Farm-technology Information Acceptance by Farmers for Sustainable Rice Production in Nigeria

Abstract

The use of information is an indispensable factor in the practice of farming as information on newly introduced technology is needed for the overall development of agriculture. Consequently, the adoption of innovations and new technologies in Agriculture will not only have a central contribution to the achievement of food security and sustainability of rice production rather it will help to address the second Sustainable Development Goal of Zero hunger. This study, therefore, investigated farm-technology information acceptance by rice farmers in Ekiti State, Nigeria. The survey research design of correlative type was adopted using a multistage sampling procedure, stratification sampling was used to select eight hundred and seventy 870 rice farmers in Ekiti State. A questionnaire was used for data collection. The result shows that the major types of farm technology information accepted by rice farmers are leveller 600 (95.1%), planting machine 590(93.5%) and autopilot tractor 579(91.8%). The level of acceptance of farm technology and farm technology information among rice farmers was moderate (x = 2.28), and the level of awareness of farm technology and farm technology information among rice farmers was low (x = 2.53). Adequate workshops, training and awareness should be done by the government and other agricultural organizations for rice farmers to be aware of information on farm technology to achieve sustainable rice production.