Adoption of Yam Storage Techniques and Food Security Status of Rural Farmers in Enugu State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study examined the effect of yam storage techniques adoption on food security of rural farmers in Enugu State, Nigeria. Multistage random sampling technique was adopted in selecting 120 yam farmers in Enugu State. The results indicate that majority of the respondents (60.0%) were males with mean age of the farmers at 48.8. Almost all (91.3%) the respondents were married. The mean experience was approximately 19 years. Majority (98.3%) of the respondents in the study acquired one form of formal education or the other. More than half of them indicated that they belonged to one association or the other. Preponderance of the rural farmers (81.7%) encountered extension visits. The result shows that Yam barn was the major storage technique popularly known and adopted by most of the farmers in Enugu State. The study showed that majority of the rural households were food secure (60%) as they were able to meet the recommended calorie intake per capita per day. Correlation analysis (0.836**; P = 0.000 < 0.05) showed that an increase in level of adoption of yam storage techniques led to increase in food security. Furthermore “Ignorance of existence” (X ?= 4.10), “Do not understand how to use it (X= 4.02); High cost of methods (3.25) and Non–available of technology had a mean of (X ?=3.01). The study therefore recommended that yam storage techniques should be made available to the farmers in the study.