THE EFFECT OF ADOPTION OF CASSAVA VALUE ADDED TECHNOLOGIES ON FARMERS' PRODUCTION IN ABIA STATE, NIGERIA

The adoption of cassava value added technologies by farmers and non-farmers is expected to increase the demand for cassava with the concomitant increase in production to meet such demand. But whether this expectation has been met is unclear. The study was, therefore, conducted to determine the effect of adoption of cassava value added technologies on farmers’ output or production. The population of the study consisted all cassava farmers participating in the training programmes on cassava value added technologies in Abia State. The sample size of 144 farmers comprised farmers randomly selected through multistage random sampling technique. The data collected with the aid of a structured questionnaire was analyzed using descriptive statistics, such as mean, frequency. Correlation and regression analysis was the inferential statistic used to test the hypothesis. The results of data analyses showed that odourless fufu recorded the highest adoption level followed by tapioca, cassava cake, with cassava salad cream having the least adoption score. The relationship between adoption and production was positive (r=0.168). The coefficient of determination (R 2 ) of 0.028 with F-value of 4.146 was significant at 1% level. Hence, the null hypothesis, which stated that there is no significant relationship between adoption of cassava value added technologies and farmers’ level of production was rejected, while the alternative hypothesis was accepted. The study recommended among others, that organizers of the training programmes should create more awareness on cassava value added technologies and their attendant benefits to increase participation, and consequently the adoption of the technologies that recorded low adoption. This would not only increase production but also income and standard of living of the farmers.