Assessment of farmers’ willingness to pay for demand-driven extension services in Niger State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study examined farmers’ willingness to pay for demand-driven extension services in Niger State, Nigeria. To achieve the study objectives, multi-stage sampling technique was used to select 377respondents for the study. Validated interview schedule was used to collect relevant data. Data collected were analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. Result of the study shows that the mean amount of the respondents’ willingness to pay for extension services per year was ₦14,991. Farm size, degree of commercialization of crop enterprise and farm income had significant positive effect on farmers’ willingness to pay for demand-driven extension services. Finding indicates that most (81.2%) of the respondents were willing to pay for demand-driven extension services in cash. In addition, the study reveals that majority of the respondents were willing to pay more for agricultural information on processing and storage technologies. Furthermore, Increase yield and income was indicated as the reason for willingness to pay for demand-driven extension services by most of the respondents. It was therefore recommended that since both farm size and degree of commercialization of crop enterprise influenced farmers’ willingness to pay, demand-driven extension service providers should target high value cash crops farmers more, who have large farms and are capable of spreading the service cost across a broader income base. Also, to take advantage of the existing demand, the service providers should package their services in a logical manner to adequately train farmers on post-harvest technologies to enable them produce farm products that will meet buyers’ preference for maximum profit