What impact does the adoption of drought-tolerant maize for Africa have on the yield and poverty status of farmers in the arid region of Nigeria?

• Main Authors: Obayelu Oluwakemi A., Fakolujo Oluwatomi M., Awotide Bola A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: University of Belgrade - Faculty of Agriculture, Belgrade 2019-01-01
• Series: Journal of Agricultural Sciences (Belgrade)
• Subjects: dtma; poverty; sudan savannah; propensity score matching; northwestern nigeria
• Online Access: https://scindeks-clanci.ceon.rs/data/pdf/1450-8109/2019/1450-81091903303O.pdf

Maize production in Nigeria has not been able to meet the needs of people owing to drought, low productivity and lack of access to improved varieties by the farmers. Increased agricultural yield is a potential means for increasing household income, which tends to lower the poverty status of small-holder farmers. This study assessed the impact of Drought-Tolerant Maize for Africa (DTMA) on the yield and poverty status of farmers in the northwestern region of Nigeria. The study used the dataset from Adoption of DTMA Survey by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan, with 293 respondents from northwestern Nigeria (90 adopters and 203 non-adopters of DTMA). Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, binary regression and propensity score matching methods. Results showed that small-holder farmers were more likely to adopt DTMA than bigger farms. Adopters had an increase in DTMA yield of 9,262.77kg/ha while the counterfactual non-adopters had an increase of 3,807.74kg/ha. The adoption of DTMA reduced the probability of being poor by 60 percent for the treatment group while poverty incidence was reduced by 35% among the non-adopters. The general conclusion is that DTMA adoption program improved maize yield and reduced poverty incidence among rural households.