ABSTRACT
High tunnel technology has been heralded as the panacea to propel medium and small scale tomato production due to high levels of efficiency and the potential to support sustainable socio-economic development in the face of current daunting challenges and opportunities to which farmers respond. However, despite the comparative advantages offered by the technology, its adoption by farmers has been far less than satisfactory. A study was therefore carried out to investigate constraints and determinants of high tunnels adoption for tomato production in the Bauchi State of Nigeria. In addition, evaluation of profitability of production technologies in the study area was carried out. A questionnaire was used to elicit primary information from 119 horticultural farmers in the State. The study employed both descriptive statistics and binary probit regression model to analyze determinants of adoption of the high tunnels for tomato production. From the study, prohibitive cost of high tunnels, inadequate knowledge on high tunnels, inadequate capital and markets were identified as major constraints that hinder high tunnels adoption. The adoption of high tunnels was found to be positively influenced by years of education, access to extension and farm size, but negatively influenced by farmer’s experience. The net profit for high tunnels was approximately N 388 783.97 (U$D 37712.05) compared to N 24 088.72 (U$D 2336.61) for open field in the 2015/16 production period. The study recommends tunnel designers to consider constructing the structure using local materials to cut down the startup cost. Furthermore, extension service organizations should be strengthened and the services and the extension system be improved to make their innovations relevant and up to date.
CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background
Horticulture plays a critical role in the socio-economic development of Nigeria, and is considered as one of the priority areas for diversification, not only for the agricultural sector but the country’s economy at large. The subsector provides real opportunities for employment creation and investment, rural poverty alleviation, and boosting the agricultural sector’s contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which has been dwindling since independence, representing a mere 2.7 percent in 2012 (Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, 2013). The contribution of the subsector to grand agricultural GDP has averaged at 18.2% for the period 2010-2012 (Sigwele et al., 2015).
For the past decade, the subsector has received substantial government support, geared towards promoting its development. The major strides in that regard are the financial schemes and fruits and vegetables imports restriction systems established back in the late 1970s. The financial schemes include the Financial Assistance Policy (1987-1998), and currently the Citizen Entrepreneur Development Agency (CEDA), CEDA Young Farmers Fund, and Integrated Support Programme of Arable Agriculture and Development (ISPAAD) horticulture. Others financial supports include seasonal loans offered by
National Development Bank (NDB) and the Youth Development Fund (YDF). Consequently, the sub-sector’s production and productivity have improved considerably in the last decade (Moepeng, 2013), expanding from approximately 22% to 42% between 1994 and 2011 respectively (UNDP, 2013; Madisa et al., 2012), with land area expanding from 407.85 ha in 1999 to 1026 ha in 2009 (Assefa, 2011). Currently, local production only affords to meet approximately 40 % of horticultural produce demand.
The sluggish growth and unsustainable commercial production of tomatoes result from shortness of the growing season and erratic weather conditions in Nigeria. Further exacerbated by the effects of climate change and its likelihood on the upsurge (World Economic Forum, 2016; Field et al., 2014), production in an open field has become a challenge. Tomato is a warm season crop and cannot stand severe frost. The crop does well under an average monthly temperature of 21o C to 23 o C but commercially it may be grown at a temperature ranging from 18oC to 27o C (Baliyan and Rao, 2013). For that reason, in Nigeria the open field tomato production period runs from October to March and an upward demand for year round tomato, therefore, created a huge deficit. This has compelled the country to import substantial amount of tomatoes to meet the country’s demand specifically from South Africa. As of 2013, Nigeria was the largest market for South African tomato exports with a share of 27.8% (DAFF, 2014). These climate conditions prompted exploring other farming systems for tomato production in order to keep up with the increasing demand and high tunnels were introduced around 2005 in Nigeria. Subsequently, the government of Nigeria, in support of the technology, established a protected farming (greenhouse, high tunnel, net shade) incubator for tomato production in Glenn Valley in 2011 providing training as a way to facilitate the rollout of the technology (LEA, 2015).
