Gender Disparities in the Adoption of Akilimo Cassava Advisory Tools and Productivity in Ogun State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study investigates Nigeria's low digital agricultural technology acceptance rates by studying gender disparity and developing inclusive policies for both sexes. It presents empirical evidence on the use of the Akilimo Cassava Advisory Tool, a digital tool that provides cassava farmers with agronomic guidance to help them make better decisions. The data for this study was collected through interviews and questionnaires distributed to 329 farmers who cultivate cassava and who were chosen randomly through multistage sampling technique. Descriptive statistics, logit regression model and Average Treatment Effects (ATE) model served as the basis for conducting the analysis. The study reveals that male farmers had higher adoption rates of the Akilimo tools at 33.03% compared to female farmers who adopted at 27.93%. Overall, only 31% of cassava farmers adopted the tools. Their low rate of adoption are due to low awareness of the tool, inability to get the recommended cassava and maize varieties, high herbicide prices and tool skepticism. The barriers to adoption particularly oppressed female farmers which intensified the gender gap in adoption rates. Factors influencing adoption included household farming members, income contributors, native status, cooperative membership, marital status (single), and food expenditure. Male farmers showed superior advantages from Akilimo than female farmers because they received better resources coupled with advisory information. The statistical evidence validates that Akilimo tool adopters achieved higher cassava yields at a significance level (p-value = 0.048). All agricultural farm sizes derive improved productivity benefits from implementing Akilimo cassava advisory tools. Therefore, the Akilimo tool developers should team up with various government agencies to develop new training initiatives to teach farmers about the platform usage. To achieve widespread coverage of these programs, farmer cooperatives and radio broadcasts, along with community demonstrations, should be used. Also, the Akilimo tools developer should develop offline capabilities, which will minimize data expenses.