ADOPTION OF IMPROVED AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES AMONG RURAL YOUTHS IN GIREI LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF ADAMAWA STATE
Abstract
ABSTRACT
The study examined the adoption of improved agricultural practices among rural youths in Girei Local Government Area of Adamawa State, Nigeria. Specifically, it assessed the level of awareness, extent of adoption, factors influencing adoption, and the challenges faced by youths in embracing improved practices. Primary data were collected through structured questionnaires administered to a randomly selected sample of respondents. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, frequency tables, percentages, and an ordered logit regression model to identify determinants of adoption. The findings revealed that 53.78% of the respondents were male most of them were between the ages of 28-37 years with an average age of 31 years. Majority (27.73%) were widowed, all the respondents had attended one form of education with 26$ of them having above 10 years of farming experience. The result also revealed that 48.7% of the youths have access to credit with major source from the bank; the finding indicated that the majority of rural youths 54.62% were aware of improved agricultural practices such as the use of improved seeds, fertilizer application, modern irrigation methods, and pest control techniques. However, the rate of adoption varied across practices, with inputs like fertilizer (98%) and pest control (93.75%) recording higher adoption compared to mechanized methods. The regression analysis indicated that factors such as age, education, access to extension services, farm size, and income significant (p≤0.05) and influenced the likelihood of adopting improved practices. Major constraints identified included high cost of inputs, inadequate access to credit, limited extension contact, and poor infrastructural facilities. The study concludes that while awareness of improved practices is relatively high among rural youths in Girei LGA, actual adoption is constrained by socio-economic and institutional factors. It is recommended that government and development agencies strengthen extension service delivery, improve access to affordable credit and inputs, and create enabling policies that will enhance youth participation in agriculture and ensure sustainable adoption of improved practices.
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