Farmers’ Practices for the Orchard’s Maintenance and Post-Harvest Treatment of Cocoa in Infiltrated Classified and Unclassified Zone of Méagui (South-West, Côte d’Ivoire)

An important part of Ivorian cocoa production comes from infiltrated classified forests. The objective of this study is to investigate orchard maintenance and post-harvest cocoa treatment practices used by cocoa farmers in infiltrated classified and unclassified areas of Méagui. To do this, 110 producers in two localities of the said zone were individually interviewed from February to April 2022, using a declarative questionnaire. It was found that cocoa orchards in the zone are aging. Nearly 68.55% of producers were heirs and 58.33% of those interviewed were under 46 years of age, with an average age of 43 years. Nearly 84.55% of the producers surveyed mainly use chemical insecticides to control the pests of greatest concern in these localities. Regarding the frequency of insecticide treatments, 11.82% of producers make 1 to 2 applications a year, 29.09% make 3 to 5 applications a year, and 43.64% make at least 6 applications a year. The active substances of the most used products belong to 99% of the Neonicotinoid and Pyrethroid families. Regarding cocoa harvesting and post-harvest operations, 93.64% of the producers carry out a single harvest/month;all do the shelling with mini machetes. Beans are fermented mainly in black plastic tarpaulins or in bags, for a period of 3 to 5 days (65.45%). Drying is done almost entirely (91.82%) on the black plastic tarp. This study shows that cocoa farmers in the areas surveyed do not respect the recommendations issued on phytosanitary practices and post-harvest treatment of cocoa. This non-compliance with the standards of good practices prescribed is particularly more accentuated in the locality located in infiltrated classified zone. It would, therefore, be judicious to revise or redefine the phytosanitary recommendations and carry out sensitization and training-follow-up programs for producers in this important cocoa production area of C?te d’Ivoire.

Farmers’ Practices for the Orchard’s Maintenance and Post-Harvest Treatment of Cocoa in Infiltrated Classified and Unclassified Zone of Méagui (South-West, Côte d’Ivoire)

An important part of Ivorian cocoa production comes from infiltrated classified forests. The objective of this study is to investigate orchard maintenance and post-harvest cocoa treatment practices used by cocoa farmers in infiltrated classified and unclassified areas of Méagui. To do this, 110 producers in two localities of the said zone were individually interviewed from February to April 2022, using a declarative questionnaire. It was found that cocoa orchards in the zone are aging. Nearly 68.55% of producers were heirs and 58.33% of those interviewed were under 46 years of age, with an average age of 43 years. Nearly 84.55% of the producers surveyed mainly use chemical insecticides to control the pests of greatest concern in these localities. Regarding the frequency of insecticide treatments, 11.82% of producers make 1 to 2 applications a year, 29.09% make 3 to 5 applications a year, and 43.64% make at least 6 applications a year. The active substances of the most used products belong to 99% of the Neonicotinoid and Pyrethroid families. Regarding cocoa harvesting and post-harvest operations, 93.64% of the producers carry out a single harvest/month;all do the shelling with mini machetes. Beans are fermented mainly in black plastic tarpaulins or in bags, for a period of 3 to 5 days (65.45%). Drying is done almost entirely (91.82%) on the black plastic tarp. This study shows that cocoa farmers in the areas surveyed do not respect the recommendations issued on phytosanitary practices and post-harvest treatment of cocoa. This non-compliance with the standards of good practices prescribed is particularly more accentuated in the locality located in infiltrated classified zone. It would, therefore, be judicious to revise or redefine the phytosanitary recommendations and carry out sensitization and training-follow-up programs for producers in this important cocoa production area of C?te d’Ivoire.

