Impact of improved groundnut varieties adoption on income, food security and nutrition of farming households in Katsina State, Nigeria

Previous empirical studies on improved groundnut varieties in Nigeria have not focused on the impact of the adoption of improved groundnut varieties on monetary returns, food security, and the nutrition of farming households. It is therefore important to provide evidence to justify the expenditure on improved groundnut varieties development in Nigeria. Using observational data from 100 randomly sampled groundnut farmers, this study determined the impact of improved groundnut varieties (IGV) adoption on farming households’ income, food security, and nutrition in a rural area of Northwestern Nigeria. The Propensity Score Matching Technique was used for data analysis. The majority of the respondents (75%) are adopters of IGV. The likelihood of adoption increases with extension contact, labour, and the level of commercialization. Adopters of IGV had an increase of ₦ 48171.7 ($133.1) and 14.96 in Gross margin/hectare and dietary diversity increased by 14.96, respectively. There was also an improvement in the food security status of the adopters. The study concluded that adopting improved technologies can enhance farming households’ welfare. It was therefore recommended that farmers be encouraged to adopt IGV to increase the returns from groundnut production and household food security and nutrition status.