Main Article Content
Effects of root and tuber expansion programme (rtep) on cassava nd yam farmers’ level of production in Oyo state, Nigeria
Abstract
The economic and social situation in Africa is a matter of great concern, the daily lives of the majority of Africans living mainly in rural areas is marked by hunger and diseases. A great proportion of its people are deprived of basic necessities, especially food, access to health facilities, education and safe water. In other words, increase in agricultural
production has always been a concern for both government and nongovernmental organizations in Nigeria .This is because of the rapid increase in population of the nation. Thus, many agricultural programmes and technologies have been developed by the federal government to improve the efficiency of the agricultural sector in production
harvesting, processing, storage and marketing in order to proffer solution to the problem of hunger and poverty in the nation.
Thus, this study examined the effect of Root and Tuber Expansion Programme (RTEP) on cassava and yam farmers’ level of production in Oyo state, as one of the participating states. Multistage sampling technique was used to select respondents from two participating zones in the study area for the study. Primary data were generated through the use of structured questionnaires /interview schedules. Questionnaires were
administered on 120 respondents out of which 100 were used and this gives a response rate of 83.3%.Secondary data were also collected from technical reports, and publications from the Federal headquarters, RTEP, Oyo State Agricultural Development Programme (OYSADEP), project coordinating unit (PCU) and other relevant establishments.
Descriptive statistics (frequencies and percentages) and inferential statistics (Chi square, Pearson Moment Correlationtest and Analysis of variance) were used. The study reveals that majority of the respondents had formal education which is a great advantage, for their adoption
and production. Majority (84 %) are married, 23.0 percent had farm size of 7.1-10hec which indicates that they have capacity for enlargement/increase. The Result also shows that majority (70%) have more than 15years of experience in farming and this will have influence on their indigenous practices in farming. The result of chi square analysis shows that there is significant relationship between attitude and level of production of cassava and yam farmers(X2 =8.251, p=0.000).The study also shows that there is a significant difference between the
constraints faced by farmers and level of production of cassava and yam farmers (t=1.261, p=0.009). The analysis of the relationship between income and level of production of the respondents showed that there is a
significant relationship, but it was an inverse type of relationship(r =-0.517, p= 0.000).The analysis of variance showed that there is significant difference in the level of production of cassava and yam farmers before and during the programme. This study has some implication for agricultural extension in the area of the number of extension personnel
available are no enough to cover the total number of farmers in the nation, and it also reveals the reason for high staff turn over in extension arm of ADP .This study has also helped in revealing the underlying problems in the implementation of agricultural programmes such as organizational principle ,political influence, lack of the beneficiaries input in the design and implementation. The result for the study showed that RTEP has contributed to the level of production of cassava and yam famers as well as their income level through processing and marketing of various value added product from cassava and yam which is also extending to other root and tuber crops. Nevertheless identified constraints to cassava and yam production ,processing, and marketing include labour, transportation, farm inputs, inadequate timely information to farmers, lack
of access to fertilizer ,storage capacity, lack of incentives to farmers and capital .It is therefore recommended that effectives extension system ,and a well coordinated agricultural development programme should be pursued to achieve greater agricultural production, increased household income and poverty reduction.
production has always been a concern for both government and nongovernmental organizations in Nigeria .This is because of the rapid increase in population of the nation. Thus, many agricultural programmes and technologies have been developed by the federal government to improve the efficiency of the agricultural sector in production
harvesting, processing, storage and marketing in order to proffer solution to the problem of hunger and poverty in the nation.
Thus, this study examined the effect of Root and Tuber Expansion Programme (RTEP) on cassava and yam farmers’ level of production in Oyo state, as one of the participating states. Multistage sampling technique was used to select respondents from two participating zones in the study area for the study. Primary data were generated through the use of structured questionnaires /interview schedules. Questionnaires were
administered on 120 respondents out of which 100 were used and this gives a response rate of 83.3%.Secondary data were also collected from technical reports, and publications from the Federal headquarters, RTEP, Oyo State Agricultural Development Programme (OYSADEP), project coordinating unit (PCU) and other relevant establishments.
Descriptive statistics (frequencies and percentages) and inferential statistics (Chi square, Pearson Moment Correlationtest and Analysis of variance) were used. The study reveals that majority of the respondents had formal education which is a great advantage, for their adoption
and production. Majority (84 %) are married, 23.0 percent had farm size of 7.1-10hec which indicates that they have capacity for enlargement/increase. The Result also shows that majority (70%) have more than 15years of experience in farming and this will have influence on their indigenous practices in farming. The result of chi square analysis shows that there is significant relationship between attitude and level of production of cassava and yam farmers(X2 =8.251, p=0.000).The study also shows that there is a significant difference between the
constraints faced by farmers and level of production of cassava and yam farmers (t=1.261, p=0.009). The analysis of the relationship between income and level of production of the respondents showed that there is a
significant relationship, but it was an inverse type of relationship(r =-0.517, p= 0.000).The analysis of variance showed that there is significant difference in the level of production of cassava and yam farmers before and during the programme. This study has some implication for agricultural extension in the area of the number of extension personnel
available are no enough to cover the total number of farmers in the nation, and it also reveals the reason for high staff turn over in extension arm of ADP .This study has also helped in revealing the underlying problems in the implementation of agricultural programmes such as organizational principle ,political influence, lack of the beneficiaries input in the design and implementation. The result for the study showed that RTEP has contributed to the level of production of cassava and yam famers as well as their income level through processing and marketing of various value added product from cassava and yam which is also extending to other root and tuber crops. Nevertheless identified constraints to cassava and yam production ,processing, and marketing include labour, transportation, farm inputs, inadequate timely information to farmers, lack
of access to fertilizer ,storage capacity, lack of incentives to farmers and capital .It is therefore recommended that effectives extension system ,and a well coordinated agricultural development programme should be pursued to achieve greater agricultural production, increased household income and poverty reduction.
