Assessment of Maize Farmers' Knowledge and Level of Adoption of Improved Practices as well as Yield of Maize under Research- Extension-Farmers-Input-Linkage-System in Nigeria

Abstract

The study assessed maize farmers' knowledge, adoption of improved practices and yield under Research- Extension-Farmers-Input-Linkage System (REFILS) in Nigeria. Multi-stage random sampling technique was used to select 198 maize farmers from 3 agricultural zones (Northwest, Northcentral and Southwest) in Nigeria. Data were collected using structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics (frequencies, percentages and mean) were used to analyse the data, while inferential statistic (ANOVA) was used to test the hypotheses. Results showed that majority (67.7%) of the respondents were male, married (95.5%) and had more than 10years of farming experience (72.7%). Farmers' knowledge and adoption of improved practices were high across the zones while the lowest yield was recorded in Southwest. There was no significant difference in maize farmers' knowledge of improved practices across the zones (F=1.291, p=0.27), while a significant difference existed in the level of maize production across the zones (F=28.059, p=0.000). The study concluded that REFILS has gone a long way in enhancing the capacity of farmers and therefore, concerted efforts should be made to improve the activities of REFILS in Nigeria.