Abstract
The study examined the impact of improved technologies on the lives of small-scale soybean farmers in Benue State, Nigeria.
A total of 160 respondents were selected using simple random sampling technique. Data were analyzed using descriptive
statistics, Tobit model and the Kruskal-Wallis test. Findings revealed that 35.6% of the respondents were between 31 and 40
years old, 40.6% had household size of between 6 and 10 members. Majority of the respondents were male, married, and had
secondary school education. Tobit analysis revealed that farmers‟ socioeconomic characteristics which include gender,
educational status and farming experience; and farmers‟ knowledge on soybean innovations were significant factors
determining the adoption of improved soybean production technologies. These factors were statistically significant at p=0.05.
The adoption of improved soybean technologies has had a clear positive impact on farmers‟ belief on soybean innovations.
The major problems facing farmers in the adoption of improved soybean production technologies according to KruskalWallis ranking were high cost of inputs, problem of labour availability and lack of credit/loan. The results of this study
provide a strong case for the promotion of soybean as a solution for malnutrition and a means of poverty alleviation for poor
people.