Evaluation of Smallholder Farmers’Awareness of Cattle Diseases in Svay Rieng and Prey Veng Provinces,Cambodia

In Cambodia,cattle are used as draught power,sources of fertilizer,sources of assets,and for meat production.Due to some contagious illnesses such as hemorrhagic septicemia and foot-and-mouth disease(FMD),they mostly have low reproductivity and poor physical health.Among those diseases,brucellosis is starting to appear in cattle production in rural Cambodia and is highly transmissible to humans.Thus,the objective of this study was to evaluate the farmers’awareness of cattle diseases and their transmissibility in the country.A survey was conducted in two provinces,Svay Rieng and Prey Veng,in Cambodia,starting from July 2021 to January 2022.A sample size of 216 was randomly selected from the two provinces by using Taro Yamane,and the selection criteria were that the targeted households must have at least two cows.A pre-determined questionnaire was utilized to collect data on number of cattle,raising type,feeding system,source of cattle purchase,hygienic condition,waste management,cattle disease,body score condition and symptoms.As a result,86% of the respondents in Prey Veng province and 99.07% in Svay Rieng province have cattle disease.Smallholder farmers raise 5 to 10 cattle per household,while other farmers raise 10 to 15 calves,or 15-20 or more than 20 heads,while only 20% of smallholder farmers in Prey Veng were able to raise 5 to 10 male cattle per household.Of all the interviewees,90% recognized FMD based on clinical signs such as blisters on the feet,loss of appetite,salivation and painful,red,blister-like lesions on the tongue.Meanwhile,60% know lumpy skin disease(LSD)due to skin nodules.No one knew about brucellosis.The findings suggest that the knowledge farmers have over cattle disease is very limited and this needs more support from related institutions to raise their awareness in order to cope with cattle disease correctly and timely.

Causes of maize density loss in farmers’ fields in Northeast China

Increasing plant density is an effective and important way to reduce maize yield gaps in Northeast China. However, the fact is that a significant plant density gap exists between optimum plant density and actual plant density in farmers’ fields.To quantify the density gap between planned planting density and final harvest plant density(HPD), we studied 60 farmers’ fields on three types of soil for three crop seasons from 2015 to 2017 by measuring their plant-plant distance, actual seedlings density(ASD), final HPD and yield. We also explored the potential causes of density loss by digging the places where the seedlings were missing for two consecutive years in 2016–2017. Results show that the three-year average HPD in farmers’ fields was 59 699 plants ha^–1, which was significantly lower than the planned density, including both the machine setting density(MSD;67 962 plants ha^–1) and theoretical plant density(TPD;67 467 plants ha^–1). No significant difference was found in HPD between years and soil types. However, for MSD and TPD, the average value in 2015 was significantly higher than that in 2016 and 2017. No significant difference between soil types was observed. Furthermore,the results from 2016 till 2017 indicated that a lack of seeds in the soil, a failure to germinate due to low-quality seeds,and a lack of seedlings breaking out of the soil due to environmental problems explained approximately 60.88, 10.33 and 28.80% of density loss, respectively. According to our survey, 63% of farmers did not know their own TPD and HPD, and 54% of farmers did not know the density loss. Therefore, we argue that farmers’ limited knowledge of density and density loss is an urgent problem that needs to be solved in maize production. These observations will be useful for determining best management practices for maize production and for providing helpful suggestions for machine improvement.

Research on Benefit Distribution Mechanism of Farmers’ Specialized Cooperative Economic Organization

On the basis of conducting survey in Jiaonan City,the thesis analyzes benefit distribution mechanism of farmers’ specialized cooperative economic organizations:firstly,the benefit correlation is mainly the contract correlation;secondly,the profit distribution is mainly the dividend;thirdly,patronage refund has many connotations;fourthly,the public accumulation has not yet been quantified to individual;fifthly,the government support capital is ill-defined.Based on these,the measures are put forward in order to improve benefit distribution pattern of farmers’ specialized cooperative economic organizations:firstly,reform structure of property rights and realize farmers’ ownership;secondly,change mode of decision-making,and realize farmers’ control;thirdly,increase turnover rebate and realize farmers’ benefiting;fourthly,quantify public accumulation and government support fund.

