| Summary: | The needs to develop improved varieties of maize have been in the heart of various
researchers and institutions in Nigeria because of its strategic role in tackling food
insecurity and poverty. Despite substantial efforts to improve maize varieties, the level of
adoption of improved maize varieties (IMV) in Nigeria in still very low. Although previous
adoption studies have indicated a number of socioeconomic and institutional/organizational
variables as important factors influencing adoption of improved maize (crop) varieties in the
country, whether these factors are the main issues of concern, and whether the inclusion of
regional/agro-ecological variables in adoption model are also important in explaining what
could drive farmers’ adoption behaviour requires investigation. This study therefore
examined factors influencing adoption of IMV among farmers in Nigeria using a selected
portion of the Nigeria Living Standard Measurement Survey data collected by the National
Bureau of Statistics and the World Bank for 2010/2011 cropping season with descriptive
statistics and probit model as tools for data analysis. The results suggest, in line with some
previous studies, that farm size, education level of farmers and access to extension services
would significantly influence adoption of IMV. The results also indicate that farmers across
the entire agro-ecological regions of country share some negative sentiments regarding
adoption of IMV. Renewed emphasis on interventions that would enable farmers gain more
access to farmland, and promote formal education and extension service are advocated. An
attempt to incorporate variables that capture farmers’ perception/experience on agroclimatic/
ecologically related concerns in adoption study could aid better understand of what
drives farmers’ adoption decisions across the country especially in the light of the emerging
climate change issues and its implication on food production.
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