ORGANIC AGRICULTURE RESEARCH OUTPUT: DISSEMINATION, AWARENESS AND IMPLEMENTATION IN SELECTED SOUTH-EASTERN AND SOUTH-SOUTH NIGERIAN STATES

Abstract

A survey was carried out to assess the research outputs on organic agriculture in south-southern and south-eastern Nigerian Universities. Random sampling technique was employed to select six Federal Universities from the study area. At least eighteen (18) respondents were selected from each of the six Universities. A total of 110 well-structured questionnaires were administered to the respondents although only 90 (81.8%) people responded. Information regarding areas of organic research conducted, publications on organic agriculture, means of dissemination of findings to farmers and constraints encountered in organic agriculture research by the respondents were collected, collated and analyzed. Results showed that organic agriculture research is still very low in the study area compared to research in conventional agriculture publications on organic agriculture. were mostly in Journals. Area of organic agriculture mostly researched was soil fertility management (37%) followed by organic fertilizer formulation (22.8%). The least researched area was organic weed management (7.6%) and mechanization. (7.6%). Radio was mostly used as dissemination strategy. The most serious constraints in organic agriculture research as well as dissemination of information in the study area were inadequate funding, government policy and poor incentives. Hence, it was recommended that funding organic agriculture research, providing incentives and formulating appropriate policies by government to support organic agriculture research will promote research in organic agriculture with the corresponding. technological innovations towards food security.