Factors Constraining Farmers Use of Improved Cowpea Technologies in Bauchi and Gombe States of Nigeria

Abstract

This paper investigated major factors constraining the use of improved cowpea technologies among farmers in Bauchi and Gombe states of Nigeria. A structured interview schedule was used to collect data from a randomly selected sample of 130 farmers. Data were factor analyzed using the principal factor model with iteration and varimax rotation. The results show that land and labour problems, marketing problems, poor technical information, cultural incompatibility, high cost of farm inputs and unavailability of necessary inputs were the major factors constraining the use of improved cowpea technologies in the area. These findings suggest that there is an urgent need for researchers, policy makers and administrators of extension service to consider these factors seriously, if increased cowpea production is to be achieved by farmers in the area.
Keywords: Cowpea, technologies, Bauchi, Gombe