Propuesta de Intervención

Federal University of Oye Ekiti, Department of Crop Science and Horticulture, Oye Ekiti. Corresponding Author: [email protected]

where stakeholders in organic agriculture adopted the project name and discussed the way forward. To further strengthen the impact of various organic groups, the Nigerian Organic Agricultural Network (NOAN) was formed which was supported by the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movement (IFOAM). OAPTIN has successfully trained 23 agriculture graduates under the Work, Learn and Earn Project (WLEP), 4 senior agricultural development programme staff, 9 university teachers and practicing farmers in advanced courses on organic agriculture in collaboration with foreign partners. Organic agriculture movement is in its infancy in Nigeria, compared to other countries in Africa like Kenya, Uganda and Ghana where organic development started in the last 10-15 years. Organic farming could increase more farming jobs by more than 20%(Kutama et al, 2013). It can therefore be stated that in Nigeria, organic farming increases access to food on several levels. First, increased quantity of food produced per farm, leads to household food security. Second, the production and selling of food surpluses at local markets means farmers can benefit from higher incomes, which increases their purchasing power. Third, fresh organic produce becomes available to more people in the community. Finally, organic farming enables new and different groups in a community to get involved in agricultural production and trade where previously they were excluded for financial or cultural reason. Objective of the study is to determine the awareness of ecological organic agriculture among crop farmers in Edo State, Nigeria.

Methodology

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Edo State, Nigeria lies between longitude 6 4'E and 6 43' E and latitude 50 44' N and 7 34'N. Edo State has a tropical climate characterised by two distinct seasons: wet and dry seasons. The temperature ranges

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between 25 C to 28 C. The main crop grown in Edo State are rubber, oil palm, cocoa, yam, cassava, maize, rice plantain, sugar cane, cashew, groundnut, soya beans, tomatoes, cotton, and tobacco, fruit crops (pineapples, coconut, oranges, avocados) and vegetables. Purposive sampling technique was used to select five (5) local governments out of the eighteen (18) local government. These are Oredo, Ikpoba- Okha, Orhiomwon, Egor, Ovia South local government areas. Purposive sampling techniques were also used to select twenty respondents from three (3) communities each from the five (5) local governments making a total of three hundred (300) crop farmers for the study. Questionnaires was used to collect primary data from the respondents which were later subjected to statistical analysis using percentages. Results and Discussion

Majority of the respondents were within the age range of 21-30 years. This implied that most of the respondents are within the most active age to adopt new innovation which can improve the upcoming generation and will enhance sustainability. Most of the respondents had a household size of 3-5 persons. Most of the respondents were married. This implied that respondents were responsible individuals. The results indicated that majority farm manually and are well educated and this will drive them to want to get better in their farm work. The respondents had constraints such as low income, non-availability of labourers and land unavailability. The respondents do not make use of inorganic fertilizer in their farm. The respondents are aware of organic agriculture. The respondents were informed of organic agriculture through Seminars while other through internet and colleagues. Majority of the respondents are into organic vegetable farming. The correlation result on awareness of organic agriculture and socio- economic relationships showed that the relationship between sex and awareness of organic agriculture has a significant p-value of 0.015. Also, the correlation between marital status and awareness of organic has a significant p-value of 0.006. Finally, educational qualification and the awareness of organic agriculture showed a significant level of 0.002.

Table 1. Socio economic characteristics (N=282)

Age Frequency Percent (%)

Below 20yrs 36 12.8 Between 21-30yrs 103 36.5 31-40yrs 8 29.8 41-50 40 14.2 Above 50yrs 19 6.7 Total 282 100 Household Size Frequency Percent (%)

Less than 3persons 90 31.9

3-5persons 103 36.5

Above 5persons 89 31.6

Total 282 100

Marital Status Frequency Percent (%)

Single 114 40.4 Married 148 52.5 Divorced 4 1.4 Separated 5 1.8 Widowed 11 3.9 Total 282 100 Educational qualification Frequency Percent (%) No formal Education _{8 2.9} Primary Education _{15 5.3} Secondary Education _{44 5.6}

Post Secondary Education 180

63.8

Others 35 12.4

Table 2. Distribution of Respondents Based on Method of Farm Operation (N=282)

Method of farm operation Frequency Percent %

Manual 200 70.9

Semi mechanized 82 29

Total 282 100

Inorganic fertilizer used Frequency Percentage (%)

None 214 75.9

NPK 67 23.8

Phosphate 1 0.3

Total 282 100

Areas of Specialization Frequency Percent (%)

