Technology Adoption Capabilities of Small Farm Dairy Cattle Holders in Gwagwalada, Abuja: Effects of Asymmetric Information and Extension Approaches

Abstract

The study examined technology adoption capabilities of small farm dairy cattle holders in Gwagwalada, Abuja: effects of asymmetric information and extension approaches. The study was conducted in Gwagwalada Area Council in FCT. Three objectives guided the study. Structured questionnaires were adopted to evaluate the impact of asymmetric information and extension approaches on small farm dairy cattle holders in the study area. The study adopted a descriptive research design. Purposeful random sampling technique was employed in the choice of the study area and simple random sampling of 123 small farm dairy cattle holders. Primary data were generated for this study through a cross-sectional personal interview survey that was carried out randomly among small farm dairy cattle holders in Pikon Kore Grazing Reserves, Gwagwalada Area Council. Pikon Kore Grazing Reserves was purposefully selected because it is the most developed of the four Grazing Reserves in FCT with a large number of sedentary and non-sedentary pastoralist households and clusters with livestock rearing and dairy as the principal source of livelihood. Google Platform purposefully created for the study was analyzed with descriptive statistical tools. The descriptive statistical tools comprised frequency counts and percentages presented in pie and bar charts generated by google platforms. Results from the finding of the study revealed that Information Asymmetry is glaringly reflected in the huge gap between stakeholders with awareness of new technologies (96.7%) and utilization or adoption (3.3%) as well as those engaging indigenous methods (96.7%). Therefore, the following recommendations were made: multi-stakeholder backstopping mechanism may have to be evolved to address current levels of information asymmetry in smallholder dairy ventures and allied setups. Similarly, improved access to symmetric information and use of specialized bespoke extension approaches for livestock farmers should be encouraged to adequately translate awareness of technologies to utilization and adoption capabilities of small farm dairy cattle holders and indeed livestock farmers.