SMALL SCALE OIL PALM FARMERS’ PREFERENCE FOR TRAINING IN SOUTH WEST, NIGERIA

Abstract

The study assessed small-scale oil palm farmers’ farm situations and their preferences for training in South Western Nigeria. Both purposive and random selection techniques were used in selecting the 331 respondents for the study. Data were collected with a structured questionnaire and  analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. Findings showed that oil palm production was male-dominated (93.6%) with a mean age of 53 years; married (93.6%) and possessed an average farm size of 3.1 hectare. Acquisition of farm lands was mainly through inheritance (47.9%) and self-acquisition through purchases (44.4%). The plantations are located at a range of 100 metres and 55 kilometres away from farmers’ home. Farmer workshop (? = 2.3; s = 1.46), field training with extension agents (? = 2.8; s = 1.78), and proficiency courses (? = 3.2; s = 1.77), respectively were most preferred types of training on oil palm production. Similarly, farmers (84.9%) preferred trainings conducted in the morning hours, Mondays to Wednesdays of the week (59.8%) and January to April of the year (54.7%). Level of education (χ² = 17.18; p < 0.05), farm size (χ² = 12.79; p < 0.05), type of oil palm plantation (χ² = 27.20; p < 0.05) and age of plantation (χ² = 29.79; p < 0.05) have significant association with respondents preferences for training situation. There was no significant difference between respondents’ preferences for training across the sampled states. It was recommended that adequate training needs and situation analyses should be carried out before organizing training for farmers.