Abstract

This study was designed to ascertain the determinants of adoption of TME 419 cassava production practices among farmers in Cross River State, Nigeria. Both primary and secondary data was used for the study. A multistage sampling procedure was used to select175 respondents in four Local Government Areas and were interviewed using structured questionnaire. Data were collected on socioeconomic characteristics of farmers, benefits of producing TME 419 cassava variety and levels of adoption of TME 419 cassava production practices. Analysis of the study was done using percent, frequency, mean and regression analysis. The results revealed that 57.7% of the respondents were males, 48.0% were between the ages of 39-58years, 38.0% had secondary education, and 37.0%had 3-5years of farming experience. It was revealed that farmers had high yield (=0.99) as the best benefit derived from TME 419 cassava and there was high (61.1%) level of adoption of the production practices among the respondents. Result of regression analysis revealed that age (=0.112), household size (=-0.380), farming experience (=1.295) and farm size (=0.112) were determinants of adoption of TME 419 cassava production practices in the study area. Policies aimed at improving adoption of other cassava varieties should critically consider the roles of age, household size, farming experience and farm sizes for plausible outcomes.

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