Sesame Farmers’ Access to Intervention Input in Batsari Local Government Area of Katsina State, Nigeria

Abstract

Sesame (Sesamum indicum) commonly called beniseed in Nigeria is an important oilseed crop that has wide range of uses within and outside Nigeria. Dearth of information on farmers’ access to intervention input is a serious concern. The study therefore determined sesame farmers’ access to intervention input in Batsari Local Government Area (LGA) of Katsina state. Systematic sampling technique was used to select a total of 90 sesame farmers and Information was collected using interview schedule. Inferential and descriptive statistics were used for data analysis. Most respondents (47.8%) were within 31-40 years, 61.1% married, all (100%) were both males and Muslims while 50.0% had Quranic education. Also 56.7% had 1-10 years of farming experience, 51.1% had 4-6ha of farm size and 37.8% earned > #500,000 per annum. Majority (75.6% and 71.1%) sourced information from radio and association members respectively. Improved seeds ( x = 107.7), marketing outlets ( x = 112.3) and workshop training ( x = 102.3) ranked 1st, 2nd and 3rd respectively among few input respondents accessed. Extension workers ( x= 64.5) also ranked first as constraints followed by time of intervention with x (43.3). Significant correlation exists between age (r = -0235), income (r = -0.364), constraints (r = 0.026) and respondents’ access to intervention inputs.It is concluded thatsesame farmers have limited access to input.