The Impact of Development of Rural Finance in Jiangxi Province on the Agricultural Economy and Farmers’ Income

Based on the rural economic data pertaining to the development of rural finance, the growth of agricultural economy and farmers' income in Jiangxi Province during the period 1990-2009, we conduct empirical research on the impact of development of rural finance on the growth of agricultural economy and farmers' income, using the ADF test method, the Granger causality test, and regression analysis. The results show that the development of rural finance in Jiangxi Province has a significant positive effect on the growth of rural economy and farmers' income. When the ending balance of agricultural loans increases by 1 unit, the agricultural added value will increase by 0.367 1 units; when the ending balance of agricultural loans increases by 1 unit, farmers' income will increase by 0.597 5 units, indicating that the development of rural finance plays a significant role in promoting the per capita net income of farmers.Finally we propose to increase agricultural credit efforts in the financial institutions, establish and improve the agricultural credit management system.

Research on the Problem Investigation and Standardized Improvement Paths of Farmers’ Cooperatives

Farmers’cooperatives are an important force to promote agricultural and rural modernization and rural revitalization.From an investigation,it is found that the development of some farmers’cooperatives is not standardized.Prominent problems are as follows:firstly,the operating mechanism is not standardized,and there is a contradiction between democratic decision-making and management efficiency;secondly,the supervision and management are not standardized,and some cooperatives even resort to deceit to obtain financial subsidies;thirdly,the distribution mechanism is not standardized,and core members invade the interests of small peasant households,so the motivation of ordinary peasant households to participate in cooperatives is not high.It is recommended to strengthen the assessment and supervision of cooperatives,implement the"late funding"model,improve the efficiency of financial support,strengthen the training of farmers,establish a interest linkage mechanism of farmers and cooperatives,protect the rights of members,and promote the standardized development of farmers’cooperatives.

Management Models and Development Strategies of the Farmers’ Professional Cooperatives in the Western Poor Counties and Regions of China: A Case Study of Long’an County,Guangxi

In the new era,an important task is how farmers’professional cooperatives to better adapt to new development environment and effectively solve the problems that"who will cultivate land"and"who does agriculture depend on"in the future.In this paper,model and development direction of farmers’professional cooperatives in Long’an County of Guangxi are analyzed and studied based on realistic development background of Guangxi.

Countermeasure Research on Problems Impeding Farmers’ Successful Entrepreneurship in Minority Areas

By investigating the problem of farmers’ entrepreneurship in Gongcheng Yaozu Autonomous County,lying in Guilin,Guangxi,the thesis expounds the existing problems impacting farmers’ successful entrepreneurship in minority areas as follows:firstly,the musty idea of local cadre is obstacle to farmers’ successful entrepreneurship;secondly,the problems of scattered farmers’ entrepreneurship resources,waste and shortage of resources impact good effect of entrepreneurship;thirdly,farmers lack awareness of characteristics and brand,influencing the market competitiveness of products;fourthly,the existence of smallholder consciousness critically hampers the marketization and internationalization of entrepreneurship accomplishments;fifthly,the government pays no attention to the construction of industrial chain,which makes farmers’ entrepreneurship lack sustainability.Based on these,corresponding countermeasures are put forward to promote farmers’ successful entrepreneurship in minority areas as follows:firstly,we should update local leaders’ ideas and emphasize the positive role of farmers’ successful entrepreneurship in county economic development;secondly,we should integrate local entrepreneurship resources and promote the efficiency of farmers’ entrepreneurship;thirdly,we should foster the consciousness of brand and characteristics and strengthen the market competitiveness of entrepreneurship accomplishments;fourthly,we should strengthen the construction of industrial chain to promote sustainable development of farmers’ entrepreneurship.

Analysis on Farmers’ Straw Marketization Behavior and Its Influence Factors: A Case Study of Hubei Province

Crop straw has huge resource potential. It has an important significance for realizing waste recycling and improving eco-environment to prefect straw marketization system and sufficiently stimulate farmers’ straw marketization behavior. Based on 427 copies of investigation data on farmers,influence mechanism framework of farmers’ straw marketization behavior is constructed,and key factors of farmers’ straw marketization behavior are analyzed. Results show that farmers joining in straw marketization account for 42. 1%; in influence factors of farmers’ straw marketization behavior,cultivated land area,market price level,logistics satisfaction and air quality perception have significantly positive impacts on farmers’ straw marketization behavior,while education degree,agricultural income proportion and traffic convenience have significantly negative impacts on farmers’ straw marketization behavior. Therefore,it needs strengthening propaganda intensity,carrying out reasonable subsidies and support,encouraging and breeding new type of organization,and establishing and improving the price mechanism of straw marketization to perfect straw marketization construction.

