Cocoa Farmers' Perception of the Effect of World Trade Organization's Standards on Production in Ondo State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study examined the perception of cocoa farmers of the effect of the standards of the World Trade Organisation on cocoa production in Ondo State, Nigeria. Simple random sampling technique was used to select farmers in the area covered by the project and primary data were collected through the use of a structured questionnaire on the objectives of the study. Descriptive statistics was used to analyze the socio-economic features of the farmers while the probit model was used to capture the perception of farmers of the standards of the World Trade Organisation. The result of the probit model shows that age (t = 3.49), land ownership (t = -4.14), knowledge of WTO (t = 3.61), coop as source of inputs (t = 1.96), open market as source of inputs (t = 2.99), input dealers as source of information (t = 4.72), friends as source of information (t = 2.59) and land acquisition methods (t = 1.88) are significantly related to the perception of farmers.

Keywords: Cocoa farmers' perception, World Trade Organisation, Nigeria.