ABSTRACT

This research was undertaken to investigate the contribution of IAR groundnut varieties to poverty alleviation among farming households in the North West Zone of Nigeria. Primary data were obtained through the use of well-structured questionnaire from a sample size of 347 comprising of 170 adopters and 177 non-adopters of IAR groundnut varieties. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, adoption index, logit regression, Z-Statistic and Foster-Greer-Thorbecke's (FGT) Weighted Poverty Index. The result shows that SAMNUT 24 was identified as the variety planted by a larger proportion (about 62%) of the pooled sample. Thirty eight percent (38%) of the groundnut farming households preferred SAMNUT 24 to other IAR groundnut varieties and a larger proportion of farming households adopted SAMNUT 24 with an adoption rate of about 35%.SAMNUT 24 had the highest intensity of adoption of 94%.The factors that significantly influenced the adoption of IAR groundnut varieties in the study area were found to be agro-ecology(p<0.01), education (p<0.05), membership of cooperative societies (p<0.1), household income (p<0.05) and extension contact (p<0.1). The mean annual income of groundnut farming households (N303,760.00) that adopted IAR groundnut varieties was higher than the mean annual income of non-adopters (N196,946.30).The results of the (FGT) Weighted Poverty Index showed that the proportion of poor groundnut farming households who adopted IAR groundnut varieties was lower (19%) compared to the non-adopters(49%). The adoption of IAR groundnut varieties can be a panacea for poverty reduction and a veritable tool for increasing income of groundnut farming households. Therefore, the adoption of IAR developed groundnut varieties should be promoted by public, private and non-governmental organizations as IAR developed groundnut varieties will not only boost production and improve on the nation‟s financial standing (since groundnut is a cash crop) but also help to improve the income of the farmers, thereby aiding in alleviating rural poverty.