Determinants of improved agroforestry technology adoption among smallholder farmers in Idanre Ondo State Nigeria

Ondo State, Nigeria, faces escalating environmental pressures, including soil degradation, deforestation, and biodiversity loss driven by intensive farming, urbanisation, and climate change. This cross-sectional study examined socioeconomic factors associated with the adoption of improved agroforestry technologies (IATs) among smallholder farmers in Idanre Local Government Area, Ondo State. Data were collected from 110 randomly selected farmers across five communities using a structured questionnaire and analysed with descriptive statistics and linear regression. Adoption was operationalised as a binary variable (1 = practising at least one of four specified IATs; 0 = none). Overall, 85.5% of respondents were classified as adopters, with alley cropping being the most practised IAT (54.5%), followed by windbreak systems (22.7%), home garden systems (6.5%), and taungya (1.8%). The regression model explained 22.3% of the variance in adoption (R² = 0.223, R = 0.473). Age was negatively associated with adoption (β = −0.103, p < 0.001), while household size (β = 0.318, p = 0.022) and farming experience (β = 0.069, p = 0.023) showed positive associations, reflecting greater labour availability and accumulated farming knowledge, respectively. Gender, education, income, farm size, and marital status were not significant ( p > 0.05). The most reported barriers were lack of government support (x̄ = 3.94), high implementation costs (x̄ = 3.82), and inadequate financial support (x̄ = 3.80). As a cross-sectional study, findings reflect associations rather than causal relationships, and generalisability remains limited to the study context. Interventions should prioritise younger farmer engagement, household-level financial support, and experience-based extension strategies, factors most strongly associated with adoption.