The Influence of Farm Size, Educational Status and Income Level on Farmers’ Adoption of Maize Varieties in Kogi State, Nigeria

The study investigated the influence of farm size, educational status and income level on the adoption of Downy Mildew Resistant Variety of maize in Kogi State, Nigeria. A set of structured questionnaire were administered to 240 respondents randomly selected from eight communities in the sate. The sampled farmers were categorized into three groups according to farm size (less than 3.0 Ha, 3.0Ha-5.0Ha and above 5.0Ha), educational status (illiterates primary and College-Graduate) and income levels (less than N50,000, N50,000- N100,000 and above N100,000). A technique of dynamic programming was used to analyse the problem. The result shows that large scale farmers (above 5.0Ha), educated farmers (College-Graduate) and high income level farmer (above N100,000) have the highest influence on the use of Downy Mildew Resistant (DMR) variety of maize in the state. Finally, suggestions were proffered on ways to improve the use of DMR variety of maize in Kogi State.