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Factors Influencing Adoption of Improved Agricultural Technologies (IATs)

among Smallholder Farmers in Kaduna State, Nigeria Factors Influencing
Adoption of Improved Agricultural T...

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International Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension
Vol. 6(2), pp. 382-391, July, 2020. © www.premierpublishers.org. ISSN: 2167-0432

Research Article

Factors Influencing Adoption of Improved Agricultural

Technologies (IATs) among Smallholder Farmers in
Kaduna State, Nigeria
*Sennuga, Samson Olayemi1, Fadiji, Taiye Oduntan2 and Thaddeus, Hellen3
1School of Agriculture Food and Environment, Royal Agricultural University, Stroud Road, Cirencester, Gloucestershire,
GL7 6JS, United Kingdom
2Department of Agricultural Extension and Rural Sociology, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Abuja, FCT, P.M.B. 117,

Abuja, Nigeria
3Department of Educational Technology, School of Science and Technology Education, Federal University of Technology,

Minna, Nigeria

The study examined factors influencing adoption of improved agricultural technologies (IATs)
among smallholder farmers in rural communities of Kaduna State.The study was conducted in
Giwa and Sabon-gari Local Government Areas. Three objectives guided the study. The study
adopted a descriptive research design. Purposive sampling technique was employed to select the
farming communities for the study. Two rural communities (Bassawa and Shika) were purposely
selected out of 16 villages primarily because of their age-long agricultural technologies. The
sample size of the study was 200 smallholder farmers made up of 100 farmers from each of the
communities which were purposively selected. Primary data were collected using a structured
interview schedule, focus group discussion and in-depth interview while the secondary data
which relate to the objectives of the study were collected from the office of the Kaduna State
Agricultural Development Project (ADP) and National Agricultural Extension and Research
Liaison Services (NAERLS), ABU, Zaria. Data were analyzed using frequency and percentages.
Results from the findings of the study revealed a positive significant (p<0.05) influence on
adoption of agricultural technology and farmers’ educational levels, gender and age also had a
positive significant influence on the adoption of technology. Therefore, the following
recommendations were made: there is need to increase farmers’ capital and credit facilities and
make funds accessible to the farmers. Also, it is therefore imperative for Government to ensure
that policies that support the adoption of improved agricultural technologies are put in place.
Keywords: Improved Agricultural Technologies, smallholder farmers, community, adoption, Kaduna state.

INTRODUCTION

Agriculture plays a fundamental role in economic growth, of principles for on-farm production and post-production
enhancing food security, poverty reduction and rural processes, aimed at delivering in safe and healthy food
development. It is the main source of income for about2.5 and non-food agricultural products, while taking into
billion people in the developing world (Wandji, et al.,2012). account economic, social and environmental sustainability
Consequently, additional sustainable agricultural (FAO 2010; Sennuga, et al., 2020). IATs enable farmers
technologies such as improved agricultural technologies to increase their productivity and it covers a range of areas
remain an important part of the efforts to boost food
availability, crop production and improve soil quality in a *Corresponding Author: Sennuga, Samson Olayemi,
bid to reduce food and nutrition insecurity which is School of Agriculture Food and Environment, Royal
currently threatening humans’ right to food accessibility in Agricultural University, Stroud Road, Cirencester,
developing countries (Sennuga and Fadiji, 2020). Gloucestershire, GL7 6JS, United Kingdom.
Improved Agricultural Technologies (IATs) are a collection Email: [email protected]

Factors Influencing Adoption of Improved Agricultural Technologies (IATs) among Smallholder Farmers in Kaduna State, Nigeria
Sennuga et al. 383