Farmers’ perceptions of pollinators’ importance in coffee production in Uganda

Coffee (Coffea canephora) is the principal cash crop and the country’s largest agricultural foreign revenue earner in Uganda. Previous surveys confirmed that coffee grown in central Uganda was largely depending on bee pollination to set fruit set. Despite its high contribution to the economics of agricultural sector in Uganda and despite its great dependency to bees for fruit set, it is not clear if small-scale farmers are aware of the importance of managing farm-landscapes for pollination services conservation to increase coffee yield. The aim of this study was to assess farmers’ perceptions and knowledge of the importance of pollinators and pollination services conservation for coffee production enhancement. The main hypothesis was that small-scale coffee growers were not aware of the relevance of pollination services for coffee production. Farmers’ surveys were conducted in coffee-banana farming systems in central Uganda. It was found in this study that more than 90% of interviewed farmers were not aware of the role played by bees in coffee yield increase. Farmers were not willing to manage their lands to protect pollination services, particularly because they considered pollination service as an unsolicited “free service”, or as a “public good”. Farmers were not aware of the role of semi- natural habitats serving as reservoir (hiding points) for pollinators in the surrounding of coffee fields. However, they were aware of some ecosystem services delivered in the coffee- banana farming system such as planting shading trees. Only 3.3% of respondents believed that placing beehives in coffee farms could increase the yield. The study recommended the increase of the awareness of small-scale coffee growers on the importance of pollinators to increase coffee production. It is recommended that future management of pollination services are built on improving farmers’ indigenous knowledge and on adequate understanding of the ecology of the local pollinator species. There is a need to broadly scale-up best field, habitat and landscape management strategies and practices that are friendly to coffee pollinators in rural landscapes of

Farmers’ Perception and Impact of Rice Yellow Mottle Disease on Rice Yields in Burkina Faso

Rice improvement for disease resistance has scarcely involved farmers’ knowledge in Sub-Saharan Africa. A participatory rural appraisal was conducted in two main rice cultivation areas in Burkina Faso to assess farmers’ awareness of rice production constraints with emphasis on rice yellow mottle disease (RYMD) and its management. Farmers’ preference for rice varieties to be used in the breeding program was also assessed. Major concerns for rice cultivation as perceived by farmers were water shortage and RYMD. However, relative importance of each constraint depended on the survey areas, RYMD being prominent at Banzon while water shortage predominated at Mogtedo. Mogtedo farmers preferred rice variety FKR19 because of its tolerance to drought. At Banzon, farmers’ first criterion was taste which was reflected in the choice of variety FKR18. Yield was also a major criterion in both areas, positioning NERICA varieties FKR56N, FKR62N, and FKR60N among the top preferred varieties. Farmers mentioned RYMD as the most important rice disease. Most farmers used varietal shifts or pesticide treatments for RYMD management. RYMD incidence reached 28% in average at Banzon over the 2012-2013 main growing seasons. In rice varieties FKR56N, FKR62N and TS2, diseased plants yielded 79.3% less than the healthy ones. Accordingly, based on disease incidence, overall yield loss in the study area was estimated at 22.3%. Altogether, rice production can be significantly increased by taking RYMD into account in a participatory rice breeding strategy.

Stakeholders’ Participation in Agricultural Farmers’ Extension Services Programmes in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Case of the Operation Wealth Creation (OWC) Programme in Uganda

The paper presents findings from a study carried out to assess the contribution of stakeholders’participation on the performance of the national agricultural farmers’extension services programme in Uganda known as Operation Wealth Creation(OWEC).Specifically,the study sought to establish how participatory planning,budgeting,monitoring and evaluation(M&E)respectively contributed to the performance of OWC in selected district in central Uganda.The study adopted a cross-sectional survey design using both quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis techniques and employed both questionnaires and interview guides on key participants in the programme.Findings of the study indicated positive relationships between stakeholders’participation and programme performance with participatory planning,budgeting and M&E all having positive significant effects on the performance of OWC programme.The study concluded that indeed stakeholders’participation contributed to improved performance of the OWC programme.The study recommends increased funding and M&E of the agricultural extension programmes for improved performance.

