Analysis of Factors Affecting the Preference Intensity of Farmers for Selected Farm Production Objectives
Author(s)
Aromolaran, A. B.; Olayemi, J. K.
Abstract
It is widely argued in literature that farmers in developing countries possess multiple objective functions that have definite priority/preference rank structures. In such a situation, the goals of agricultural growth and development can be more easily attained if more economic growth-oriented goals are higher up in the priority rank structure of the farmers’ objective set. For this to be feasible, policy makers and researchers need to be aware of those factors that influence these goals’ preference structure. This study examined this issue for some socioeconomic and psychological factors with respect to small-holder food crop farmers in a major food producing area in Nigeria. It concluded that some socioeconomic and psychological factors do affect the preference intensity of the food-crop farmers for certain major farm production objectives. This finding may have far reaching implications for the level of response of the farmers to agricultural policies and programmes. Considerable policy attention may have to be shifted away from purely economic factors to socioeconomic and psychological factors if more profound and permanent responses to agricultural policies and programmes is to be obtained.