including improved seeds, crop protection, water modern innovation. The process of adopting an idea or new
irrigation practices, crop land management, degraded land innovation does not happen as a single unit act, but rather
restoration, integrated pest management, integrated a mental process that consists of at least five stages
fertilizer management and conservation agriculture (FAO namely; the awareness stage, the interest stage, the
2010; Sennuga, et al., 2020). evaluation stage, trial stage and finally, the adoption stage
(Rogers, 2013, Cheteni et al. 2014; Sennuga and
In addition, agricultural technologies include all kinds of Oyewole, 2020). At the awareness stage, an individual
improved techniques and technologies which affect the becomes aware of the idea but lacks detailed information
growth of agricultural output (Jain, et al., 2009). According about it. At the interest stage, an individual gets more
to Loevinsohn et al. (2013), the most common areas of information about it and wants to know more about how it
technology development and promotion for crops works, what it is and its affordances. At the third mental
include new varieties and management regimes, soil stage, when the user has obtained more information from
as well as soil fertility management, weed and pest the previous stages. At the fourth mental stage, the
management, irrigation and water management. By individual makes a small scale trial of the idea, and
virtue of improved input/output relationships, new requests for more specific information to answer
technology tends to raise output and reduces average cost questions. The last mental stage, adoption, is
of production which in turn results in substantial gains in characterized by alarge scale adoption of the idea, and
farm income (Challa, 2013). most importantly its continued use (Cheteni et al. 2014).
An improved agricultural technology that enhances Adoption of improved agricultural technologies has been
sustainable production of food and fiber has made the associated with higher earnings and lower poverty,
dynamics of technical change in agriculture to be an improved nutritional status, lower staple food prices,
area of intense research since the early part of twentieth increased employment opportunities as well as earnings
century (Loevinsohn et al., 2013). These technologies for landless laborers (Kasirye, 2010; Sennuga et al.
are particularly relevant to smallholder farmers in 2020). Adoption of improved technologies is believed
developing countries because they are constrained in to be a major factor in the success of the green
several ways, which makes them a priority for revolution experienced by developed countries (Ravallion
development efforts. These farmers for instance, live and and Chen, 2004; Kasirye, 2010).Conversely, non-
farm in areas where rainfall is low and erratic, and soils adopters can hardly maintain their marginal livelihood
tend to be infertile. In addition, infrastructure and with socio-economic stagnation leading to deprivation
institutions such as irrigation, input and product markets, (Jain et al., 2009). Agricultural technology embodies a
and credit as well as extension services tend to be number of important characteristics that may influence
poorly developed (Muzari et al., 2012; Sennuga, et al., adoption decisions. For instance, Akudugu (2012) have
2020). classified the determinants of adoption of agricultural
technology into: social, economic and physical factors.
Smallholder farmers rely on traditional methods of Physical factors such as the farm size play a critical role in
production and this has lowered the level of productivity. adoption process of an improved technology. Many
For instance, over 70% of the maize production in the studies have reported a positive relation between farm size
majority of developing countries is from smallholders who and adoption of agricultural technology (Mwangi and
use traditional methods of production (Muzari et al., Kariuki, 2015). Small farm size provides an incentive to
2012). These farmers generally obtain very low crop adopt a technology especially in the case of an input-
yields because the local varieties used by farmers have intensive innovation such as a labor-intensive or land-
low potential yield, most of the maize is grown under saving technology. Smallholder farmers with small plots of
rain-fed conditions and irrigation is used only in limited land adopt land-saving technologies such as greenhouse
areas, little or no fertilizers are used and pest control is technology, zero grazing among others as an alternative
not adequate (Sennuga, et al., 2020). This has triggered to increased agricultural production (Diro, 2013).
much need to increase productivity and sustainability in
agriculture globally but much less information is available In addition, a key determinant of the adoption of an
on specific means to achieve this aim. Similarly, the improved technology is the net gain to the farmer from
process of adoption and the impact of adopting new technology adoption, inclusive of all costs of using the
technology on smallholder farmers have been studied. improved technology. However, high cost of agricultural
However, improved agricultural technologies are often technology has been reported as hindrance to adoption
adopted slowly and several aspects of adoption remain agricultural technology (Kinyangi, 2014, Sennuga et al.
poorly understood despite being seen as an important 2020). This is supported by other previous studies such as
route out of poverty in most of the developing countries Chi and Yamada (2002), Lavison (2013) on determinants
(Bandiera and Rasul, 2010; Simtowe, 2011). of technology adoption. For instance, the elimination of
subsidies on prices of seed and fertilizers since the 1990s
Technology is one of the resources for agricultural due to the World Bank-sponsored structural adjustment
production. Technology adoption refers to the acceptance programs in sub-Saharan Africa has widened this
of a group or an individual to use a new product or constraint.

