Socio-economic determinants of production of pro-vitamin a cassava varieties by farmers in Etim Ekpo local government area, Akwa Ibom state, Nigeria

Abstract

This study assessed the socio-economic determinants of the production of Pro-vitamin A Cassava varieties by farmers in Etim Ekpo L.G.A., Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. One hundred and fifty-eight (158) respondents were selected through a multistage sampling procedure. Field data were elicited with the use of questionnaire randomly distributed to the respondents. Data were analyzed with frequency, percentage, mean and multiple regression. The results revealed that majority of the respondents were females (62.66%), married (68.99%) and 30-50 years (72.15%). Results also indicated that Income (T = 2.21), Age (T = 1.93) Farm size (T = 1.92) Marital status (T = 1.29) and Labour (T = 6.30) are the socio-economic variables that influenced the production of pro – vitamin A cassava varieties. Pro – vitamin A cassava varieties mostly planted by the farmers are TMS 01/1412 (94.34%), TMS 01/1368 (92.40%), TMS 01/ 1371 (68.35%), NR 03/0311 (58 – 23%) other varieties of Cassava (61.39%). It was recommended that essential rural development facilities should be provided for cassava farmers in the rural communities of Etim Ekpo L. G. A and Akwa Ibom State in general.

KEYWORDS: Socio-economic, production, Pro-vitamin A cassava, and varieties Etim Ekpo.