Challenges to Adoption and Management Practices of Oil Palm Production Among Small-Scale Farmers in Rivers State, Nigeria

This research work investigated the challenges to adoption and management practices of Oil Palm production among small-scale farmers in Rivers State, Nigeria. Specifically, the study described the socio-economic characteristics of oil palm producers, identified the types of management structures, assessed the perceived benefits of oil palm production and management and identified the challenges faced by farmers in adopting these technologies. The study was conducted across the three agricultural zones in Rivers State, targeting a population of 2,500 registered oil palm producers. A sample size of 345 was used for the study. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire. The analysis was conducted using descriptive statistics, including frequencies, percentages and mean scores. The hypotheses were tested using the regression analysis and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). The results revealed that a significant majority (82.8%) of the respondents was married, a male majority of 61.4%, an average age of 50 years and majority within 41-50 years, 65.6% had at least secondary education, and a significant portion (70.9%) had household sizes of 4 to 6 persons, and an average monthly income of ₦90,548. Majority (62.5%) operated a sole enterprise management system. Oil palm production has led to benefits like income generation (𝑋̅=2.67), Increased yield/output (𝑋̅=2.68), skills acquired by farmers (𝑋̅=2.19),, employment created (𝑋̅=2.45), and improved output (𝑋̅=2.56). Four challenges factors were extracted based on the responses of the respondents namely economic (factor 1), institutional (factor 2), technical (factor 3) and environmental (factor 4). The findings underscored the critical role of socio-economic factors in the adoption of oil palm production technologies as the test of hypothesis showed that age (.013), education (.000), household size (.000), farming experience (.000) and income (.000) were significant in enhancing technology adoption. The study also recommended enhancement of adoption of oil palm production technologies, so as to improve productivity and sustainability in oil palm production in Rivers State, Nigeria.