Determinants of Adoption of Improved Maize Varieties in Zabzugu Tatale
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www.udsspace.uds.edu.gh UNIVERSITY FOR DEVELOPMENT STUDIES DETERMINANTS OF ADOPTION OF IMPROVED MAIZE VARIETIES IN ZABZUGU/TATALE AREA IN THE NORTHERN REGION OF GHANA: A CASE STUDY OF OBATANPA WAHAB IBN HASSAN 2018 www.udsspace.uds.edu.gh UNIVERSITY FOR DEVELOPMENT STUDIES DETERMINANTS OF ADOPTION OF IMPROVED MAIZE VARIETIES IN ZABZUGU/TATALE AREA IN THE NORTHERN REGION OF GHANA: A CASE STUDY OF OBATANPA BY WAHAB IBN HASSAN (MPHILINNOVATION COMMUNICATION) UDS/MIC/0055/14 THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT, FACULTY OF AGRIBUSINESS AND COMMUNICATION SCIENCES, UNIVERSITY FOR DEVELOPMENT STUDIES, IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF MASTER OF PHILOSOPHY DEGREE IN INNOVATIONS COMMUNICATION NOVEMBER, 2018 www.udsspace.uds.edu.gh DECLARATION Student I hereby declare that this thesis is the result of my own original work and that no part of it has been presented for another degree in this University or elsewhere. Signature:……………...………..…….…… Date:…………..……….……………… Name: WAHAB IBN HASSAN Supervisor I hereby declare that the preparation and presentation of the thesis was supervised in accordance with the guidelines on supervision of thesis laid down by the University for Development Studies. Supervisor’s Signature:…………………………………… Date:………………………. Name: DR. HAMZA ADAM i www.udsspace.uds.edu.gh ABSTRACT Farmers in the Zabzugu/Tatale experience low yield of maize due to lack of adoption of improved maize varieties, a situation that threatens food security. The study aimed at investigating the factors that influence farmers’ adoption decisions of improved maize varieties in Zabzugu/Tatale area in the Northern Region of Ghana: a case study of Obatanpa. The analysis involved a cross-sectional survey with 240 randomly sampled household heads growing maize. Descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression were used to analyze the results. Extension effectiveness indicators ranked in 3-point likert scale (Very Effective, Effective, and Not Effective) were used to assess maize farmers’ perception of effectiveness of extension delivery. It was established that there was high level (58.8%) of adoption of Obatanpa in the study area. Results of the logistic regression analysis shows that sex, household size, membership of FBOs, farm size, farmers’ awareness of Obatanpa, access to credit and access to extension service had positive and significant relationship with adoption of Obatanpa. Only age, however, had inverse and significant relationship with adoption of Obatanpa. From the results of Extension Effectiveness Indicators, creation of awareness of agriculture extension agents, visiting farmers, organizing field meetings with farmers, and embarking on supervision by extension agents in the field were perceived by maize farmers as being effective and very effective. The study recommended that MoFA should mandate the formation of FBOs so that extension service expenditure could be minimized and farmers’ access to extension could be eased; MoFA, in collaboration with development partners, should establish and maintain an efficient seed distribution system in the study area to ensure timely availability of certified seeds at a subsidized price. The government need to facilitate farmers’ access to credit facilities at low or no interest to maize farmers. Methods of extension delivery regarded effective should be used to deliver extension messages. ii www.udsspace.uds.edu.gh ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I am grateful and remain humble to God Almighty whose guidance and support made the completion of this research possible. My special appreciation goes to my supervisor, Dr. Hamza Adam, for his time, endured patience and intellectual support right up from the commencement to completion of this research; I beseech the mercy of Almighty for him, his parents and his entire household. Prof. Amin Alhassan, the Dean of the Faculty of Agribusiness and Communication Sciences must also receive an honourable mention. I also acknowledge with gratitude the role played by lecturers, especially Dr. Obeng Francis, at the Department of Agricultural Extension and Rural Development for their immense contributions. I am also grateful to District Directors of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture of the study area and their supportive extension staff for their immeasurable assistance in supplying both primary and secondary data during data collection for this study. Also Mr. Aminu Osman who provided me with software and editing support throughout data analysis in this study must not be left out of this acknowledgement. iii www.udsspace.uds.edu.gh DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated to my wife, Hassana; to my sons, Yaseen and Zakir; and to my daughter, Mariam Katari; and to my brothers, Abdul-Razak and Abdul-Karim for their immense understanding, love, care and emotional support. iv www.udsspace.uds.edu.gh Table of Contents DECLARATION .....................................................................................................................................i ABSTRACT............................................................................................................................................ ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ..................................................................................................................... iii DEDICATION....................................................................................................................................... iv LIST OF TABLES................................................................................................................................ vii LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................................. viii LIST OF ACRONYMS ......................................................................................................................... ix CHAPTER ONE .....................................................................................................................................1 INTRODUCTION ..............................................................................................................................1 1.1Background....................................................................................................................................1 1.2. Problem Statement .......................................................................................................................9 1.3 Research Justification ..............................................................................................................10 1.4.0General Objective .....................................................................................................................12 1.4.1 Specific Research Objectives...................................................................................................12 1.5.0 General Research Question......................................................................................................12 1.5.1 Specific Research Questions.............................................................................................12 1.6. Hypothesis..................................................................................................................................13 1.7. Limitation.............................................................................................................................13 1.8. Organization...............................................................................................................................14 CHAPTER TWO ..................................................................................................................................15 LITERATURE REVIEW .................................................................................................................15 2.0 Introduction.................................................................................................................................15 2.1 Empirical Findings on Adoption of Improved Technologies......................................................15 2.2 Determinants of Farmers’ Adoption of Agricultural Technologies............................................19 2.3 Challenges Affecting Technology Adoption By Farmers...........................................................22 2.4 Factors Influencing Adoption of Improved Maize Varieties ......................................................25 2.5 Effectiveness of Agricultural Extension Delivery ......................................................................35 2.6 Extension-Farmer Linkage..........................................................................................................43 2.7.0 Recommended Agronomic Practices for Improved Maize Varieties...................................47 2.7.1 Certified Seed....................................................................................................................48 2.7.2Fertilizer Use.........................................................................................................................50 2.7.3 Crop Protection ....................................................................................................................51 2.7.4 Plant Density, Spacing and Row Planting.........................................................................52 v www.udsspace.uds.edu.gh 2.8 Theoretical framework on adoption............................................................................................54