Agricultural Technology Utilization and the Welfare Outcomes of Smallholder Farming Households in Nigeria: An Insight from Rice Farmers in the Anchor Borrower Programme

The welfare of smallholder farmers in developing economies is often compromised by a dearth of basic livelihood amenities. This resource constraint problem even among beneficiaries of inputs subsidy interventions may override their incentives to adequately utilize improved agricultural technologies for better livelihood outcomes. We therefore explored the technology utilization pattern and the corresponding welfare outcomes of a cross-section of rice farming households in Nigeria under the auspices of the Anchor Borrower Programme. Data analysis was accomplished via mixed methods. Inferential statistics was employed to provide an extensive overview of their technology utilization patterns and welfare outcomes. The instrumental-variable probit regression model was used to consistently analyze the factors that influence rice farmers’ probability of participating in the ABP. Lastly, thematic analysis was used to analyze ancillary qualitative information. Our findings show that rice farmers utilize various mix agricultural technologies and the highest proportion was observed for those who opted for inorganic fertilizers and crop protection chemicals marginally and jointly. Their welfare outcomes appear to vary contingent on the choices of technologies utilized. While social group membership is the strongest factor that influences rice farmers’ decision to participate in the ABP, diversification of cropping activities proved to be the strongest impediment.