EFFECTS OF SOCIO-ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS OF FARMERS ON MAIZE PRODUCTION IN CHANCHAGA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF NIGER STATE

Abstract

T h e s t u d y e x a m i n e d t h e e f f e c t s o f t h e s o c i o e c o n o m i c f a c t o r s o f f a r m e r s o n m a i z e p r o d u c t i o n i n Chanchaga L.G.A of Niger State. Primary data were collected using interview schedule. A total of 100 respondents were randomly selected from five (5) villages and the data collected were analyzed using d e s c r i p t i v e a n d i n f e r e n t i a l s t a t i s t i c s ( M u lt i p l e R e g r e s s i o n ) . T h e r e s u lt r e v e a l e d t h a t m o s t o f t h e respondents were still young, all of which belong to the male gender with large family sizes but with low literacy levels they were mostly small scale farmers with a large number having less than one hectare of maize farm. The farm size, labour and fertilizer had significant positive effect on maize production but c a p i t a l i n p u t s h a d n e g a t i v e s i g n i f i c a n t e f f e c t o n m a i z e o u t p u t . T h e c o n s t r a i n t s f a c e d b y t h e f a r m e r s include; inadequate capital, problem of pest and diseases.