Ajeh, O.O., Mbah, E.N. and Iornenge, G.M. 

Department of Agricultural Extension and Communication, Joseph Sarwuan Tarka University, Makurdi,  Nigeria

ARTICLE INFORMATION	ABSTRACT
Corresponding author:  E-mail: segunajeh@gmail.com  Keywords:  Dry season  Vegetable  Farming  Irrigation  Challenges   Food security  Received: 24.05.2023  Received in revised form: 06.06.2023  Accepted: 07.06.2023	The study was carried out to analyze dry-season vegetable production among farmers in Benue State, Nigeria. Data were collected through the use of a structured questionnaire from a sample of 182 respondents.  Frequency, percentage, mean score, standard deviation and factor analysis were used for data analysis. Findings indicated that 52.2% of the respondents were aged between 31 and 40 years, the majority (71.4%)  were female, married (78.6%) and 74.2% had a household size of 3-6  persons, among others. Results also revealed that the major reasons for  engaging in dry season vegetable production in the study area were improving food security and nutrition (M=2.93), income generation  (M=2.90), access to vegetables for household consumption (M=2.90),  eradicate extreme hunger and poverty (M=2.89) and employment generation (M=2.54). Findings further revealed that major perceived challenges of dry-season vegetable production in the study area were named infrastructural, input-related, and environmental factors based on the item loading for factors 1, 2, and 3 respectively. The study concluded that the respondents were engaged in dry-season vegetable production in order to increase household consumption and generate additional income for economic empowerment. It is recommended that creating an enabling environment for the business to thrive as well as provision of infrastructural and credit facilities will enhance the increase in production.

INTRODUCTION  

vegetables that can be grown and supplied to the urban areas (Ojo et al. 2010).  

Vegetables are important components of human diets  and can easily be cultivated on small areas of land.  Food and Agriculture Organization of the United  Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization  (WHO) recommended a daily vegetable intake of 200g  per person but the Nigerian national average is below  this value (Kintomo et al. 2014). This inadequate intake of fresh vegetables may further be worsened  during the dry season when moisture scarcity limits  the area under cultivation and the number of vegetables that can be grown and supplied to the urban areas (Ojo et al. 2010).  

Nigeria as a country is unable to meet its domestic  requirements for vegetables, fruits, floriculture, herbs  and spices. According to Food and Agriculture  Organization (FAO) (2010), Nigeria imported a total of  105,000 metric tonnes of tomato paste valued at 16  billion nairas to bridge the deficit gap between  demand and supply in the country from 2009 to 2010.  Kalu (2013) attributed these situations to socio economic constraints surrounding the key actors in the tomato value chain, institutional weakness and declining agricultural research.  

In Nigeria, there are two distinct seasons, the rainy  and the dry seasons. The rainy season is the normal  cropping season and this starts in April and ends in  October while the dry season starts in November and  ends in March. During the rainy season, production of  vegetables is high resulting in the saturation of the  market, but during the dry season there is usually a scarcity of this important farm produce thereby  leading to a high price due to short supply (Ibekwe et  al. 2010). Dry season vegetable production if practiced  with the required agricultural techniques have the  propensity of uplifting the financial condition of the  farmers and hence better their standard of living.  

The demand for vegetables also outstrips the supply;  causing scarcity of the commodity. Omeh (2012)  buttressed this fact when he opined that vegetable is  used in a variety of dishes, and it is widely consumed  raw as well. It is in high demand in Nigeria and sells for  reasonably good prices. If farmers have high yields in  their crops and the demand for such crops is high, this  consequently gives rise to high prices which eventually  accrue more income to the farmers.

Under the  analyzed condition, vegetable farmers in Benue State  should have no relationship with poverty, but the  poverty rate recorded in the State is as high as 74.1  percent (National Bureau of Statistics, 2012). Hence,  this study focused on the analysis of dry season  vegetable production among farmers in Benue State,  Nigeria in order to fill this existing knowledge gap. The  following research questions were pertinent to this  study: What are the socio-economic characteristics of  dry-season vegetable farmers in the study area? What  are the reasons for engaging in dry-season vegetable  production in the study area? What are the perceived  challenges of dry season vegetable production in the  study area? 

Specifically, the study sought to: 

i. Describe the socio-economic characteristics of dry-season vegetable farmers in the study area;

ii. Ascertain the reasons for engaging in dry season vegetable production in the study area; and

iii. Identify the perceived challenges of dry season vegetable production in the study area. 

METHODOLOGY 

The study was carried out in Benue State, Nigeria.  Benue State is one of the 36 States located in the  North-Central part of Nigeria. The State has 23 Local  Government Areas that are grouped into 3 agricultural  zones, namely; the Northern zone, the Eastern zone  and the Central zone. It has its headquarters in  Makurdi. Benue State derives its name from the river  Benue, the second largest river in Nigeria after the  Niger. The state was created out of the Benue Plateau  State in 1976. Benue State has a population of  4,219,244 people (Nigeria Population Commission,  2006) and a total land mass of 34,095km2.

