Socio Economic Determinants of Cassava Output in Abuja, Nigeria

The study was conducted to analyse the socio economic determinants of cassava output in Abuja, Nigeria. Multi stage sampling technique was employed to sample the 180 cassava farmers for the study. Primary data were collected using a well-structured questionnaire. The result of the socio economic characteristics of the farmers revealed that most of them were male and married, with an average household size of just over 6 people. The average age of the respondents was 45.3years while majority of them had at most an NCE/OND qualification. The average years of farming experience of the farmers was 16.6 with an average farm size of 1.21ha. From the result of the regression analysis, the R² value was 0.494 indicating that 49.4% of variation in cassava production was accounted for by the variables considered in the study. Specifically, household size, age, farming experience, educational qualification and extension visit significantly affected the output of cassava, therefore the null hypothesis was rejected for those variables. Meanwhile, the major challenges faced by the cassava farmers in the study area were “high cost of improved varieties for planting” and “scarcity of improved varieties for planting”. It was concluded that there is high productivity among the cassava farmers in the study area. Meanwhile, it was recommended that the government should ensure that the farmers have easy access to improved planting materials, while also ensuring that these materials are subsidized for the farmers.