Capacity Building Needs of Farmers for Safe Agro-chemical Use/Application in Niger State, Nigeria

Abstract

In order to determine the capacity building needs of farmers for safe agro-chemical use in Niger State, the study examined awareness of safety measures for agrochemical usage, sources of awareness, practice of safety measures and training needs of farmers. One hundred and twenty farmers were randomly selected from three local government areas in the state. Validated interview schedule with reliability coefficient of 0.89 was used to collect data. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics and correlation analysis. All the respondents were aware of wearing of protective clothing and avoiding drinking/eating during spraying, safety measure such as avoiding off label use (7.50%) had low awareness level. The major sources of awareness were friend/relatives (55.00%). The most widely practised safety measure was avoiding ingesting or inhaling chemicals (91.67%), while the least practised safety measure was avoiding off label use (2.50%).Reasons given for not practicing some safety measures include heaviness of protective clothing (17.50%) and unreadable nature of instruction labels (14.17%). Major areas of training needs of the respondents were application (61.67%) and handling (52.50%) of agro-chemicals. A positive significant correlation existed between education (r = 0.461), farming experience (r = 0.337), farm income (r = 0.307) and practice of safety measures. It was therefore recommended that enlightenment campaign should be carried out in the State to raise awareness level for safe use of agro-chemicals in the agricultural transformation programme, while the characters of the instruction labels should be boldly written to facilitate reading and practice of safety measures.

Evaluation of Extension Services Delivery for Climate Change Adaptation by Crop Farmers in Niger State, Nigeria

“…The State lies between latitudes 8°22' and 11°30'North and longitudes 3°30' and 7°20'East. The State experiences distinct dry and wet seasons with annual rainfall ranging from 1600mm in the south to 1100 mm in the north with average monthly temperature range of about 23°C to 39°C [24]. Niger State has land mass of 92,800 kilometer square and having a population of 3,950,249 people whose majority tribes are Nupe, Gwari, Hausa and Kambari with about 85 percent of this population engaged in agriculture, mainly crop and livestock production (Niger State Government Diary, in Waziri et al [25,26]).…”

Farmers perceptions and adaptation strategies to rainfall variability in northwestern Katsina State, Nigeria

“…Generally, rainfall varies considerably according to months and seasons. There is cool dry (Hamattan) season from December to February, a hot dry season from March to May, a warm wet season from June to September, and a less marked season after rains during the months of October to November which is characterized by a decreasing rainfall and gradual lowering temperature (Umar, 2014).…”

“…For successful agricultural activity, which is the mainstay of the economy of the area, rainfall is one of the most critical climatic factor and, a strong direct correlation between rainfall and drought occurrence is deeply entrenched. The variability of climatic elements such as rainfall and temperature is an important factor in determining crop yields and food production (Umar, 2014). Rainfall and temperature determine seed germination and healthy plant growth that result in bumper harvests.…”

“…In the study area, the drift deposits are coarse, resulting in light sandy soils of reddish color with low to medium fertility. These soils are easily worked and well situated for crops such as millet and groundnut which are less demanding in their water and nutrient requirements than cotton, maize and guinea corn which are grown in the southern part of the state (Umar, 2014).…”

“…The vegetation is further characterized by sparse bushes, open grasslands and few natural forests that support the growth of a variety of trees and shrubs, some of which seeds and fruits are edible, the leaves serve as fodder, the fiber and trunks as firewood and many are of medicinal value (Umar, 2014). Some of the commonest farmland trees found in the study area are indicated in Table 1.…”