In tern a tio n a l Sch o la rs Jo u rn a ls International Journal of Agricultural Economics and Extension ISSN: 2329-9797 Vol. 3 (2), pp. 115-121, February, 2015. Available online at www.internationalscholarsjournals.org © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Determinants of adoption of improved maize varieties in Osun State, Nigeria Wole Innocent Kuti Department of Agricultural Economics, Faculty of Agriculture, Benson Idahosa University, Benin City, Nigeria. Email: [email protected] Accepted 2 January, 2015

The paper examines the level of awareness and identified the various improved maize varieties (IMVs) cultivated in Osun state, Nigeria. It also analyzed the socioeconomic factors influencing the adoption and intensity of use of improved maize varieties. A multistage sampling design was used to select 360 farming households that were interviewed using structured questionnaire. Data collected included demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of respondents such as age, household size, gender, farm size and other improved maize production related activities. Descriptive statistics and double hurdle model were used as analytical tools. Results showed that the level of awareness of improved maize varieties was 97.8%. About 91% of these estimates were adopters while 8.8% were non adopters. The double hurdle model estimates showed that age (t=4.50, p