Adoption Of Improved Maize Technologies And Maize Yield in The Kwahu Afram Plains North District

ABSTRACT

 The study focuses on improved maize technology adoption and maize yield in the Kwahu Afram Plains North District. Specifically, the study seeks to assess the maize farmers‟ awareness level on improved maize technologies and this was analyzed with simple descriptive statistics. The two-mean comparison test was used to analyze maize yield difference between non- adopters and adopters of improved maize technologies and constraints to improved maize technology adoption were identified and ranked with the Kendall‟s coefficient of concordance. The factors which influence improved maize technology adoption were determined by the use of logit model. In collecting primary data, structured questionnaires were administered to two hundred (200) maize farmers in the study area using a two-stage sampling approach. In the first stage, ten (10) maize producing communities were purposively selected based on their importance in terms of maize production. In the second stage, a list of fifty (50) member maize farmer groups in each of the ten (10) communities was made and twenty (20) farmers randomly selected using random numbers generated with Microsoft Excel. In addition, literature was reviewed and research scientists from Crop Research Institute (CRI) were interviewed to identify some of the improved maize technologies that have been developed and released to maize farmers in Ghana. In this study, four (4) different improved maize technologies were identified based on the type of improved maize variety and the associated agronomic practices used by the farmers. Three out these technologies; Obatanpa, Mamaba and Golden Crystal were released by the Government of Ghana through Ministry of Food and Agriculture and Panaar was released by a private agency. Only 0.05% of farmers were not aware of improved maize technologies and 79.5% of maize farmers were adopters. With a rate of adoption of 52%, Obatanpa variety and its agronomic practices was identified as the most widely adopted technology. Adoption rates for other varieties were 14% for Mamaba, 9% for Golden crystal and 5.5% for Panaar. The number of visits by Agricultural Extension Agents (AEAs) or extension contacts, educational level, maize farming experience, age of farmer, farm size, and farmers belonging to a farmers‟ group (FBO) were the factors found to have a positive and significant effect on improved maize technology adoption. The age of the farmer was the only factor that had a negative influence on improved maize technology adoption. However, the gender of the farmer, access to credit, family labour and other sources of income had no significant effect on improved maize technology adoption. The study concludes that statistically, there is a significant difference in maize yield of maize farmers who adopt and those who do not adopt improved maize technologies with adopters securing greater yields. It is recommended that maize farmers should be educated on the need to use improved maize technologies by intensifying campaign through regular farmer field days and visits by researchers and extension workers. Government should design strategic and sustainable input subsidy mechanisms to augment the constraint of high cost of production. Government and donor agencies should increase funding for technology dissemination and adoption projects. Maize farmers should encourage the formation of FBOs and be motivated to welcome ideas of extension agents to acquire more knowledge about improved maize technologies. Maize farmers should see farming as a business, commercialize their farms and adopt improved maize technologies for greater returns through higher crop yields.