Adoption and impact of improved maize varieties on smallholder farmers’ farm productivity in the Surulere Local Government area of Oyo State, Nigeria

The empirical study examines maize farmers, the rate of adoption, and the level of productivity in the study area. The study is carried out in the Surulere Local Government Area in Ogbomosho Agricultural Zone. Primary data are obtained through interviews with maize farmers. The sampling technique employed is a multi-stage stratified random sampling technique, through which twenty farmers are selected per settlement, making a total of 200 farmers, with only 191 corresponding to the aim of the study. Data analysis comprises both descriptive and probit model analyses. The results indicate that 72.3% of the maize farmers are male, while 27.7% are female, and the majority (59.7%) are in their active age. Among the adopters of hybrid maize, males have a higher adoption rate of 84.03% compared to 15% among women. The probit regression analysis reveals that gender (-3.27) is significant at the 1% level, and the negative coefficient indicates that males are more inclined to adopt hybrid maize than female farmers. The size of tillable farmland (-2.41), source of seeds (-3.11), source of information about hybrid maize (5.70), and the distance from the source of seed acquisition (2.20) are factors influencing the adoption of hybrid maize and are statistically significant. It is therefore recommended that more efforts be made to sensitise farmers on the increased economic returns from adopting hybrid seeds. Where possible, smart subsidies should be introduced to address the issue of affordability of hybrid maize varieties. Keywords: adoption, farmers, hybrid, maize, productivity