UTILIZATION OF INDIGENOUS ARABLE CROP STORAGE AND PRESERVATION TECHNOLOGY IN NIGERIA

Farmers and their technology remain central to national food security and agricultural development in Nigeria. There is growing concern that the technologies used by farmers for storage and preservation of arable crops may constitute impediments to rural agricultural development. The study assessed farmers' utilization of indigenous storage and preservation technologies for arable crops with a view to expanding technology options. Multi-staged sampling procedure was used to obtain data from 240 practicing arable crop farmers. The results revealed that 15 technologies were utilised with variations between crops and gender. The constraints to technology utilisation and reasons for usage were also identified. Results of regression analysis revealed that years of formal education, years of farming experience and farm size significantly influenced technology utilization in arable crops in Nigeria. There was a low extent of utilization and most farmers were dissatisfied with indigenous technologies despite few available alternatives.