Perception of the Constraints Affecting Maize Production in the Agricultural Zones of Kogi State, North Central, Nigeria

The study focused on the perception of the constraints affecting the production of maize in the agricultural zones of Kogi State, North Central Nigeria. The data for the study were collected in 2012 from 100 respondents form each of the four agricultural zones in the study area giving rise to a total of 400 maize farmers through a multistage sampling technique by the use of structured questionnaire. The collected data were analyzed through analysis of variance (ANOVA). The study categorized the constraints faced by maize farmers in the study area into production and distributional constraints. The result of the study on the production constraints showed that even though these constraints existed in zone A, it was not as serious as those in other zones. It further showed that low productivity, lack of improved varieties, inadequate/lack of mechanical services (such as tractor hiring), lack/inadequate access to herbicides and inaccessibility to good roads were perceived to be prevalent in agricultural zone B while lack of education and technical skills and lack/inadequate access to fertilizers were perceived serious in zone C. Farmers in zone D perceived that high interest rate on borrowed funds, land ownership, scarcity of labour, high cost of production and poor credit accessibility to be the major constraint affecting their maize production activities. The outcome of the distributional constraints indicated that all the constraints studied were more severe in zone B than those in other zones of the study area. These constraints are; fluctuating prices of outputs, inadequate storage facilities, poor marketing facilities, poor market information, lack/inadequate access to good transportation facilities, Inadequate processing facilities and lack of finance. The study concluded by advocating that policy engendering should be location specific due to the peculiarity of the constraints faced by the farmers and the difference in the environments where maize is produced.