Perceived factors influencing farmers’ preference for rice varieties in Enugu State, Nigeria

The study assessed perceived factors influencing farmers’ preference for rice varieties grown in Enugu State, Nigeria. A structured interview schedule was used to obtain information from 150 rice farmers. Data collected were analysed using frequency counts and percentages. The major rice varieties grown by the farmers were Faro 44 (60.7%), R8 (28.7%) and Mass II (20.7%). The farmers’ major sources of information that perhaps influenced their preferences for rice varieties were fellow farmers (93.3%) and personal observation (86.7%).The farmers’ perceived factors influencing preference of varieties were high yield (74.7%) and cooking characteristics like not sticking together on cooking (64.0%), nice taste (60.0%) and rising better while cooking (59.4%). Aside from the preference for FARO 44 rice variety because of high yield, the perceived factors influencing farmers’ preference of other rice varieties (R8 and Mass) were mainly because of seed availability. Therefore, farmers need information on affordable sources of FARO 44 rice seeds for higher yield that could increase their profit and raise their standard of living.