On-Farm Evaluation of Cocoa Rehabilitation Techniques Adopted Among Trained Cocoa Farmers in South-West Nigeria

Abstract

The study was a survey aimed at post evaluating cocoa rehabilitation methods training and the extent of adoption of these techniques by cocoa farmers in south-west Nigeria. A purposeful sampling technique was to select 140 respondents from two cocoa producing Local Government Areas where rehabilitation techniques were already demonstrated. Result showed that 58.57% of the farmers got the training knowledge of rehabilitation techniques from CRIN. Of all the rehabilitation techniques 85.27% adopted planting under old trees, 15.71% adopted coppicing while 1.90% practiced side grafting. 7.15% of the farmers could not any of the rehabilitation techniques. On techniques preferred, 61.43% of the respondents preferred planting under old trees while 21.43% preferred coppicing and 73.33% of the farmers have started harvesting from their rehabilitated plot. Knowledge of cocoa rehabilitation techniques have been imparted into cocoa farmers out of which planting of trees under old trees was adopted therefore, massive production and distribution of seedlings of new hybrid by CRIN in the cocoa producing areas to replace old, moribund and unproductive trees.