Vegetable farming 60 21.3

Arable crop farming 85 30.1

Livestock production 56 19.9

Cash crop production 37 13.1

Others 44 15.6

Total 282 100

Table 3. Distribution of Respondents Based on the Awareness of Organic Agriculture (N=282)

Awareness of organic agriculture Frequency Percentage

Yes 216 76.6

No 66 23.4

Total 282 100

Source of Awareness of organic

agriculture Frequency Percentage

Through a friend 47 16.7

Through seminar 117 41.5

Through Mass Media 45 16

Through others (Internet, Colleague) 73 25.9

Total 282 100

Challenges of using organic Agriculture Frequency Percent (%)

No Financial 217 77

No Land availability 34 12.1

Non-availability of labourers 13 4.6

Soil quality is affected 18 6.4

Total 282 100

Table 4. Perception of Respondent about Organic Agriculture (N=282) Statement (4) Strongly

Disagree

(3)

Disagree (2) Neutral (1) Strongly Agree MEAN (1) organic product

are farm product

without chemical 23 (8.2) 32 (11.3) 87(30.9) 140(49.6) 1.78 (2) organic food

contain more nutrients _{13 (4.6) 13 (4.6) 110(39.0) 146(51.8) 1.24} (3) organic farm is

good for the environment _{7 (2.5) 26 (9.2) 105(37.2) 144 (51.1) 1.77} (4) market demand

for organic food 14 (5.0) 18 (6.4) 110(39.0) 140 (49.6) 1.67

Table 5. Correlation Result of Awareness of Organic Agriculture and Socio – economic Characteristics (N=282)

Relationship R-value P-value Significance Decision

Sex Vs Awareness of Agriculture 0.148 0.015 S Accept H0

Marital Status Vs Awareness 0.167 0.006 S Accept H0

Educational qualification Vs Awareness 0.197 0.002 S Accept H0

H/size Vs Awareness 0.043 0.488 NS Reject H0

Significant @ 0.05 levels

Conclusion

The research showed that over 76 percent of the respondents were aware of ecological organic agriculture. Most farmers who are aware of organic fertilizer had financial constraints. In order to improve the awareness of ecological organic agriculture in Nigeria, there is need to include ecological organic agriculture education in our secondary school curriculum. Its inclusion in the universities should be boosted by research and government funding. On the level of rural farmers, extension services should be enhanced and equipped to inform farmers on ecological organic agriculture. Capacity building and training by government, research institutions, national and international organization for farmers should be encouraged. The recent endorsement of support for ecological organic agriculture by African Union and subsequent developing framework and strategies for organic farming should be implemented on states and local government levels and also backed up with favourable policies. In line with this, government should provide or encourage the production of organic inputs such as bio-fertilizer and bio- pesticides at subsidised rates and create certification agency that would promote certification of farms and marketing of organic foods internally and externally. There should be organised standard sales outlets for organic products to bring producers closer to potential buyers and consumers should be well informed on the health values of organic through advertisement and other means. Regulations and quality control measures should be developed and strictly followed to conform to international standards to attract foreign trade.

References

Abdullahi A. and Kutama A.S (2012): Revamping the Nigeria Agriculture Sector. An Indispensable Tool for National Development and Food Security. International Journal on Development Studies 5(4): 113-120.

Abdullahi, M. A., Umar S.,Binta, U. B. and Ahmedm M. K. (2013): Organic Farming in Nigeria: Problems and Future Prospect.

Ojeniyi, S. O: (2000): Effects of Goat Manure on Soil Nutrients and Okra Yield in Rainforest Area of Nigeria. Applied Tropical Agriculture, 5:20-23.

Introduction

Scientific research should be the main driving forces behind the endeavours to find solutions to the key problems facing society; to develop innovations, to ensure growth, productivity and competitiveness of agricultural enterprises. Agricultural research and technological development are and will continue to be prerequisites for increasing agricultural productivity and generating income for farmers and the rural work force as opined by Adeoye (2005). However, the broader benefits of organic farming and agro- ecology (in terms of enhancing food security, environmental sustainability, social inclusion and reducing exposure to toxic pesticides) often go unrecognised or are simply ignored due to lack of enough research evidences, technology development and dissemination of available technology (IFOAM, 2006).

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (2001) reported that technology adoption

is affected by the development, dissemination and application of research information at the farm level about existing and new biological, chemical and mechanical techniques, all of which are encompassed in farm capital and other inputs. It is also affected by education, training, advice and information which form the basis of farmers' knowledge and experiences. Oladele (2011) observed that adequate agricultural information about new innovations, which tends to help inform farmer's decision-making