The use of herbicide among maize farmers in Ido Local Government Area of Oyo State, Nigeria.

Abstract

This study assessed maize farmers’ use of herbicide in Ido Local Government area of Oyo state. Primary data were collected from 80 farmers with the aid of structured interview schedule using multi-stage sampling procedure. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The results revealed that majority of the maize farmers were males (66.3%), married (95.0%) and (60.0 %) have no formal education. The study shows that majority (88.8%) of the farmers use herbicides for farming. The chi-square results showed that age (p=0.009), secondary occupation (p=0.029) and farm size (p=0.000) were the selected socio-economic characteristics that associated with the use of herbicides in the study area. This study concluded that maize farmers made use of herbicide and lead to an increased maize yield in the study area. This study, therefore, recommends herbicides should be made available to maize farmers at the appropriate time to improve their production. Government should provide more support to farmers by subsidizing the cost of those herbicides in the study area.