Evaluation of Farmers’ Participation in Farming Systems Research in Cross River State, Nigeria

Abstract

Farming Systems Research and Extension (FSRE) has been acknowledged as a veritable approach to technology generation, adapting such technologies to farmers’ social, economic and physical environments, taking into consideration their production constraints. The study was, therefore, conducted to find out the extent of participation of farmers in Farming Systems Research and Extension activities, with particular reference to OFAR (On-Farm Adaptive Research). In conducting the study, 180 farmers participating in extension programmed in the state were randomly selected using the multi-stage random sampling technique. The data collected through a structured questionnaire were analyzed using the  t-test of significance of difference between sample and population mean. The study found that farmers were unanimous that they participated effectively in OFAR as the study found no significant difference between population and sample means. Hence, the null hypothesis that no significant difference existed between the sample and population means regarding farmers’ participation in OFAR was accepted, while the alternative hypothesis rejected at 0.05 (p ≤ 0.05) level of significance and 179 degrees of freedom.