitude of smallholder farmers towards production of fortified Vitamin A Cassava in Oke-Ogun area of Oyo State

Eniola PO^1♦, Adeleke OA², Ologundudu OM², Adekola OA³

¹Department of Agricultural Technology, The Oke-Ogun Polytechnic, Saki, Oyo, Nigeria
²Department of Agricultural Extension and Rural Development, University of Ibadan, Oyo, Nigeria
³Department of Agricultural Extension and Rural Development, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun, Nigeria

^♦Corresponding author
Department of Agricultural Technology, The Oke-Ogun Polytechnic, Saki, Oyo, Nigeria

ABSTRACT

This study investigates the constraints encountered by smallholder farmers in the production of fortified vitamin A cassava in Oke-Ogun Area of Oyo State. Purposive sampling procedure was used to select 108 respondents from 3 LGAs where Vit. A cassava stem was distributed to farmers from International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA). Interview schedule and structured questionnaire were used for data collection and data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistic like chi-square. The study shows that 70% of respondents were male with mean age of 40.34±32.9 years. About 38% had secondary education and majority (74%) got information on Vitamin A fortified cassava through radio. Average farm size was 2 acres mostly acquired through inheritance (52%). Mean years of farming experience was 9.48±6.29 years with average monthly income of N22, 299.50± N16, 241.60. The most utilized source of labour was hired (64%) while most cultivated cassava type were UMUCASS 36/TMS-IBA011368) (64.6%) and UMUCASS 38/TMS-IBA011412 (59.7%) though new varieties (UMUCASS 44, 45 and 46) had been introduced through the State Agricultural Development Programme (ADP) in collaboration with IITA. Respondents’ attitude to Vitamin A cassava production was favourable (52.6%). Constraints encountered by respondents in the production of Vitamin A cassava included pest and rodents’ infestation (0.84±0.63), land degradation (0.67±0.66), high labour cost (0.69±0.57) and low shelf life of Vit. A cassava (0.86±0.69). Respondents’ education level (χ2=20.69), years of farming experience (χ2=3.99), farm size (χ2=2.92) and access to labour (χ2=2.89) had significant relationship on farmers’ production of vitamin A cassava in the study area. Production of Vitamin A cassava is on the decline in the study area due to various challenges encountered by respondents. The study recommends training of farmers on nutritional benefits and value addition of vitamin A cassava for increased income.

Keywords: Vitamin A, Production, Yield, Starch, Attitude, Constraints

Discovery, 2023, 59, e53d1220

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Published: May 2023