The Study Area
Imo state is located in the South – Eastern area of
Nigeria and shares boundaries with Anambra, Abia, Delta
and Rivers states. The state has a total land area of
about 19,000 square kilometers and a population of
about 3.38million people (NPC, 2006). The people of the
state are mostly rural which makes their occupational
distribution tilted towards agricultural production.
The climate is of two types: the dry and wet seasons with
intervening cold and dry harmattan period usually
experienced during December and January. The state
has an annual rainfall ranges from 2000 _ 2500mm while
maximum average temperature ranges between 30 - 35
degrees centigrade (Imo ADP, 2009). With this climatic
pattern and few sizeable expanse of arable land due to
high population density, the farmers in the area grow
crops like yam, cassava, maize, fruits and vegetable
among some cash crops like oil palm, coconut and
plantain. Hence, there are a total of 303,333 farm families
in agricultural production in the state.