Assessment of social media usage among cashew farmers in Kwara State, Nigeria.
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Date
2025-03-31
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Published by Faculty of Agriculture, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria.
Abstract
The rapid rise in social media usage presents opportunities for cashew farmers
to access market information and improve productivity. This study investigated
social media usage among cashew farmers in Kwara State, Nigeria. A two stage sampling technique was employed. In the first stage, Offa, Oyun, and Asa
Local Government Areas (LGAs) were purposively selected for their high
concentration of registered cashew farmers. In the second stage, proportionate
sampling was used to allocate the sample size across these LGAs of the State
based on their share of registered cashew farmers. Using Yamane’s formula, a
total sample size of 162 farmers was determined at a 6.6% precision level from
a target population of 550 registered cashew farmers. Data were collected
through structured questionnaires. The collected data were then analyzed using
descriptive statistics and ordinal logistic regression. Findings revealed that
respondents were predominantly male (56.8%), with a mean age of 41 years,
and most were married (78.4%) with an average household size of 7 persons.
Secondary education was the highest level attained by 40.7% of respondents,
and farming experience averaged 11 years. The level of social media usage
among cashew farmers was found to be moderate. However, significant
constraints hindered usage, including difficulty engaging clients with a Weight
Average Index (WAI) of 2.62 and limited time availability (WAI = 1.95). The
study recommends targeted educational programs by agricultural extension
services and investments in rural infrastructure, particularly electricity and
internet connectivity, to enhance social media usage and improve market reach
among cashew farmers
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Citation
Alabelewe, R. Y., Adisa, R. S., Olatinwo, L. K., and Yusuf, O. J. (2025). Assessment of social media usage among cashew farmers in Kwara State, Nigeria. Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources Journal, 4(1), 132–137. Published by Faculty of Agriculture, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria. https://www.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15112966