Determinants of Farmers’ Perception of Climate Change: A Case Study from the Coastal Region of Bangladesh

Socio-economic conditions of farmers, especially in the coastal region in Bangladesh, have been severely affected because of climate change. This study was focused on analyzing the farmers’ perception of climate change by examining three vital issues: (1) description of the socioeconomic characteristics of farmers;(2) reporting on the perception of farmers experiences with climatic change;and (3) identification of the socio-economic factors associated with farmers’ perception of climate change. The study area encompasses three villages within the coastal region (Sathkhira district) of Bangladesh, a geographic region where climate change literature has highlighted as prone to accelerated degradation. A logit model, along with weighted indexes for ranking and descriptive statistics, was used to analyze the result of 100 farmers surveyed by questionnaire. We found that the majority of the farmers (88%) perceived changes in climatic conditions. Almost all farmers indicated increases in temperature, droughts, floods, cyclones, salinity level and decreasing rainfall over the last 20 years. The logit model explained that out of the nine factors surveyed;education, family size, farm size, family income, farming experiences and training received were significantly related and influential factors to perception of climate change. Therefore, government and non-governmental organizations are recommended to push forward with interventions, especially focusing on identified factors, in order to strengthen the farmers’ capacity to battle against climate change effects.

Farmers’risk preference and fertilizer use

This study examines the role of farmers’risk attitudes toward fertilizer use in cotton production in China.Contradicting previous studies,this paper theoretically shows that the relationship between farmers’risk aversion and fertilizer use is not always monotonic.Field survey data were collected to test this relationship using the Cobb–Douglas production function.Results suggest that when the elasticity of fertilizer use and the probability of achieving the desired effects from fertilizer use are high,risk-averse farmers apply more fertilizer than risk-taking farmers.Conversely,when the elasticity of fertilizer use and the probability of achieving the desired effects are low,risk-taking farmers apply more fertilizer than risk-neutral or risk-averse farmers.

Agricultural production structure,market conditions and farmers’nutritional intake in rural China

Nutrition poverty alleviation is an effective measure to improve the nutritional status of economically disadvantaged individuals,fundamentally improving their health and reducing poverty.Based on the Entitlement Theory and using the China Health and Nutrition Survey(CHNS)data,this paper examines the relationship between farmers’nutritional intake,production structure and regional market conditions.Results show that farmers with diversified production have better nutritional intake than those who specialize.Furthermore,the correlation between regional market conditions and nutritional intake varies between economically disadvantaged and non-economically disadvantaged households.Market conditions significantly influence the carbohydrate and fat intake of economically disadvantaged households and are positively associated with the dietary structure and nutritional intake of non-economically disadvantaged ones.Moreover,income is positively correlated with the nutritional intake of non-economically disadvantaged households but not with economically disadvantaged ones.

Study on Deepening Rural Land Reform and Farmers’ Income

The rural land system reform is an essential part of China s rural economic system reform.In recent years,China s rural land system becomes gradually diversified,and is developing towards market and benefiting people,which is favorable for improving the rural economy.Through more than 40 years of reform and opening up,China s rural land system reform has been continuously deepened and sectionalized,which has also affected the income of farmers.Rural land reform provides great opportunities for farmers to increase their income and contribute to the realization of land asset income and interests.However,the rural land system reform also has some drawbacks,which limit the increase of farmers income.This paper attempts to analyze the internal logic of land system reform and farmers land interests,and accordingly comes up with recommendations for deepening the rural land reform.

