FACTORS INFLUENCING THE WILLINGNESS TO ADOPT ORGANIC FARMING PRACTICES AMONG RURAL VEGETABLE FARMERS IN NORTHWESTERN NIGERIA. A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

This review aims to highlight the factors influencing the willingness of rural vegetable farmers
in the Northwestern part of Nigeria to adopt organic farming practices. Organic farming is
characterized by an aversion to synthetic inputs such as chemical fertilizers and pesticides,
focuses on maintaining ecological balance, and improving soil fertility through natural methods.
This review aim to describe such factors like socio-economic characteristics,, level of awareness
about organic farming practices, , types of organic farming practices used and the willingness
to adopt to organic farming practices in the study area. A comprehensive literature search was
conducted using academic databases such as Google Scholar and Scopus, relevant journals, and
online libraries. The search terms include organic farming, willingness to adopt, vegetable
farmers, and factors influencing adoption. Studies were included if they focused on vegetable
farmers in Northwestern Nigeria, analyzed factors influencing the willingness to adopt organic
farming practices, peer-reviewed articles or conference papers, and were published in english.
Studies were excluded if they were review papers or theoretical studies and were not peer
reviewed. The search results were screened based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The
selected studies were further evaluated for their relevance and quality. The major finding in this
review is that economic factors, particularly the perceived cost-benefit analysis and market
demand for organic produce, play a significant role in influencing the willingness to adopt
organic farming practices among vegetable farmers in northwestern Nigeria. This review,
therefore, concludes that awareness, knowledge, and training in organic farming practices, as
well as the role of social and institutional factors, are of great significance. It is recommended
that efforts should be made to develop markets for organic produce and promote consumer
awareness of the benefits of organic foods.