High tunnels are plastic covered, passive solar heated houses used to modify the growing environment (Wells and Loy, 1993; Carey et al., 2009; Connell et al., 2012). There are various types of high tunnels depending on: frame structure, material of the frame and the covering material. For the case of covering materials, they can be plastic, fibre glass or glasshouses while frame materials include metal pipes, timber, and concrete.
The benefits associated with high tunnels include opportunities for season extension, improved yield and quality, crop risk reduction (weather and diseases related risk) and intensive production capabilities on the limited land area (Waterer, 2003; Connell et al., 2012; Drost and Wytsalucy 2014). Tomato is a common choice for cultivation under high tunnels because it can generate greater revenue compared with many other crops (Connell et al., 2012). This allows for a quick recovery of the initial investment and ongoing income to sustain management expenses.
1.2 Problem Statement and Justification
Despite the benefits associated with high tunnels and establishment of a protected farming incubator for tomato production by the government seven years ago, there is still low adoption of the technology. This has resulted in stagnation of tomato value chain development and bloated the import bill of fresh tomatoes and associated products. The import bill for fresh tomatoes in 2014 and 2015 was N 32, 882,917.00 and N 33, 851,680.00 (1N = 0.097 U$D) respectively (Nigeria Statistics, 2016). These drain the foreign exchange earnings and reverse government efforts to diversify the agricultural sector and nullify its huge investment into the subsector. High dependence on imports also makes the industry susceptible to international shocks and pests and diseases outbreak. For instance an outbreak of tomato leafy miner (Tuta absoluta) in 2016 in South Africa that later spread to Nigeria through import of tomatoes resulted in shortage of fresh tomatoes in the country and consequently, the tomato price went high.
Previous studies carried out in Nigeria have mostly focused on horticulture productivity of open field production system and experimental studies of protected farming performance at research centres and schools (Baliyan, 2014; Baliyan and Rao, 2013;
Madisa, 2012). The studies did not investigate the awareness and adoption of the technologies at farm level which this study intended to address specifically focusing on high tunnel technology.
The study, therefore, investigated why there is low adoption of production technologies in Bauchi State, Nigeria. The study findings will aid refocusing of associated policy thrust and research and is consistent with key development strategies which include; Nigeria Vision 2036, NDP 11 and SDGs, to achieve food security and promote sustainable agriculture. In addition, the findings will assist in bridging the information gap associated with high tunnels adoption in the Bauchi State with potential spillover to the central State, and will be of benefit to tomato sub-sector stakeholders like extension service providers, consultants, researchers, input suppliers, traders and policy makers, who will be able to make more informed decisions.
1.3 Objectives
1.3.1 Overall objective
The overall objective of the study was to contribute to the understanding of the adoption process of production technologies for tomato production in the Bauchi State of Nigeria to inform future actions and promotional strategies.
1.3.2 Specific objectives
The specific objectives of the study were:
a) To determine the factors that influences the adoption of high tunnels in tomato production.
b) To evaluate profitability of production technology in the study area.
1.4 Hypotheses
a) Production technology adoption is not influenced by farm size, head of household education, age, gender, occupation, farmer’s experience, access to extension, access to credit, and distance to the market.
b) There is no significant difference in net profit between tomato production under high tunnels and open field.
1.5 Limitation of the Study
The study covered only the Bauchi State in Nigeria instead of a broader coverage due to limitation of resources in terms of time and funds required for undertaking the study on a larger scale. For profitability analysis the study was based on past season information (i.e. 2015/16 production period), either as recorded or as recalled by respondents.
1.6 Organization of the Dissertation
The dissertation is organized into five main chapters. Chapter one presents an introduction to the problem, the main thrust of the study, objectives of the study and associated underlying assumptions. Chapter two presents the literature review, which addresses the general theory and empirical literature about the subject matter. Theories related to the study and empirical literature on adoption and factors influencing adoption of high tunnel for tomato production and other new technologies are highlighted. Chapter three provides a description of methods of data collection and data sources, study area, the sampling and analysis techniques, and the conceptual framework used by the study. Chapter four presents the empirical results of the study and discussion. The final chapter gives a summary and recommendations arising from the study.
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