Perceived Determinants for Adoption of Robotic Technology for Increased Tomato Production in Akwa Ibom State

Abstract

The main purpose of the study was to examine the perceived determinants for adoption of robotic technology for increased tomato production in Akwa Ibom State. The study adopted the descriptive survey design. The population of 1,160 registered tomato farmers and the sample of 327 respondents selected using stratified random sampling technique was used for the study. Questionnaire titled: ‘‘Perceived Determinant for Adoption of Robotic Technology for Increased Tomato Production Questionnaire (PDARTITPQ) was used for data collection. The instrument had a reliability coefficient of 0.86. Mean statistics was used to answer the research questions while Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to test the null hypotheses at .05 level of significance. Findings showed that to a moderate extent tomato farmer perceived that availability of extension services and cost implication determines the adoption of robotic technology for increased tomato production in Akwa Ibom State respectively. Findings further revealed that the perception of tomato farmers in Akwa Ibom North-East, North-West and South do not differ significantly on the extent of availability of extension services and cost implication on the adoption of robotic technology for increased tomato production in Akwa Ibom State. It was concluded that improved extension services as well as reduced cost implication of robotics technology would in no small measure foster the adoption of the technology for increased tomato production. The study recommends that Ministry of Agriculture should equip agricultural extension agents with the necessary knowledge and skills through professional development to effectively support tomato farmers in the adoption of robotic technology.