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Assessment of Farmers’ Adoption of Improved Yam Seed Production Practices

Abstract

Yam is an important food and cash crop that contributes to food security, household income, employment, and rural livelihoods. The availability of healthy and quality planting materials is essential for achieving good crop establishment and improving yam productivity. However, poor seed production practices can result in low-quality planting materials, disease transmission, weak plant establishment, and reduced yields. The adoption of improved yam seed production practices can help farmers produce healthier planting materials and strengthen the productivity of yam farming. This study will assess farmers’ adoption of improved yam seed production practices. It will determine the level of adoption of recommended yam seed production practices among farmers and examine the extent to which farmers apply appropriate methods for producing healthy and quality planting materials. The study will also identify the major sources of information available to farmers and examine the challenges affecting their adoption of improved yam seed production practices. The study will focus on farmers’ adoption of practices such as selection of healthy planting materials, appropriate mini-sett preparation, use of suitable seed yam varieties, proper treatment of planting materials, nursery establishment, appropriate planting depth and spacing, soil preparation, moisture management, staking, weed control, pest and disease management, harvesting, sorting, grading, and proper storage of seed yams. It will also consider farmers’ access to agricultural extension services, training, demonstrations, improved planting materials, and technical information. A quantitative research approach will be adopted for the study. Data will be collected from yam farmers using structured questionnaires designed to assess their adoption of improved yam seed production practices. The data will be analysed using descriptive statistics, adoption-level assessment, correlation analysis, and regression analysis to determine patterns of adoption and factors associated with farmers’ use of recommended seed production practices. The study is expected to reveal varying levels of adoption of improved yam seed production practices among farmers. Farmers with better access to extension services, training, demonstrations, improved planting materials, and technical information may demonstrate greater adoption of recommended practices. The study may also identify challenges such as limited availability of quality planting materials, high production costs, inadequate technical knowledge, labour requirements, pest and disease problems, and insufficient access to extension support as factors affecting adoption. The study will be useful to yam farmers, agricultural extension agents, farmer organisations, agricultural development agencies, seed yam producers, policymakers, non-governmental organisations, and researchers. It may provide useful information for strengthening extension programmes and promoting improved yam seed production practices. The findings may also support efforts to improve the quality of planting materials, enhance crop establishment, reduce production losses, increase yam yields, and improve farmers’ income and food security. The study concludes that the adoption of improved yam seed production practices is important for ensuring the availability of quality planting materials and improving yam production. It is therefore recommended that agricultural extension agencies strengthen farmer training, practical demonstrations, and advisory services on improved seed yam production. Farmers should also be encouraged to adopt appropriate seed production practices and improve their access to quality planting materials, technical information, production inputs, and extension support.

Keywords: Farmers’ adoption, yam seed production, improved seed practices, yam farmers, planting materials, seed yam, agricultural extension, crop establishment, mini-sett production, seed quality, pest management, disease management, yam production, agricultural training, farm productivity.