Technological Assessment of the Effect of Electricity Power Supply on Agriculture: Evidence from Southwestern Nigeria

Abstract

The study examined the impact of electricity power supply on agriculture in the southwestern Nigeria. Multi-stage sampling technique was used to sample two hundred (200) small-holder farmers in Ondo and Ekiti States, through the use of validated structured questionnaire, out of which 188 copies were properly completed and found analyzable, thus representing 94% return rate. Data obtained were analyzed using simple percentages, mean with standard deviation as well as binary logistic regression model. The results showed that electricity power supply had high impact on preservation of farm produce. Also, unstable power supply was perceived by the farmers to have negatively affected the level of productivity (x mean= 2.61), makes preservation impossible (X mean= 2.88), leads to low level of profitability (x mean= 2.68), brings about low level of innovative farming activities (x mean= 2.74), increased running cost (x mean= 2.69) and high cost of living in rural areas. Furthermore, results of binary logistic regression revealed that power supply in the production of arable crops, shows that only age was identified as a significant factor influencing knowledge of the importance of power supply on agricultural activities,with younger farmers having the likelihood of increasing knowledge by two(2) times, while compared to older farmers. It was concluded that electricity power supply has a great effect on agricultural production and farmers’ profitability.

Keywords

• Assessment
• Technology
• Electricity
• Effect

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