Factors Influencing Adoption of Improved Agricultural Technologies (IATs) among Smallholder Farmers in Kaduna State, Nigeria
Int. J. Agric. Educ. Ext. 384

Acquisition of information about improved technology is groundnut, rice, beans, melon, sweet potato, cassava,
another factor that determines adoption of technology guinea corn and vegetables such as pepper, tomato and
(Foster and Rosenzweig, 2010). It enables farmers to carrot.
learn the existence as well as the effective use of
technology and this facilitates its adoption. Smallholders Population of the study and research design
will only adopt the technology they are aware of or have
heard about it. Therefore, access to agricultural The study was made on two rural farmers’ group (Bassawa
information reduces the uncertainty about a technology’s and Shika); both the rural communities are similar in agro-
performance hence may change smallholder’s climatic, ethnic group, religion and cultural settings. There
assessment from purely subjective to objective over time is no climatic or agronomic difference between these
(Sennuga et al. 2020). Similarly, a study conducted by communities; they are just 500 metres apart. The
Muzari, et al. (2012) in Sub-Saharan Africa on the impact communities are similar and have virtually everything in
of technology adoption on smallholder agricultural common. The two communities have access to extension
productivity found out that the factors affecting technology agents. The study employed descriptive research design
adoption were assets, income, institutions, vulnerability, (Gillis and Jackson, 2002; Yin, 2003) in order to explore
awareness, labour, and innovativeness by smallholder and obtain in-depth information related to factors
farmers. The authors also established that technologies influencing adoption of Improved Agricultural technologies
that require few assets, have a lower risk premium, and among smallholder farmers in their real-life settings.
are less expensive and have a higher chance of being Sample Size and Sampling Techniques
adopted by smallholder farmers. However, previous
studies on adoption of improved agricultural technologies Kaduna state has 23 LGAs of which all of them has equal
did not focus the influence of socio-economic probability of been chosen, however two; Shika and
characteristics of smallholders and sources of modern Sabon-gari were randomly sampled for their closeness
technologies on adoption by smallholders. This study (about 500 meter apart) and proximity to the office Kaduna
therefore will attempt to address the factors influencing the State Agricultural Development Project (ADP) and
adoption of Improved Agricultural technologies among National Agricultural Extension and Research Liaison
smallholder farmers that previous studies did not address. Services (NAERLS), Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.
Improved technologies are core to agricultural Purposive sampling technique was employed to select the
development and the improved technologies selected are farming communities for the study. Two rural communities
compatible to local environment of the farmers in Kaduna (Bassawa and Shika) were purposively selected out of
State. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to find out 16villages primarily because of their age-long agricultural
the factors influencing adoption of improved agricultural practice and presence of adoption technologies noted
technologies among smallholder farmers in Kaduna State. there. The two communities are similar in agro-climatic,
The specific objectives of this study are to: ethnic group, religion and cultural settings. However,
i. examine the influence of socio-economic Shika community gets only public extension services with
characteristics of the farmers on adoption of about 3000 smallholder farmers per extension agent while
technologies; Bassawa community receives extension services plus the
ii. identify the improved agricultural technologies research education establishment from Adopted Village
adopted by farmers in the study area; Program with estimated extension agent and farmers’ ratio
iii. highlight the sources of agricultural information on of 1:85 (Sennuga et al. 2020).
adoption of technologies by farmers.
Sample size
MATERIALS AND METHODS
The sample size for the study was 200 smallholder
This study was conducted in Giwa and Sabon-gari Local farmers. It consists of 100 farmers from each community.
Government Areas of Kaduna State, Northern Guinea Within each community, farm families were invited to
Savannah ecological zone of Nigeria, West Africa. Kaduna participate in the study through community meetings, in
State is located between latitudes 90 03’ and 110 32’ North which 137 farmers attended from Bassawa and 142 from
of the equator and longitude 60 05’ and 80 38’ East of the Shika, and 8 extension workers were in attendance. From
Greenwich Meridian (Kaduna State Ministry of Agriculture, this sampling frame of individuals, 100 farming households
2014). However, two rural communities (Bassawa and were randomly selected from each community; primarily
Shika) were purposively selected for the study due to on voluntary basis. Other criteria for individual participants
active engagement of the rural farmers in agricultural were as follows: age between 18 and 65 years, farming
production in the district and for its proximity to Ahmadu experience, interested in participating, and permanent
Bello University, Zaria, which is easily accessible to the resident of the community. The foremost rationale for
researchers. The major economic activity conducted by selecting 100 farmers per community were based largely
the rural dwellers in the two communities is farming. Very on the number of farming households that volunteered and
few people engage in hunting and small-scale business. showed interest during the community meetings, as well
The major food crops grown are yam, maize, millet, as conformed to the previously mentioned criteria.

