CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

Maize (Zea mays L.) is one of the most widely grown and consumed cereals in Nigeria. It serves as a staple food, a source of livestock feed and an industrial raw material, and it is produced by millions of smallholder households across the guinea savanna belt of the country. Katsina State, in the north-west, is strongly agrarian, and the Funtua area is recognised as a major maize-producing zone where the crop contributes significantly to household food supply and cash income.

Despite the importance of maize, yields on smallholder farms remain below what improved technologies can deliver. Improved technologies include high-yielding and stress-tolerant varieties, recommended plant spacing and planting date, correct fertiliser application, weed and pest management, and appropriate harvesting and storage practices. Research has shown that the gap between what is technically possible and what farmers actually practise is often a problem of adoption rather than of technology availability (Baiyegunhi & Hassan, 2025).

Agricultural extension exists to close this gap by moving knowledge from research institutions to farmers. Among the extension methods available, the farmer field demonstration (FFD) is one of the most practical. In an FFD, an improved practice is shown side by side with the farmer’s usual practice on a plot in the community, so that farmers can observe germination, crop growth, pest incidence and yield for themselves. Field days at such plots allow neighbouring farmers to ask questions and compare results. The method rests on the principle that farmers are more willing to try a technology when they have seen it work under conditions similar to their own.

Empirical evidence from northern Nigeria supports the value of this approach. In a study of 643 maize farm households in Bauchi and Kano States, Baiyegunhi and Hassan (2025) reported that participation in farm trials and field-day demonstrations had a positive and significant effect on the adoption of some of the technologies promoted and on the intensity of adoption. Earlier work on Integrated Striga Management also linked past participation in on-farm trials and contact with extension agents to a higher likelihood of adoption (Hassan et al., 2016). In Funtua Agricultural Zone itself, Abdullahi et al. (2025) found that cooperative membership was the key determinant of maize farmers’ access to private extension services, which suggests that the channels through which farmers receive technical information are uneven even within one zone.

Tudun-Iya community in Funtua Local Government Area is a farming community where maize is a major crop. However, little documented evidence exists on how far participation in farmer field demonstrations has translated into the actual adoption of improved maize production technologies by farmers in the community. This study was therefore designed to fill that gap.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

Improved maize production technologies have been developed and promoted in Nigeria for several decades by research institutes, agricultural development programmes and development partners. Yet many smallholder farmers still rely on local seed, wide and irregular spacing, little or no fertiliser and traditional pest control, and consequently record low yields. Adoption studies in northern Nigeria consistently show that adoption is partial and uneven (Baiyegunhi & Hassan, 2025; Hassan et al., 2016).

Farmer field demonstrations are widely used by extension agencies to address this problem, but their contribution to adoption at community level is rarely measured. It is not clear whether farmers in Tudun-Iya who attend demonstrations adopt more improved practices than those who do not, which technologies they adopt, and what factors limit adoption even after exposure. Without this knowledge, extension organisations cannot judge whether demonstrations are worth the resources invested in them, and farmers continue to produce below potential.

This study therefore investigates the effect of farmer field demonstrations on the adoption of improved maize production technologies among farmers in Tudun-Iya community, Funtua LGA, Katsina State.

1.3 Objectives of the Study

The main objective of the study is to determine the effect of farmer field demonstrations on the adoption of improved maize production technologies among farmers in Tudun-Iya community, Funtua LGA, Katsina State. The specific objectives are to:

(1) describe the socio-economic characteristics of maize farmers in the study area;

(2) identify the improved maize production technologies demonstrated to farmers in the study area;

(3) determine the level of farmers’ participation in farmer field demonstrations;

(4) determine the extent of adoption of the improved maize production technologies by farmers in the study area;

(5) examine the effect of farmer field demonstrations on the adoption of improved maize production technologies

1.4 Research Questions

(1) What are the socio-economic characteristics of maize farmers in the study area?

(2) What improved maize production technologies have been demonstrated to farmers in the study area?

(3) What is the level of farmers’ participation in farmer field demonstrations?

(4) What is the extent of adoption of improved maize production technologies among the farmers?

(5) What is the effect of farmer field demonstrations on the adoption of these technologies?

1.5 Research Hypotheses

The following null hypotheses, stated in line with the objectives, will be tested at the 5% level of significance:

H01: Farmer field demonstrations have no significant effect on the adoption of improved maize production technologies among farmers in the study area.

H02: There is no significant relationship between the socio-economic characteristics of farmers (age, education, farm size, farming experience, extension contact) and their adoption of improved maize production technologies.

1.6 Significance of the Study

The findings of this study will be useful to several groups. Extension agents and the Katsina State Agricultural and Rural Development Authority will gain evidence on how effective field demonstrations are as a technology transfer method, and on where the method needs to be strengthened. Farmers will benefit from a clearer picture of which practices are worth adopting and what obstacles they share with their neighbours. Policy makers and development partners can use the results to design more cost-effective extension programmes for maize-growing communities. Finally, the study adds to the body of literature on extension methods and technology adoption in northern Nigeria and provides a reference for students and researchers in agricultural extension.

1.7 Scope of the Study

The study is limited to maize farmers in Tudun-Iya community, Funtua Local Government Area, Katsina State. It focuses on farmer field demonstrations as the independent variable and on the adoption of improved maize production technologies as the dependent variable. The technologies considered include improved seed varieties, spacing, fertiliser application, weed and pest management, and post-harvest handling. Other extension methods are considered only where they are needed to explain the results.

1.8 Limitations of the Study

As a case study of one community, the findings may not be generalisable to all maize farmers in Katsina State or northern Nigeria. Respondents may also find it difficult to recall past demonstrations and practices accurately, and some may be reluctant to give full information about income and farm size. Insecurity, distance, language and the farming calendar may limit access to some respondents. These limitations will be reduced through the use of trained enumerators fluent in Hausa, a structured questionnaire, and visits at times convenient to farmers.

1.9 Definition of Terms

(1) Farmer field demonstration: An extension method in which an improved practice is shown to farmers on a field plot in their own community, often alongside the farmer’s usual practice, so that they can see the results for themselves.

(2) Adoption: The decision by a farmer to accept and continue to use an improved practice or technology as the best course of action.

(3) Improved maize production technologies: Recommended practices and inputs for maize, such as improved seed, correct spacing, fertiliser use, and weed and pest control, that raise yield above what traditional practice achieves.

(4) Extension: An educational service that provides farmers with information, skills and advice to improve their production and livelihoods.

(5) Smallholder farmer: A farmer who cultivates a small area of land, using mainly family labour, and produces both for household consumption and for sale.

References

Abdullahi, K. A., Adeola, S. S., Aminu, L. A., & Abubakar, A. (2025). Determinants of access to private agricultural extension services among maize farmers in Funtua Agricultural Zone of Katsina State, Nigeria. Journal of Agricultural Extension, 29(3). https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/jae.v29i3.16

Baiyegunhi, L. J. S., & Hassan, M. B. (2025). Assessing the adoption of multiple Integrated Striga Management (ISM) technologies among smallholder maize farmers in rural Northern Nigeria. Heliyon, 11(4), e42774. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2025.e42774

Hassan, M. B., Baiyegunhi, L. J. S., Ortmann, G. F., & Abdoulaye, T. (2016). Adoption of Striga (Striga hermonthica) management technologies in northern Nigeria. Agrekon, 55(1–2). https://doi.org/10.1080/03031853.2016.1159587