Identification of Job Skills in Aloevera Production for Income Diversification Among Farmers in Taraba State
Abstract
Nongugwa DT, Shimave GA, ON Agbulu
This study was on identification of job skills in Aloe Vera production for income diversification among farmers in Taraba State. Specific objectives for the study were to: identify the skills in pre-planting operations for Aloe Vera production, determine the skills in planting operations for Aloe Vera production, identify the skills in post-planting operationsfor Aloe Vera production, determine the skills in harvesting operations for Aloe Vera production in Taraba State.Four research questions were raised and answered; four hypotheses were formulated and tested at P≤0.05 level of significance. The design for the study was survey research design. The population for the study was 401 respondentsconsisting of 285 registered farmers in Taraba State and 116 Agricultural Extension Agents in Taraba State. A structured questionnaire titled: Aloe Vera Production Skills Questionnaire (APSQ) was used for data collection. Mean was used to answer the research questions, while t-test was used to test the hypotheses at P≤0.05 level of significance. The findings of the study revealed that: 15 skills in pre planting of Aloe Vera, seven skills in planting of Aloe Vera, five skills in post planting of Aloe Vera and6 skills in harvesting operations in Aloe Vera production. It was therefore recommended that the 35 job skills identified by this study be packed into a training manual and used for training farmers for income diversification in Taraba State.