Factors Influencing Adoption of Improved Agricultural Technologies (IATs) among Smallholder Farmers in Kaduna State, Nigeria
Sennuga et al. 385

Data collection Marital status

Single 3.3
Primary data were collected using structured interview Married 96.7
schedule, focus group discussion and in-depth interview
Household size
from both rural dwellers and extension workers. Structured
questionnaires were administered to collect data and the <10 50.8
survey took about 1 hour 10 minutes. The key themes in 11-20 36.4
the survey included socio-economic characteristics of 21-30 12.1
smallholder farmers, household assets, extension advice, >31 .7
level of awareness of improved agricultural technologies, Level of education
sources of agricultural information in the area. In order to No education 30.8
ascertain the appropriateness and reliability of the
Primary 44.3
questions set for the survey, the survey were pre-tested
among three smallholder farmers working with Ahmadu Secondary 17.0
Bello University, Zaria, to correct aspect related to verbal Tertiary 7.5
understanding and to ensure the interviewees' Family education
performance, and some minor corrections were effected No education 3.3
before administering the survey to study participants. Primary 55.0
Three researchers and four trained extension agents Secondary 35.8
(research assistants) with professional skills in agriculture Tertiary 2.6
conducted the survey and focus groups. In few cases,
No Children yet 3.3
additional visits were made when it was compulsory to
clarify and review incomplete information. Secondary data Household Asset
which relate to the objectives of the study were collected Poultry 58.0
from the office Kaduna State Agricultural Development Sheep and goats 61.7
Project (ADP) and National Agricultural Extension and Cattle 42.8
Research Liaison Services (NAERLS), ABU, Zaria. Other livestock 6.5
Pig 0
Data analysis
Socio-economic characteristics of the respondents in
The data collected for the study were analyzed using
the study area
descriptive statistics such as frequency- and percentages.
Spearman rank influence technique was used to test the
The results of socio-economic characteristics of the
significant relationship between Improved Agricultural
respondents were presented in Table 1. The variables
technologies adoption and socio-demographic variables of
investigated in the study included: age, sex, marital status,
the respondents. With aid of Statistical Package for Social
household size, level of education, major crops cultivated,
Science (SPSS) version 24 the data were analyzed and
household assets and income level. The age of the
the descriptive statistics were used to present the results.
farmers in the households ranged from 20 to 70 years.
59.2 per cent of them fell within the middle age of 31-
50years in both communities. This suggests that the
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
majority of the respondents were within their economic
active age and this enhances their productivity in order to
Table 1: Demographic representation of the socio-
ensure food security (Table 1).The old age group (51-70)
economic Characteristics of the smallholder farmers (n=
had the lowest impact in farm work with 17.5per
200)
centcontributing to active farming among the sampled
Variables Percentage population. This result reveals that the majority (65%) of
Age (years) farmers who participated in the survey belong to the active
20-30 15.8 age group and still have strength to cultivate more
31-40 31.7 farmland and explore new agricultural innovations.
41-50 27.5 However, it is generally assumed that younger people tend
51-60 17.5 to be more productive than that of their older counterparts.
61-70 6.7 In the same vein, the results in Table 1 below showed that
all the respondents were males; this is because the cultural
> 70 .8
traditions of the study area do not allow females to be
Gender (Sex) actively involved in farming activities (Sennuga and Fadiji,
Male 100 2020).
Female 0

Factors Influencing Adoption of Improved Agricultural Technologies (IATs) among Smallholder Farmers in Kaduna State, Nigeria
Int. J. Agric. Educ. Ext. 386

