Assessment of the Effects of Farm Technologies Input Adopted by Subsistence Farmers’ in Kogi State, Nigeria

Abstract

Modern Agricultural technologies (Agricultural Mechanization) application is a deliberate transition from traditional subsistence agriculture into a sustainably commercialized agricultural production. It involves the application of smart engineering technologies into the practice of all farm production processes, to eliminate drudgery, high cost of inputs and enhances timeliness with high field yields as a return on investments in the field of agriculture. Objectively, this research finding assessed and evaluated the implications for agro-production technologies employed by farmers within Ibaji Local Government Area (ILGA) of Kogi State, Nigeria. In assessing these impacts, the capacity of field yields using machines and manual powers by farmers’ operations were analyzed using the descriptive statistical model. The extent to which these technologies are applied by farmers for their various operations was studied as a determinant for their productivity output. From this research analysis, findings revealed that both human and mechanical power sources were variedly used among the male-dominated subsistence farmers within the area under survey. From results, poor mechanical power input of about 23.73% with a low Mechanization Index (MI) average of 0.9659 in the entire ILGA revealed the under-utilization of mechanical power. Hence the low technological farming techniques input undermined by high utilization of manual power for the majority of farming operations which resulted in farmers’ low production output in the area.