Assessment of the Extent of Adoption of Sweetpotato Production Technology by Farmers in the Southeast Agro-Ecological Zone of Nigeria

Sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas (L) Lam) is one of the most important staple carbohydrate foods in Sub-Saharan Africa, reputed for its capacity to tolerate marginal environments and high energy-fixing efficiency to produce high dry matter at a short period of time. It arrived Nigeria between 1694 and 1698 and, through the research and extension efforts of National Root Crops Research Institute, Umudike, and other collaborating institutions, has been disseminated to farmers in Nigeria. Using the multistage sampling technique, and a structured interview schedule as instrument for data collection, this study assessed the extent of adoption of sweetpotato production technology by farmers in the Souteast agro-ecological zone of Nigeria. The findings showed 79.63% of the farmers were aware of the technology, while 20.37% were not. Majority of the farmers had adopted all the sweetpotato production practices except plant spacing. The constraints to increased adoption of the technology were scarcity of land, difficulty in integrating sweetpotato production technology into existing production system, low consumer preference associated with sweetpotato products, lack of market, unavailability of sweetpotato vines, high cost of available sweetpotato vines and unavailability of inorganic fertilizer. Others included high cost of available inorganic fertilizer, unavailability of agro-chemicals, high cost of available agr-chemicals, lack of contact with important sources of information on sweetpotato production, lack of adequate technical knowledge about recommended sweetpotato farm practices, and problems of pests and diseases. The study recommended the development of less complex technologies by research, increased use of contract out-growers to multiply planting materials and increased farmer-participation in farmers/social organizations.