It is located  between longitude 80E and 100E and latitude 6030N  and 8o8N (Benue State Agricultural and Rural  Development Authority (BNARDA), 1998). The state  shares boundaries with Cross River and Ebonyi States  to the south, Enugu State to the south-west, Kogi State  to the west, Taraba State and Nasarawa State to the  East and North, respectively. It shares an international  boundary with the Republic of Cameroon to the South  East (BNARDA, 1998). 

The population for this study consists of all dry season  vegetable farmers in Benue State, Nigeria. However,  since it was impractical to study the entire population,  a sample size of the population was taken for the  study. In the first stage, the population of the study  was stratified into three agricultural Zones, namely;  Zones A, B and C. In stage two, six Local Government  Areas where vegetables were predominantly  produced were purposively selected from each of the  three agricultural zones.  

In the first stage, the population of the study was  stratified into three agricultural Zones, namely; Zones  A, B and C. In stage two, six Local Government Areas  where vegetables were predominantly produced were  purposively selected from each of the three  agricultural zones.

The LGAs were Logo and Kastina Ala from Zone A, Makurdi and Tarka from Zone B and  Otukpo and Ohimini from Zone C. In the third stage,  two rural communities were purposively selected  from each of the LGAs based on the level of  involvement in dry-season vegetable production.

The  rural communities were Wende and Aganyi in Logo  LGA, Abaji and Ayua from Kastina-Ala LGA, Nyongu  and Northbank in Markudi LGA, Mbakyaa and  Gwarche in Tarka LGA, Anmeji and Ehatokpe in  Ohimini LGA and Asa1 and Upu in Otukpo LGA.

Finally, a sampling frame was developed for each of  the rural communities, and using the proportional  allocation of 20% (0.2), a total sample size of 182  respondents was selected. 

Data were collected using a questionnaire. Frequency,  percentage, mean score, standard deviation, and  factor analysis were used to analyze data collected for  the study. 

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 

Socio-economic Characteristics of the Respondents Age (years) 

Table 1 shows that most (52.2%) of the respondents  were within the age bracket of 31–40 years, 31.9%  were within the age bracket of 41–50 years, 10.4%  were aged between 21 and 30 years, while 4.1% were  aged 51 years and above. The mean age of the  respondents was 38 years. This implies that most of  the farmers were within the productive age and have  the physical strength to cope with the rigor of dry season vegetable production. This result is similar to  the findings obtained by Oladimeji and Abdulsalam  (2012) who reported that dry-season farmers in their  study area had a mean age of 38 years. 

Sex 

The majority (71.4%) of the respondents were female,  while 28.6% were male (Table 1). This implies that  women were more involved in dry-season vegetable  production in the study area than their male  counterparts. This result however disagrees with the  findings of Dam (2012) who reported that in Benue  State, dry-season vegetable farming is mostly  dominated by men. 

Marital Status 

About 79% of the respondents were married, 9.9% of  the respondents were single, 3.3% are divorced, and  8.2% were widowed (Table 1). This implies that a very  large proportion of the farmers were married. This  finding agrees with Adesope et al. (2014) who  reported that most vegetable farmers in their study  area were married. 

Household size (numbers) 

Results in Table 1 show that the majority (74.2%) of  the dry season vegetable farmers had household sizes  of between 3 and 6 persons, 23.1% had household size  of 7-10 persons, while 1.6% had household size of  more than 10 persons. The mean household size was  about 6 persons. This implies that family labour was  readily available for dry-season vegetable production  in the study area. The significance of household size in  agriculture hinges on the fact that the availability of  labour for farm production, the total area cultivated  for different crop enterprises, the amount of farm  produce retained for domestic consumption, and the  marketable surplus are all determined by the size of  the farm household (Amaza et al. 2009). 

Level of education 

About 38% of the respondents in the study area had  primary education, 31.3% had secondary education,  7.7% had tertiary education, and 23.1% of the  respondents had non-formal education (Table 1). This  is an indication that the farmers in the study area were  to some extent educated and literate. This  characteristic may have enabled them to make  production management decisions that enhance dry  season vegetable production in the area. Ogundari  (2006) noted that education is needed to enhance  productivity among farming households in Nigeria.  The educational level of farmers is very important in  farm management because a high literacy level of the  respondents would afford them the opportunity to  understand and adopt modern farm practices,  thereby enhancing productivity and profitability. 

