Farmer preferences for adopting drought-tolerant maize varieties: evidence from a choice experiment in Nigeria

Abstract

Drought is a major challenge to maize-producing households in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) impacting productivity, food security, and rural farm household welfare. Drought-tolerant maize varieties (DTMVs) are improved yield-enhancing technologies that can build resilience to climate change in the majority of SSA, but they are poorly adopted. This study assesses farmers' preferences for various attributes of DTMVs and the implicit value they are willing to place on them based on a discrete choice experiment using primary data consisting of 320 maize farm households in northern Nigeria. We estimate farmers' preference heterogeneity using maximum simulated likelihood of a mixed logit model in preference and price space. The results show common preferences for drought tolerance, nitrogen use efficiency, and yield attributes. It further shows strong disutility for non-resistance to Striga attribute. We also find the role of gender, institutional and social influence significant in valuing DTMVs attributes. Understanding the market-preferred attributes of DTMVs can provide guidance on policies to promote adoption of DTMVs.