ASSESSMENT OF FACTORS AFFECTING THE ADOPTION OF NEW RICE FOR AFRICA (NERICA) TECHNOLOGY IN HAWUL LGA OF BORNO STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

The study assessed the factors affecting the adoption of New Rice for Africa (NERICA) technology in Hawul Local Government Area, Borno State, Nigeria. Eight (8) communities were purposively selected based on their being used by Promoting Sustainable Agriculture in Borno State (PROSAB) for the introduction and promotion of NERICA rice varieties. The study used 160 respondents based on 20 respondents randomly selected from each of the communities. Data for the study was obtained from primary sources obtained through the structured questionnaire administered to the respondents. Both the descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data collected for the study. Logit regression model was used to analyze the factors influencing adoption of NERICA rice technology, while Tobit regression model was used to analyze the level of adoption of NERICA rice among the respondents. The findings revealed that about 74% of the respondents were 43 years or less. Majority (68%) were male and 32% female; 80% of the respondent were married, while 13% were single. The results also showed that age, household size, household members that helped on farm, farm size, farming experience, distance to market and distance to information on the technology, annual farm income, extension contact, membership of association and farm expenditure were found to influence both the likelihood and the level of adoption of the NERICA technology positively, while sex, marital status and access to credit influenced both the likelihood and the level of adoption of NERICA technology negatively. The study concluded that younger farmers participated more in NERICA rice technology than other older farmers. Farming experience, distance to market and distance to source of information on the technology, extension contact, household members that help on farm, annual income and farm expenditure had influenced both the likelihood of adoption and the level of adoption of the NERICA rice technology positively. It was recommended that The Government/agricultural agencies should work closely with farmers to develop farm technologies that will boost food crop production.