Annual income (Naira) 

Results in Table 1 show that about 57% of the  respondents obtained between ₦50, 000.00 and  ₦100, 000 annually, 29.7% had between ₦100, 001  and ₦150, 000, while 11.5% had ₦150, 001 – ₦200,  000. It shows that the respondents obtained low  income from dry season vegetable production. This  finding agrees with Ajani and Igbokwe (2014) who  opined that small-scale farmers do not earn much from their farms. 

Farm size (hectares) 

Findings in Table 1 show that most (65.9%) of the  respondents had a farm size of ≤ 1 ha, 28.6% had a  farm size of 1.1–2ha, while only 5.5% had a farm size  of 3 ha and above. The mean farm size was 1.40  hectares. This implies that the majority of the respondents were small-scale farmers who practice  on a subsistence level. This is consistent with the  findings by Dam (2012) who reported that vegetable farmers had farm sizes that were generally small and  often less than a hectare. 

Table 1: Distribution of socio-economic characteristics of the respondents (n=182)

Socio-economic characteristics	Frequency	Percentage (%)	Mean Score
Age (years)
≤20	1	0.5	38.04
21-30	19	10.4
31-40	95	52.2
41-50	58	31.9
>50	9	4.9
Sex
Male	52	28.6
Female	130	71.4
Marital status
Married	143	78.6
Single	18	9.9
Divorced	6	3.3
Widow/widower	15	8.2
Household size (numbers)
<3	2	1.1	5.96
3-6	135	74.2
7-10	42	23.1
>10	3	1.6
Level of education
Tertiary	14	7.7
Secondary	54	31.3
Primary	69	37.9
Non-formal education	42	23.1
Annual income (Naira)
≤50,000	2	1.1	162747.25
50,001-100,000	103	56.6
100,001-150,000	54	29.7
150,001-200,000	21	11.5
>200,000	2	1.1
Farm size (hectares)
<1	120	65.9	1.40
1-3	52	28.6
>3	10	5.5
Farming experience (years)
≤5	16	8.8	6.80
6-10	137	75.3
11-15	26	14.3
>15	3	1.6
Major occupation
Artisan	30	16.5
Farming	120	65.9

Civil service	12	6.6
Petty trading	20	11.0
Extension contact
No	171	94.0
Yes	11	6.0
Membership in a formal organization
Yes	27	14.8
No	155	85.2
Type of formal organization
None	155	85.2
Cooperative society	12	6.6
Farmer’s association	9	4.9
Fadama User group	6	3.3
Access to credit facilities
Yes	39	21.4
No	143	7 8.6

Reasons for engaging in dry season vegetable production 

Farming experience (years) 

The majority (75.3%) of the respondents had farming experience of between 6 and 10 years, 14.3% of them had farming experience of 10-15 years, while 8.8% of them had farming experience of ≤ 5 years (Table 1).  This shows that dry-season vegetable farmers in the study area were relatively experienced. Farming experience plays a significant role in agricultural production. It is expected that the higher the farmers’  experience in farming, the better the production capacity of the farmers (Adeyemo et al. 2010). 

Level of education 

About 38% of the respondents in the study area had  primary education, 31.3% had secondary education,  7.7% had tertiary education and 23.1% of the  respondents had non-formal education (Table 1). This  is an indication that the farmers in the study area were  to an extent educated and literate.

This characteristic  may have enabled them to make production  management decisions that enhance dry season  vegetable production in the area. According to Gama  (2013), the level of awareness and adoption of  agricultural innovations are affected by the literacy  status of farmers. Those who are literate are expected  to be more innovative because of their ability to get  information quickly and ability to take risks. Ogundari  (2006) noted that education is needed to enhance  productivity among farming households in Nigeria. 

The educational level of farmers is very important in  farm management because a high literacy level of the respondents would afford them the opportunity to understand and adopt modern farm practices,  thereby enhancing productivity and profitability. 

Extension contact 

Table 1 further showed that the majority (94%) of the  respondents did not have contact with extension  agents in the last one year, while 6% had extension  contact. This implies that there was poor interaction  between farmers and extension agents on dry season  vegetable production, which may likely result in  inefficiency in production. Increased extension  contacts can lead to more knowledge on improved dry  season vegetable production technologies thereby  increasing productivity and profitability.

Umar et al.  (2009) argued that increased extension contacts  would increase the adoption of improved farm  production technologies. They further argued that the  frequency of extension contact is very essential as it  guides the farmers from awareness to the adoption  stage of innovation.  

Findings in Table 2 show reasons for engaging in dry  season vegetable production in the study area which  include improving food security and nutrition  (M=2.93), income generation (M=2.90), access to  varieties of vegetables for household consumption  (M=2.90), eradicating extreme hunger and poverty  (M=2.89) and employment generation (M=2.54). All  the standard deviations are less than one.