In terms of the marital status of the respondents, IATs selected as appropriate for the local communities and
overwhelming majorities (96.7%) of the respondents were study area includes; improved seeds, spraying of
married with half of these households having 10 or more herbicide, pesticide control, fertilizer application, water
members; the remainder had larger families of more than management/irrigation, crop rotation, cover crops,
21 members reflecting polygamy within the communities. compost and green manure, spacing and mulching.
The result is not surprising because large family sizes are
the norm in the Northern Nigeria and large families provide A total of 200 questionnaires were used to obtain
accessible workforces. Furthermore, the cultural tradition information from the respondents, farmers were requested
and religion allows the men to marry at most four women. to indicate their level of awareness and level of adoption
The use of household labour for several activities was very of improved technologies by using a three-point Likert
common in the study area with activities such as rating scale. The scale was as follows: High = 3, Medium
ploughing, harrowing, planting, weeding, chasing away = 2 and Low = 1. The level of adoption was determined
straying domestic animals, irrigation activities and using Spearman rank correlation. The results in Table 2
harvesting. In the same vein, large household may also show that six agricultural technologies were highly
help to access more agricultural information. adopted by farmers, these includes improved seeds
(88.6%), spraying of herbicide (79.5%), pesticide control
Educationally, 44.3 per cent of the respondents had (77.3%), fertilizer application (75.8%), water
acquired primary education, while 17per cent had management/irrigation (69.1%), crop rotation (66.6).
secondary education. Only 7.5per cent of the respondents However, cover crops (50.2%), compost and green
possessed higher education (Table 1). This suggests that manure (49.7%) were categorised under medium level of
the respondents in the study area obtained the basic adoption.
education required for better understanding and ability to
embrace new technologies especially the adoption of IATs Factors Influencing Adoption of IATs Technologies
technology. In addition, it is generally thought that the level Various factors relating to the adoption of improved
of education enhances the ability to comprehend and agricultural technologies and farmer characteristics were
adopt relevant agricultural information, which is in also tested using Spearman rank influence. Table 3 below
conformity. In term of household asset, 58per cent of the reveals a significant influence between IATs adoption and
household keep poultry, a greater proportion (61.7%) keep socio-demographic variables. The results reveal that age,
sheep and goats. A sizeable proportion of the respondents gender, education attainment and farming experience had
(42%) also indicated that they rear cattle and only 6.5per a positive significant (P<0.05) influence on the adoption of
cent specified that they keep other livestock such as IATs. The findings of the study are in line with most
camel, duck, turkey etc. The baseline livelihood survey adoption studies such as Keelan et al. (2014); Mwangi and
shows that no single household keeps pigs in the study Kariuki (2015) who found that farmers’ socio-economic
area. This was attributed to the religion (Muslims) of the characteristics had an influence on the adoption of
respondents. technologies. However, the present study found that
farmers’ marital status, household size, indigenous
Improved Agricultural Technologies Adopted by knowledge and household assets were not significant.
Farmers These factors are discussed in more detail in the following
Table 2: Improved Agricultural Technologies Adopted by sub-sections.
Farmers in the study area Table 3: Spearman rank influence of factors influencing
Improved Agricultural Technologies Percentage adoption of improved agricultural technologies among
Improved seeds 88.6 smallholder farmers
Spraying of herbicide 79.5 Variable Spearman rank P-value
Pesticide use/Pest control 77.3 Age 0.641 0.001**
Fertilizer application 75.8 Gender 0.502 0.000**
Water management/irrigation 69.1 Marital status 0.740 0.081
Crop rotation 66.5 Social participation 0.342 0.000**
Cover crops 50.2 Household Size 0.360 0.001**
Compost and Green Manure 49.7 Cultural/Religious 0.497 0.001**
Spacing 38.6 Education level 0.690 0.000**
Mulching 35.2 Farming experiences (Year) 0.081 0.002**
Source: Survey 2018; Farmers n =200 Farm Size 0.062 0.001**
Weather condition -0.226 0.620
Improved Agricultural Technologies Adopted by Pest and disease control 0.529 0.110
Farmers
GAP participatory training 0.650 0.000**
Indigenous knowledge -0.407 0.328
Data in Table 2 revealed the level of adoption of improved
Source: Survey 2017; P < 0.05 is significant
agricultural technologies (IATs) among smallholders. The

