TY - JOUR AU - A Makwela, Mokgadi AU - B. Oluwatayo, Isaac AU - S. Gidi, Lungile PY - 2021/07/01 Y2 - 2024/03/29 TI - Determinants of Smallholder Maize Farmers’ Varietal Choice JF - ADRRI Journal of Agriculture and Food Sciences JA - ADRRIJAFS VL - 5 IS - 1(4), April, 2021-June SE - DO - 10.55058/adrrijafs.v5i1(4), April, 2021-June.648 UR - https://journals.adrri.org/index.php/adrrijafs/article/view/648 SP - 1-18 AB - <p>Maize seeds differ according to varieties. The traditional maize varieties well known as landrace are<br>seeds that are domesticated with special traits derived from development and adaptation over time.<br>These seeds retain a distinct identity and lack formal crop improvement. Improved maize variety seeds<br>are well known for their desired attributes of being drought-tolerant, disease-tolerant and yielding<br>optimal output. This study was therefore conducted to examine some factors influencing varietal<br>choice amongst smallholder maize farmers in Mogalakwena Municipality of Limpopo province, South<br>Africa. Data was analysed using the descriptive statistics and Multinomial Logistic Regression Model.<br>The results of the study highlighted that 64% of the respondents had formal education. It was also<br>found that 75% of the farmers had no extension contact, meanwhile, it is believed that extension services<br>have a crucial impact and would play an important role in disseminating information related to<br>agricultural practice. The most grown maize variety was the landrace variety constituting 59.5% with<br>about 80% of the farmers traveling an average of 42 kilometres to access available market. The result of<br>Multinomial Logistic Regression Model revealed that educational level (p&lt;0.00), farm size (p&lt;0.05),<br>yield (p&lt;0.00), extension contact (p&lt;0.01) and knowledge of maize varieties (p&lt;0.00) influenced varietal<br>choice among the farmers. Based on the study outcomes, it is recommended that enhancing capacity<br>building of famers through education and improvement in extension service delivery will not only<br>improve better adoption but also engender access to useful information on maize varierties.</p> ER -