COMMERCIALISATION AMONG SMALLHOLDER MAIZE FARMERS IN FEDERAL CAPITAL TERRITORY, ABUJA, NIGERIA.

Abstract

Lack of marketable surplus is a major constraint to commercialization among smallholder farmers. Therefore, this study analyzed commercialization among smallholder maize farmers in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. Multistage sampling technique was used to sample 180 maize farmers across the territory. Descriptive statistics was used to describe the socio-economic characteristics of the respondents; while the Household Commercialization Index (HCI) was used to measure extent to which a household crop (maize) production is oriented towards the market. It also quantifies and estimates the factors that influence the level of commercialization using the multiple regression analysis. The results indicated that majority of maize farmers were in their active age with relatively large households. Most of the maize farmers were commercially oriented with commercialization index of 0.57. The regression result revealed that age of maize farmers, farm size and household size positively and significantly influenced the level of commercialization of maize. There is the need for capacity building of maize farmers on production techniques and effective marketing of their output. To increase commercialization of smallholder farmers, there is the need for them to form strong and viable cooperative groups so that they can have access to more fund for expanded production.