ANALYSIS OF THE FACTORS THAT DETERMINE FARMERS' PARTICIPATION IN TOMATO CONTRACT FARMING IN KANO STATE, NIGERIA

This study was conducted to analyze the factors that determine farmers' participation in tomato contract farming in Kano State. The study adopted a multistage sampling technique to select 179 contract and 179 non-contract farmers, making a total of 358 respondents. Primary data were collected with the aid of structured questionnaire, which were administered to the respondents, with the help of well-trained enumerators. Descriptive statistics and double hurdle model were used to analyzed the data collected. Results revealed that contract farmers were primarily aged between 18 and 35 years (50%), while non-contract farmers were more commonly found within 36 to 60 years’ age bracket (53.6%). Illiteracy was more prevalent among non-contract farmers, as 33.7% lacked formal education, while approximately 37.6% had received only primary. Majority of the respondents were married with about 88% and 89% of the sampled contract and non-contract farmers, respectively. The farmers were constrained in accessibility of credit facilities, with the majority of both contract (79%) and non-contract (83%) farmers relying on personal savings. The mean household size for contract and non contract farmers was 12 and 13 households, respectively. Among contract farmers, 89% were cooperative members, while among non-contract farmers, 83% held cooperative membership. About 90% of contract farmers, had interacted with extension agents, while 82% of non contract farmers had similar contact. An average farm sizes of 1.2 hectares and 1.3 hectares, was obtained for contract and non-contract farmers respectively. The outcomes of the double hurdle revealed that certain factors such as age (0.02), education (0.283), household size (0.075), access to credit (0.734), number of contacts with extension agents (-0.162), cooperative membership (1.291), and farming experience (-0.033), played significant roles in determining participation in contract farming. Educational level (-0.034), household size (0.005), and access to credit (0.618) influenced the extent of participation. The study therefore recommended increased farmers’ involvement in cooperatives could increase their level of participation in contract farming; forming farmer groups could enable economically disadvantaged farmers to pool their limited resources collectively and establish connections with contracting firms; and enhanced access to land through the collective allocation of land to group of small-scale tomato farmers with the help of government and stakeholders(contracting firms)could be a viable strategy for promoting increased participation in contract farming.