Adoption of urea treatment of maize stover technology for dry season supplementation of cattle in Wedza, Zimbabwe

摘要

Ureatreatmentofmaizestoverisafeedtechnologydevelopedtoimprovethenutritivevalueofhighfibrouscropresiduesfortheefficientutilizationofavailablefeedresources.In2000,GrasslandsResearchInstituteintroducedthetechnologytosomefarmersinWedzaDistrict,Zimbabwe.Thissurvey,intheformofastructuredquestionnairewithbothclosedandopen-endedquestionswascarriedouttoexploreandexplainthefactorsaffectingadoptionofthistechnologyinWedza.nbsp;Resultsobtainedfromthethirtythreerespondentsstratifiedintotrainedanduntrainedgroupsshowthatonly20%ofuntrainedfarmersadoptedthetechnologywhileonly38.8%ofpreviouslytrainedfarmerscontinuedusingthetechnologysince2000.Highlabourrequirementsofpreparingthestover(78.8%),lackofmonitoringbyextensionservices(87.9%)andinaccessibilityofureafertiliser(72.7%)werethemainfactorstowhichnon-adoptionanddiscontinuancewereattributed.Otherfactorsincludedage,genderandlevelofeducationoftherespondents.Technologicalinterventionsshouldthereforebesimpleandpractical,withlocallyavailableinputs.Extensionservicesshouldalsoincreasetoenhanceaccuracyofimplementation,henceadoptionoftechnologies.nbsp;