Published in Scientific Papers. Series "Management, Economic Engineering in Agriculture and rural development", Vol. 20 ISSUE 3
Written by Blessing Ogheneyoma EMEDE, Oluwatosin Oluwasegun FASINA
One of the current challenges facing Nigeria is food insecurity. At the moment, Nigeria occupies 96th position in the Global Food Security Index Ranking (GFSIR). One striking feature of Nigerian agriculture is unpopularity of GMCs in the fight against food insecurity. However, scientists’ knowledge of these GMCs is unknown in Nigeria, thus, making it difficult to ascertain farmers’ readiness to adopt. This study therefore ascertained Agricultural Scientists’ knowledge level in GMCs with a view to ascertaining their capability in disseminating GMCs to farmers in order to alleviate food insecurity challenge in Nigeria. Simple random sampling technique was used to select 240 Scientists from Universities, Research institutions and Extension Experts from ADP/Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources across the 6 geo-political zones in Nigeria with the use of structured questionnaire. Data were analyzed with use of F-test and described with frequency and percentage and Equal Interval Approach. It was observed that 59.2% of the Scientists had high knowledge of GMCs. However, there was a significant difference in the scientists’ knowledge of GMCs across agricultural zones with the F-value of 15.2; p≤ 0.05. Further results of Duncan Range test revealed that North central zone (Mean = 154) zone had the highest knowledge compared to other zones. The high knowledge of GMCs recorded among scientists therefore, becomes an entry point in using GMCs to fight food insecurity challenge in Nigeria. Thus, farmer’s readiness to adopt GMCs and cultural practices associated with their cultivation are highly depended on advice and recommendations from the Agricultural scientists in Nigeria.
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