Factors Influencing Adoption of Improved Agricultural Technologies (IATs) among Smallholder Farmers in Kaduna State, Nigeria
Sennuga et al. 387

Lavison (2013) indicated that male farmers were more

i. Impact of Age on Adoption of Technologies likely to adopt organic fertiliser than their female
counterparts. This finding corroborates with that of Mwangi
The findings reveal a positive statistically significant and Kariuki (2015) who found that male-led households
relationship between age (0.001) and technology adoption are more likely to embrace agricultural technology,
(Table 3). Age has been considered to be a major because of their leading role; facilitating the planning and
underlying characteristic in the adoption decisions made operation of the farm to improve productivity and maintain
by smallholders (Adesina and Baidu-Forson 1995). Age the well-being of the family. In Nigeria, a survey conducted
was also found to positively influence the adoption of by Obisesan (2014) found that male farmers had a
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) on peanuts in Georgia significant and positive influence on the adoption of
(McNamara et al., 1991) and sorghum in Burkina Faso improved cassava production techniques. Accordingly,
(Adesina and Baidu-Forson 1995) among older farmers. men are more likely to seek and adopt new knowledge and
However, there is a debate on the direction of the effect of technologies due to their access to resources (Asfaw and
age in adoption, the older farmers find it extremely difficult Admassie, 2004; Buyinza and Wambede, 2008). This is
to take the risks which may result in low technology uptake consistent with the results of the present study, which
(Caswell et al. 2001). found that male-led households adopted almost all the
recommended IATs technologies.
The results of this study are supported by Mwangi and
Kariuki (2015) who found that the active age group are iii. Impact of Cultural/Religious on the Adoption of
characteristically less risk-averse and are keener to try Technologies
new technologies than older farmers. Furthermore,
younger farmers still have the potency to take a risk, grow The results of spearman rank influence revealed in Table
more crops and search for new agricultural innovations. 3 show a significant influence between cultural/religious
For instance, in India, Alexander and Van Mellor (2005) and adoption of IATs technologies in the study area.
established that the adoption of genetically modified maize Cultural norms and value, religion and tribal background
increased with age for the active age group farmers as may influence adoption of agricultural technology. The
they gained experience and increased their stock of belief, habits and rituals attached to religion and culture
human capital, but declined with age for older farmers are so deeply rooted and many influence how smallholder
closer to retirement. farmers embrace improved technology. For instance, due
to the religion affiliations in the study area no single farmer
ii. The Role of Gender in the Adoption of Technologies keep/rear pigs. Consequently, the cultural/religion affect
the ownership of certain type of livestock by the
The study results revealed that the gender of the households and may also play a significant role in the
respondents had positive and statistically significant adoption process.
(0.05%) level influence on the adoption of IATs
technologies. This implies that male farmers are more iii. Impact of Education and Training on the Adoption
likely to adopt modern agricultural technologies than their of Technologies
female counterparts. The reason for this is that men are
the people in the study area who make the production The study results presented in Table 3illustrate a
decisions and also control the productive resources such significant relationship between level of education and the
as land, labour and capital which are critical for the adoption of IATs technologies. According to Sennuga, et
adoption of new technology. However, gender issues in al. (2020) it is expected that more knowledgeable farmers
agricultural production and technology adoption have been will adopt more improved technologies than those less
investigated for a long time and most studies have knowledgeable. This relationship has been established by
reported mixed evidence regarding the different roles men previous studies (Caswell et al., 2001, Mwangi and Kariuki
and women play in technology adoption (Bonabana- 2015). According to Deressa et al. (2011), involvement of
Wabbi, 2002). the educated population in farming activities is thought to
create a favourable mental attitude towards the
However, the present study results disagree with Morris acceptance of new agricultural technologies especially of
and Doss (1999) who found no significant influence information and management-intensive technologies.
between gender and the adoption of improved maize
technology in Ghana. The study concluded that Additionally, Croppensted et al. (2003) reported that more
agricultural technology adoption decisions depend largely highly educated farmers (a minimum of primary level) and
on access to resources only, rather than gender. They those from large households were more likely to adopt new
explained further that if adoption of improved maize technologies than the less educated and those from
depends on access to land, labour, or other resources, and smaller families due to their greater exposure to new
if in particular context men tend to have better access to knowledge and technologies, and having more labour
these resources than women, then, they are more likely to resources to carry out farming activities. Therefore, the
adopt new technologies than women. In comparison, effect of the educational level was found to increase the

