Factors influencing adoption of certified maize seed among Farmers: a case of saboti sub-county.

Abstract

The study examined the factors influencing the adoption of certified maize seeds among farmers in Saboti Sub-County, Kenya. The study aimed at addressing the missing link in the awareness and usage of certified maize seed among rural farmers in Saboti Sub- county .A simple random sampling technique and purposive sampling technique were used to get a sample size of 100 respondents with required characteristics among which 70 are ordinary farmers, 5 farmers leaders, 5 county officials, 7 agricultural extension officers, 3 area local chiefs and 10 are seed companies personnel from a population of 13,000. Schedules and questionnaire were the data collecting instruments was administered by the help of the research assistants and the researcher himself. Analysis of the data was done using descriptive statistics and statistical package for sciences and social sciences (SPSS) for processing and presentation of the data collected. The findings of descriptive analysis showed that the level of education, access to credit and the membership of the cooperative societies had positive influence on the adoption of the certified seeds. The common sources of information and seed supply as revealed by the study was extension education, seed companies and the supply was mainly down by the research institution and the seed companies present in the area. The constraints to the adoption of the certified seeds were high interest rates, fund misallocation, high input costs, some of the member’s not receiving extension education and distance in accessing the stockiest of the certified seeds. Therefore better policy measures to ensure timely supply of the seeds at affordable price, regulation of the inters rate of the loans given to the farmers, hiring of more extension officers and the need of getting formal education and better allocation of the resources was recommended.