Rice Genomics and Genetics 2015, Vol.6, No.7, 1-10
1
Research Report Open Access
Determinants of Awareness and Adoption of Improved Rice Varieties in North
Central, Nigeria
Oladeji O.O.
1
, Okoruwa V.O.
1
, Ojehomon V.E.T.
2
, Diagne A.
3
, Obasoro O. A.
1
1. Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Ibadan, Nigeria
2. National Cereals Research Institute, Nigeria
3. Africa Rice Centre, Cotonou, Benin
Corresponding author email:
Rice Genomics and Genetics, 2015, Vol.6, No.7 doi: 10.5376/rgg.2015.06.0007
Received: 03 Jul., 2015
Accepted: 19 Aug., 2015
Published: 27 Aug., 2015
Copyright
©
2015
Oladeji et al., This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted
use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Preferred citation for this article:
Oladeji O.O., Okoruwa V.O., Ojehomon V.E.T., Diagne A., and Obasoro O. A., 2015, Determinants of Awareness and Adoption of Improved Rice Varieties in
North Central, Nigeria, Rice Genomics and Genetics, Vol.6, No.7 1
-
10 (doi:
10.5376/rgg.2015.06.0007
)
Abstract
The Nigerian rice sector and WARDA has adopted several development initiatives in the past years towards increasing
development and production of improved rice varieties. However, the country has not been able to produce enough rice for her
teeming population and as such has to be bridged by rice imports. Therefore, factors influencing awareness and adoption of improved
rice varieties were examined. Data collected from the rice baseline field survey designed by AfricaRice from Nasarawa and Benue
states in 2013 was used. Multistage sampling technique was used to obtain a sample of 149 rice farmers. Probit regression and
heckman two-stage sample selection model was then used to analyze the data. Results revealed that 95.3% of the sampled households
were aware of improved rice varieties while 87.25% had grown at least one of the improved rice varieties at the time of visit. In the
awareness model, access to media was positive and statistically significant at 5%. Access to credit, access to media, farm size, gender,
household size and agricultural income significantly influence the probability and intensity of adoption in the study area. Credit
facilities should be provided at no collaterals with very low interest rates for adoption of improved rice varieties in the study area.
Keywords
Awareness; Adoption; Heckman; Improved rice varieties
Introduction
Rice has become an important economic crop and
the major staple food for millions of people in
Sub-Sahara Africa in general and Nigeria in particular
(WARDA, 2006). As a matter of fact, Africa has
become a big player in international rice markets,
accounting for 32% of global imports in 2006, at a
record level of 9 million tons that year (WARDA,
2008). Due to the growing importance of the crop
and the increasing challenges of attainment of food
security, it has been estimated that annual rice
production needs to increase from 586 million
metric tons in 2001 to meet the projected global
demand of about 756 million metric tons by 2030
(FAO, 2002).
In the West Africa sub region, Nigeria
has witnessed a well-established growing demand
for rice as propelled by rising per capita consumption
and consequently the insufficient domestic production
had to be complemented with enormous import both
in quantity and value at various times (Erenstein et
al., 2004; Daramola, 2005). Ogundele et al., (2004)
also noted that due to rapid population growth,
urban residents’ exposure to dietary patterns of
foreign cultures, urban lifestyles with preference for
foods which require less time to prepare and rising
household income of the urban population, the
demand for rice in Nigeria keeps increasing.
In Nigeria, the status of rice in the average diet has
been transformed from being a luxury food item that
it was at independence, in 1960 to that of a staple,
taking the place of cassava, yam among other staples,
as both the rich and the urban poor rely on it as a
major source of calories (WARDA, 2003-2004;
Daramola, 2005). Rice consumption has risen
tremendously since 1970 (+10.3 percent per annum),
a result of the accelerating population growth rate
(+2.8 percent per annum) and increased per capita
consumption (+7.3 percent per annum) leading to an
increase in domestic demand over domestic supply
(Akande, 2002; UNEP, 2005). In response to this,
the Nigerian government resorted to importation to
bridge the gap, with this shift in the Nigerian rice
