Perceived Factors Influencing Farmers’ Preference for Rice Varieties in Enugu State, Nigeria

Abstract

Abstract The study assessed perceived factors influencing farmers’ preference of rice varieties grown in Enugu State, Nigeria. Structured interview schedule was used to obtain information from 150 rice farmers. Data collected were analyzed using frequency counts and percentages. The major rice varieties grown by the farmers were Faro 44 (60.7%), R8 (28.7%) and Mass II (20.7%). The farmers’ major sources of information that influenced farmers’ preferences of rice varieties grown were fellow farmers (93.3%) and personal observation (86.7%) respectively.  The farmers’ perceived factors influencing preference of varieties grown were high yield (74.7%) and cooking characteristics like not sticking together on cooking (64.0%), nice taste (60.0%) and rises better while cooking (59.4%). The study concluded that the major rice variety (FARO 44) grown were basically because of high yield. Farmers’ major sources of information on major rice varieties were not scientific based as they were all from non institutional sources. Therefore farmers should seek scientific based information for informed decision making in preferences of varieties grown. Keywords:  farmers’ preferences, rice varieties, Faro 44, high yield,