This shows that there is uniformity in the responses of the respondents. This also implies that there are various reasons why respondents engage in dry-season vegetable production in the study area which could be attributed to the overriding importance of vegetables.  This is consistent with the findings by Ali et al. (2002)  who opined that vegetables generate more jobs per hectare, on-farm, and off-farm, than staple-based agricultural enterprises. 

Table 2: Mean score of reasons for engaging in dry season vegetable production 

Reasons	Mean Score	Standard deviation
Income generation	2.90	0.89
Employment generation	2.54	0.86
Consolidate land ownership	1.84	0.84
Utilize opportunity created by nearby markets	2.24	0.93
Utilize available land areas	2.34	0.92
Produce raw materials	1.64	0.74
Beautify the surroundings	1.43	0.54
Access to varieties of vegetable for household consumption	2.89	0.85
Eradicating extreme hunger and poverty	2.90	0.82
For healthy consumption	1.74	0.78
Medicinal purposes	1.77	0.77
Improving food security and nutrition	2.93	0.84

Perceived challenges of dry season vegetable  production 

Table 3 shows the outcome of factor loadings from  principal component analysis after varimax rotation of  the perceived challenges of dry season vegetable  production in the study area. These constraints were  listed according to the proportion of variance  associated with them and were classified under three  major factors, namely; infrastructural, input related  and environmental factors. 

Factor 1 (infrastructural factors): Infrastructural  factors were inadequate irrigable land and water  (0.888), high cost of irrigation equipment (0.845),  inadequate credit facilities (0.838), pests and diseases  problem (0.763), polluted water (0.762), inadequate  farm inputs (0.705), high cost of transportation  (0.697), high cost of hired labour (0.639) and  inadequate market (0.542). This is consistent with the  findings of Nnadi et al. (2012) who opined that the  greatest limitation of the smallholder farmers is  capital. Access to agricultural credit has been  positively linked to agricultural productivity in several  studies. Yet, this vital input has eluded smallholder  farmers in Nigeria. 

Factor 2 (input-related factors): Variables that loaded  under input-related factors were lack of capital  (0.923), high cost of fertilizer (0.923), poor visits by  extension agents (0.796), high cost of agrochemicals  (0.788), low access to credit facilities (0.692), land  tenure insecurity (0.545), poor quality harvest (0.612),  An important institutional constraint is the absence of  a clear title to land. Group ownership of land in Nigeria  has been associated with such problems as limited  tenure security, restrictions on farmers’ mobility, and  the inevitable fragmentation of holdings among  future heirs (International Food Policy Research  Institute, 2005). 

Variables that loaded under factor 3 (environmental  factors) include post-harvest losses (0.854), poor  storage and preservation facilities (0.846), inadequate  information on new technologies (0.666) and natural  disasters such as drought (0.575). These constraints  altogether pose a great threat to dry season vegetable  production in the study area. This is in line with  Ebewore and Achoja (2013) who posited that a major  challenge faced by the majority of the vegetable  farmers was poor storage and preservation.

Table 3: Factor analysis of perceived challenges of dry season vegetable production 

Challenges	Components
	Factor 1	Factor 2	Factor 3
Inadequate irrigable land and water	0.888	0.200	0.238
High cost of irrigation equipment	0.845	0.307	0.292
Inadequate credit facilities	0.838	0.256	0.261
Pests and diseases problem	0.763	0.215	0.221
Polluted water	0.762	0.306	0.314
Inadequate farm inputs	0.705	0.298	0.023
High cost of transportation	0.697	0.362	0.239
High cost of hired labour	0.639	0.061	0.201
Inadequate market	0.589	0.076	-0.066
Lack of capital	0.273	0.923	0.082
High cost of fertilizer	0.233	0.796	0.219
Poor visits by extension agents	0.191	0.788	0.210
High cost of agrochemicals	0.321	0.692	0.217
Low access to credit facilities	0.264	0.569	0.292
Land tenure insecurity	0.205	0.545	0.329
Post-harvest losses	0.140	0.236	0.854
Poor storage and preservation facilities	0.045	0.236	0.846
Inadequate information on new technologies	0.201	-0.202	0.666
Natural disasters such as drought	0.477	0.405	0.575

Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis  

Rotation Method: Varimax with Kaiser Normalization  

Factor 1: Infrastructural Factors  

Factor 2: Input-Related Factors 

Factor 3: Environmental Factors 

Conclusion and Recommendations 

The study concluded that majority of the respondents  were middle-aged, female, married, literate and have  small household size. The respondents indicated that  reasons for engaging in dry-season vegetable  production were to increase household consumption  and generate additional income for economic  empowerment. It is recommended that creating an  enabling environment for the business to thrive as  well as provision of infrastructural and credit facilities  will enhance increase in production. The study further  recommends the need for the respondents to join  cooperative society in order to have easy access to  credit facilities that will enhance productivity. 

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