Tenure implication and property right on adoption of cocoa rehabilitation techniques in osun state of nigeria

Abstract

In an effort to achieve increased cocoa production in Nigeria, a number of initiatives were introduced towards increasing yields with the aim of reviving the old glory of cocoa and make it an engine of Nigerian economy. Despite this, farmers still produce below expected cocoa production figure due to conditions associated with their farmland. Tenure insecurity hindered acceptability of the established initiatives since majority of the farmers in the cocoa industries are holding the farmland in possession through different arrangements which provide the legal and normative framework within which all agricultural as well as other economic activities are conducted. On this note, this study aims to investigate the effects of tenure arrangement on adoptionof CRTs. Result shows that respondents were mostly males, Christians, members of CFAN with mean age of 59.0+10.18 with average household size of 8 people, cultivating an average farm size of 17.38 acres, obtained mostly through different tenural patterns and scattered in different locations.Findings further reveals that age, membership to CFAN and tenure arrangement had significant relationship with adoption of cocoa rehabilitation techniques. And also, there was significant, difference in the perception, as well as adoption of selective tree replanting, planting under old cocoa trees, chupon regeneration, coppicing, gapping up between tenant farmers and farm owners at p=0.05. Cocoa industry is mostly populated with tenant farmers who had unfavourable perception about cocoa rehabilitation resulting in low adoption rate due to challenge of insecurity of tenure.Thus, there is need for development of technological packages that meet the need of different categories of farmers based on their respective tenure. Also there is the need for securing land-use rights through improved tenancy arrangements to better meet the interests of small, tenant.