AWARENESS OF COCOA FARMERS ON THE USE OF COCOA ARTIFICIAL POLLINATION

This study examined the awareness of cocoa farmers on the use of cocoa artificial pollination (CAP) in Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique was employed to select 110 respondents, and data were collected using structured questionnaires. Analytical tools included descriptive statistics, chi-square, Pearson correlation, and probit regression were used. Findings revealed that cocoa farming in the study area is dominated by men (86%), with an aging farmers population largely between 51–60 years, and average farm sizes of 5.84 hectares. Although most farmers depend heavily on cocoa for their livelihoods, awareness of CAP was extremely low: 86% of farmers reported being “not at all aware” of its techniques, and 82% were unaware of its potential benefits. Training, extension access, and exposure to CAP tools were also highly inadequate, with 86% of respondents never having received training. Constraints such as lack of knowledge (82%), insufficient training opportunities (80%), high labour requirements (78%), unavailability of tools (72%), and financial barriers (72%) were identified as severe limitations to adoption. Hypotheses testing indicated no statistically significant relationship between socio-economic characteristics (such as gender, education, income, or extension access) and awareness of artificial pollination (p > 0.05). Similarly, correlation analysis showed no significant association between awareness and household size, farm size, income, or years of experience. However, probit regression highlighted that education level (β = -1.664; p = 0.062) and farm size (β = -0.141; p = 0.066) were marginally significant predictors, though with unexpected negative relationships. These findings suggested that higher education and larger farm holdings did not necessarily increase CAP awareness, possibly due to limited practical involvement and the labour-intensive nature of the technology. The study concluded that despite the proven benefits of artificial pollination for yield and income improvement, awareness and adoption remain critically low among cocoa farmers in Ile-Ife. Addressing this gap requires intensive training, improved extension services, better access to tools and credit, and targeted policy support to enhance awareness and adoption of CAP in the region.