Factors influencing the adoption of improved cowpea varieties in the Sudan Savannas of Northern Nigeria

The study was undertaken to determine the level and factors influencing adoption of improved cowpea varieties introduced by the Sudan Savanna Taskforce project in Musawa Local Government Area of Katsina State. Data were collected from a random sample of 300 households from ten communities in the study area. The analytical tools used for data analysis include descriptive statistics to examine the level of adoption of improved cowpea varieties and Probit and Tobit regression models to identify factors that influence the adoption and intensity of use of the varieties respectively. Results from the analyzed data indicate that more farmers were aware of improved cowpea varieties by a magnitude of 40% and adoption improved by a magnitude of 35.7% adoption. In addition, households with formal education, extension contact, those who participated in the project activities, members of associations and cowpea growing experience are more likely to adopt improved cowpea varieties. Similarly, factors influencing the intensity of adoption were gender of farmers, extension contact, membership of association, participation in project activities and rearing of livestock. Finally, the study recommends that farm expansion and intensification of extension services would be an incentive to adoption decisions by small-scale farmers in the study area and extended to the less educated farmers. Furthermore, there is a need for special training, seminars, field demonstrations and technical support for the cowpea farmers. Key words: Adoption, factors, improved cowpea varieties, Sudan Savanna Taskforce.