ASSESSMENT OF CASSAVA FARMERS PERCEPTION AND USE OF CLIMATE SMART AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES IN ANAMBRA STATE NIGERIA
This study examined cassava farmers’ use of Climate-Smart Agricultural Practices (CSAPs) in Anambra State, Nigeria. A multi-stage sampling technique was employed to select 200 cassava farmers, while descriptive statistics, Relevant importance index and regression analysis were used to analyse the data collected. The results revealed that cassava farming is predominantly carried out by married males within the active age bracket of 43 years, with an average farming experience of 14.5 years. Most farmers were literate and operated on a small-scale, part-time basis. Awareness of CSAPs was high, and CSAPs were strongly perceived as intercropping, application of manure, and crop rotation. The output of RII showed that the preferred use of CSAPs was skewed toward low-cost practices such as manure application (RII=0.916), Crop rotation (RII=0.899) and intercropping (RII=0.899), while resource-intensive practices like mulching, agro forestry and controlled flooding ranked lowest with RII=0.382, RII=0.222, and RII=0.219 respectively. Age and years of experience in cassava farming had negative effect on the number of CSAPs used, while the number of extension visits, household size, access to credit, and awareness positively determined the number of CSAPs used. Major constraints to utilization of CSAPs included inadequate finance, poor government support, high input and labor costs, and scarcity of farmland. The study concludes that cassava farmers are aware and positively disposed toward CSAPs, but socio-economic and institutional barriers hinder widespread adoption. It recommends improved access to credit, strengthened extension services, subsidized inputs, promotion of cooperatives, and training to enhance adoption of a wider range of CSAPs.
Keywords: Climate-smart, Agricultural practices, Cassava, Farmers, CSAPs, Utilization
