Adoption of Improved Practices for Cocoa Production In Ekiti-State Nigeria

ABSTRACT This study assessed the adoption of improved practices for cocoa farmers in Ekiti state Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique was employed to select one hundred and twenty (120) cocoa farmers. Data were collected through interview schedule with the use of stuctured questionnaire and analysed using inferential and descriptive statistics such as the mean, frequency distribution, percentages and standard deviation. The study found that majority (79.2%) of cocoa farmers in the study area were males with one form of formal education (92.5%) or the other. It was revealed that, most of the farmers in the study area are aware of improved agricultural practices , only few of those practices are adopted by the farmers. The study found that inadequate credit facility, inadequate equipment and machinery, inadequate capital and accessibility to those facilities pose major challenges in the adoption of improved practices. The ANOVA result show that output of adopters that use improved practices tends to differ compared to non-adopters but were not statistically significant. It is recommended that cocoa production can be increased in the study area if there is ready market for cocoa seed at an appreciable price rate, if there is government support through provision of necessary facilities and if extension agent can step-up their services through frequent contact to the cocoa farmers.
Keywords: Adoption, Awareness, Cocoa, Extension agent, Improved practices, Seedlings