Essential Factors Associated with Growing of Improved Cassava Varieties as Food Security Crop in Oyo State, Nigeria

Abstract

Essential factors which influenced the growing of the improved cassava
varieties as food security crop were appraised in this study. Multistage
sampling procedure was employed. Purposive selections of two (2)
agricultural zones were carried out within Oyo State. At the second stage,
two (2) Local Government Areas within the two zones were randomly selected.
27% of the populations of registered full-time cassava farmers were randomly
selected for interview giving a total of 201 cassava farmers. Tobit regression
model was the analytical tool employed to isolate the critical factors. The
results show that the growing of improved cassava varieties as food security
crop among cassava farmers were averagely practiced and done. Eight groups
of factors were isolated with 55.60% contribution to growing of improved
cassava varieties. However, factors such as location of farmer, educational
status of the household head, annual income realized from cassava sold,
membership in a farmer based organization; favourable price and type of
labour used by household have significant positive effect, while farm size
and farming experience of the cassava house hold have significant negative
effect as factors associated with growing of improved cassava varieties. The
findings from this study suggests that there is urgent need for relevant
stakeholders in agriculture and government to consider the factors associated
with growing of improved cassava varieties by cassava farmers, if cassava tuber production will continue to leverage and promote our economy and
serve as beneficial crop in term of food security and safety