Factors Influencing Adoption of Improved Agricultural Technologies (IATs) among Smallholder Farmers in Kaduna State, Nigeria
Int. J. Agric. Educ. Ext. 388

probability of a smallholders’ adoption of new (Mignouna, et al., 2011). This implies that farmers with
technologies. Moreover, Doss and Morris (2001) and Daku large families will certainly generate more income through
(2002) found that education positively affected the large-scale production of improved technologies using
adoption of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) family labour. Hence, the bigger the family size, the more
technologies among smallholder farmers in Kenya and economically stable the family (Mwangi and Kariuki, 2015).
Nepal. This implies that the level of education is a powerful
tool in the hands of smallholder farmers enabling them to vi. Impact of Farm Size on the Adoption of
read the labels on fertilizer bags, for example, or follow Technologies
directions on the operation of machines, tools and other
items. As noted from Table 3, farm size had a negative significant
influence on technology adoption. These results show that
Educational levels increase the ability to obtain, process farm size does not have an effect on the IATs adoption.
and use information relevant to the adoption of a new The reason may be because the respondents are small-
technology (Mignounal, et al., 2011; Lavison, 2013). For scale farmers who operate on small farmlands. A similar
example, in a recent study by Mwangi and Kariuki (2015) finding was reported by Parvan (2011) who established
on the adoption of new technologies by fish farmers, and that farm size does not always affect adoption; rather the
Keelan et al. (2014) on the adoption of organic fertilisers, literature finds that the effects of farm size vary depending
it was found that education levels had a positive and on the type of technology being introduced, and the
statistically significant influence on the adoption of the institutional setting of the rural community. However, in a
related technology. The reason for this is that higher study undertaken by Akudugu et al. (2012), farm size was
education levels influence respondents’ attitudes, making found to have a positive relationship with the probability of
farmers more open, rational and able to analyse the adoption of modern agricultural production technologies
benefits of the new technology (Waller et al. 1998). Other among commercial farmers. This finding is consistent with
studies that have also reported a positive relationship previous studies that have found that large-scale farmers
between education and technology adoption as cited by are more likely to adopt new technologies than small scale
Mwangi and Kariuki (2015) include; Mishra, et al. (2009) farmers (Kasenge, 1998).In analysing the diffusion of
on forward pricing methods, Putler and Zilberman (1988) conservation tillage technologies, integrated pest
on the adoption of microcomputers in agriculture, Mishra management (IPM) activities and soil fertiliser testing
and Park (2005); on the use of the internet, Rahm and among American farmers, Fuglie and Kascak (2003)
Huffman (1984) on reduced tillage, Roberts et al. (2004) began with the traditional explanatory factors, including
on precision farming and Traoreb et al. (1998) on the on- farm size (Moser and Barrett, 2008; Parvan, 2011). They
farm adoption of conservation tillage. reported that larger farms were more likely to adopt the
technology bundles sooner than small farmers (Parvan,
iv. The Role of Farming Experience in the Adoption of 2011).
Technologies
This presents a serious challenge to policy makers and the
As reported in Table3, the level of farming experience is a government of Nigeria in promoting the adoption of
significant factor influencing the adoption of GAP modern agricultural production technologies in the study
technologies in the study area. According to Petros area. This is because an overwhelming majority of farmers
(2010), longer farming experience implies accumulated in the Kaduna state and Nigeria as a whole operate on a
farming knowledge and technical know-how and skills, all small scale with the average farm sizes hardly exceeding
of which contribute to technology adoption. In a study by three hectares (Sennuga, 2019).
Melaku (2005), farming experience was found to be
positively and significantly related to adoption. Similarly, Sources of agricultural information on adoption of
Yishak (2005) found the difference between the mean technologies by smallholder farmers
level of farming experience of adopters and the non-
adopters was statistically significant. Information has become a critical factor to increase
smallholders' production and productivity. As a result, the
v. Impact of Household Size in the Adoption of most preferred sources of information by smallholder
Technologies farmers were investigated and respondents were
requested to rank the sources of agricultural information
The findings reveal a positive and significant relationship used. As presented in figure 1a-b, revealed that
between household size and technology adoption. smallholder farmers preferred traditional ICT, mainly radio
Household size is simply used as a measure of labour (36%) as their main source of accessing agricultural
availability for farmers with large families (Mwangi and information followed by mobile phones (28%) for Shika
Kariuki, 2015). It determines the adoption process in that, community, while (39 %) and (31%) of smallholder farmers
larger households have the capacity to relax labour from Bassawa community indicated that they prefer radio
constraints during the introduction of new technologies and mobile phone respectively.

