Awareness–adoption gap for improved cassava varieties among smallholder farmers in Ogun State, Nigeria

<title>Abstract</title> <p>Despite strong policy emphasis on improved cassava varieties, productivity gains across Africa remain below potential due to a persistent gap between farmers’ awareness and actual adoption. Most previous studies rely on probit or logit models which lead to potentially biased policy recommendations. This study overcomes this limitation by applying an Endogenous Switching Poisson Regression (ESPR) to obtain more reliable causal estimates of the determinants of awareness and adoption of improved cassava varieties. Primary data were collected from 288 cassava farmers using a multistage sampling technique and a structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and ESPR were used for analysis, results showed that 41% and 44% of farmers had access to extension service and were aware of improved cassava varieties, yet only 18% had adopted TME 419. The ESPR results indicate that awareness was significantly influenced by age (p &lt; 0.01), marital status (p &lt; 0.01), farming experience (p &lt; 0.10), household size (p &lt; 0.10), and access to improved inputs (p &lt; 0.01). Adoption was significantly driven by extension contact (p &lt; 0.001), age (p &lt; 0.01), education (p &lt; 0.01), secondary income (p &lt; 0.01), access to inputs (p &lt; 0.05), cultivated area (p &lt; 0.10), and awareness status (p &lt; 0.01). The study concludes that awareness alone is insufficient for adoption. Bundled interventions are recommended to enhance adoption outcomes.</p>