Factors Affecting Intention to Adopt Urban Farming among Households in Niger State, Nigeria

Abstract

The aim of this research is to access the factors affecting intention to adopt urban farming among household in zone 2 of Niger state, Nigeria. Multi-stage sampling technique was used to select 104 farming households as respondents for the study. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics such as mean, percentage, frequency distribution and inferential statistics such as ordered logit regression. The result in this research indicates that majority of the respondent are still in their youthful years (30 to 40) and most of them are male. Majority of them have been practicing urban farming for not more than 10years, 80% of them have at least a secondary education. Their major occupation is farming and 74% of the respondents are married. The types of urban farming indicated by the farming households were poultry production (96.2%) and crop production (90.0%) which are also the most adopted urban farming practices in the study area respectively. The result of the ordered logit regression shows that the prob>chi2 is significant at 1% level of probability indicating a relatively good fit for the ordered logit regression model. However, age, level of education, farming experience, cooperative society, credit received, and farm size were the significant factors affecting intention to adopt urban farming practices in the study area. Inadequate land, low access to credit and high cost of medication were the predominant constraints associated with adoption of urban farming practices among the farming households in the study area. The study recommended that government should develop financial products and services tailored to urban farmers, such as microloans or grants. Establish partnerships with financial institutions to provide affordable credit options and financial literacy programs for farmers.