Factors Influencing Adoption of Improved Agricultural Technologies (IATs) among Smallholder Farmers in Kaduna State, Nigeria
Sennuga et al. 389

their produce. In this regard, the need and choice of the

The study results further indicate that agricultural sources of information on improved agricultural
extension agents, personal sources and social media were technology, and how the timely and relevant information is
not considered as significance in obtaining agricultural disseminated to the targeted smallholder farmers should
information by the respondents. The findings of the study be of paramount concern to both agricultural development
show that radio and mobile phones were relevant practitioners and agricultural extension workers. However,
agricultural information which helps farmers to make the spearman rank influence shows that there were no
informed decisions about what crops to plant and where to statistically significant differences between the farmer's
purchase affordable farm inputs and which market to sell present sources of agricultural information.
Radio 36
Radio 39
Mobile phone 28
Mobile phone 31
Shika
Family and friends 18
Family and friends Bassawa
16
Extension workers 9
Extension workers 8
Personally 7
Personally 4
Social Media 2
Social Media 1
Attending Village
1 Attending Village meeting 1
meeting

0 10 20 30 40 0 10 20 30 40 50
Figure 1a-b: sources of agricultural information on adoption of technologies by smallholder farmers
Source: Survey; Shika n=100% Bassawa n=100 Scale: %
CONCLUSION could help farmers to make informed decisions about what
crops to plant and where to purchase affordable farm
The essence of this study is to dig into the various factors inputs and which market to sell their produce. In
affecting the adoption of improved agricultural conclusion, some fundamental policy implications can be
technologies by smallholder farmers in Nigeria rural drawn from this study in order provide managerial and
communities. The study had revealed factors affecting technical skills on improved agricultural technology
smallholder farmers’ decision to adopt agricultural adoption.
technologies. Findings from this study had shown that
adoption of agricultural technology depends on a range of
factors which include among others: human factors, social RECOMMENDATIONS
factor, cultural/religious factor, economic factor, education
levels, household size, access to information, utilization of The following recommendations were made based on the
social networks and so on. findings and the conclusions of the study:
1. There is a need for Government to increase farmers’
The outcome of the study revealed that smallholder capital and credit facilities and make these services
farmers in Nigeria rural communities had positive a accessible to the farmers.
significant influence between age and technology adoption 2. There is need for farmers to be trained on yield-raising
of improved agricultural technology. This implies that the technologies and other technologies that can positively
older a farmer get the higher the rate of improved contribute to high productivity among farmers. This will
agricultural technology adoption. Results also indicated a increase awareness on the availability and usefulness
positive significant influence between level of education of improved agricultural technologies.
and adoption of technologies among smallholder farmers. 3. It is imperative for policy makers to ensure that a wider
This means that the level of education of small holder spectrum of smallholders farmers are able to have
farmers could result to higher rate of agricultural access to credit in order to improve their adoption level
technology adoption. of agricultural technology. Developers of new
There was a positive influence between availability of agricultural technology should try to understand the
agricultural information devices such as radio and mobile farmers need as well as their ability to adopt technology
phones and adoption of agricultural technology, which in order to develop technology that will suit them.

Factors Influencing Adoption of Improved Agricultural Technologies (IATs) among Smallholder Farmers in Kaduna State, Nigeria
Int. J. Agric. Educ. Ext. 390

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Agriculture and Healthcare, 10: 6, 34-49. provided the original author and source are cited.

Factors Influencing Adoption of Improved Agricultural Technologies (IATs) among Smallholder Farmers in Kaduna State, Nigeria

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