Effect of Socio-Demographic Characteristics on Kenyan Smallholder Dairy Farmers’ Adaptive Strategies to Climate Change Effects

Climate change (CC) impedes smallholder dairy industry in Kenya. Consequently, farmers’ adaptation to CC effects would greatly determine their resilience, profitability, and sustainable contribution to the economy. Socio-demography among other factors, determine smallholder farmers’ adaptive strategies to CC effects. This study sought to understand how smallholder dairy farmers in South Western Kenya adapt to climate changes and determine the relationship between famers’ adaptive strategies and their socio-demographics of sex, age, marital status, highest educational level, household size, and experience in dairying. Concurrent Fixed Mixed Methods were used to collect primary and secondary data. Reports and papers were reviewed for temperature and precipitation data, dairy population, production trends, and farmers’ socio-demographics. A survey questionnaire was administered to 367 smallholder dairy household heads with 10 years’ experience obtained through multi-stage sampling of respondents from 4 sub counties of Migori county. The data collected included the respondents’ socio-demographics, climate changes and adaptability to CC effects. Key informant interviews (KIIs) were conducted with heads of government departments of Livestock Production, Cooperative Development, Meteorology, Environment and Agriculture Sector Development Support Programme (ASDSP) in Migori County. Others included the leadership of Rongo Dairy Farmers’ Cooperative Society, Lichota Livestock Development Farm, and a Research Officer for Livestock Production Systems with Kenya Agriculture and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO). Focus group discussions (FGDs), on the other hand, were conducted with old men and women (aged 60 years and above), and farmer groups from Rongo Dairy Farmers Cooperative Society, Cham Gi Wadu Dairy and Multipurpose Cooperative Society, and East Sakwa Farmers’ Development Group. These were obtained purposively based on dairying experience. Descriptive statistics (percentages) were used to describe climate change effect on smallholder dairying and farmers’ adaptation. Percentages, minimum and maximum values, means, range, and standard deviations were used to describe respondents’ socio-demographics. Binary logistic regression analysis was used to determine the effect of farmers’ socio-demographics on their adaptive strategies to CC effects. Results indicated that individually, male farmers were more likely to adopt mixed crop and livestock farming (Odds = 3.97;p = 0.02) and experience an increasing trend in income earning from milk sales (Odds = 0.63;p = 0.04). Individually, older farmers were significantly more likely to establish own fodder (Odds = 0.96;p = 0.03), keep non-Friesians and their crosses (Odds = 0.97;p = 0.02), and experience increasing trends in income earned from milk sales (odds = 1.02;p = 0.02). Individually, household size significantly influenced establishment of own fodder (Odds = 0.69;p = 0.00) and jointly with the other 5 socio-demographic factors (Odds = 0.70;p = 0.00). With other socio-demographic factors, male farmers were more likely to rely mainly on household labour (Odds = 0.32;p = 0.05). Thus, gender, age and household size were found to have significant effects on smallholder dairy farmers’ adaptation to climate change effects in the study area.

Spatial and Temporal Variation in Climate Trends in the Kyoga Plains of Uganda: Analysis of Meteorological Data and Farmers’ Perception

With global warming now a certainty, it’s important to investigate climate change elements at the local level so as to enable stake holders adapt in order to sustain their livelihoods. This study investigated local climate changes, farmers’ perception of the changes and factors affecting perception to climate change in the Kyoga plains of Uganda. Monthly maximum temperature, minimum temperature and total rainfall from four meteorological stations within the study area for period 1984-2014 were obtained to analyse seasonal, annual and decadal trends in rainfall and temperature while a survey based on 384 randomly selected farmers was carried out to investigate the perception of variation in climate change trends among small holder farmers of different socioeconomic characteristics across the Kyoga plains. Multi stage random sampling was applied in the selection of the population sample. Non parametric analysis (Mann Kendall test) was used for analyzing trends and testing significance. In the survey, farmers were asked their observations about the local climate using structured questionnaires and these were analysed using descriptive statics. Logistics regression was then used to identify the factors that determined the perceptions of farmers on climate change. Overall, trends in monthly temperature are increasing over the years but not significantly while rainfall is decreasing but equally not significantly. Seasonal and decadal temperature had significant positive trends at different stations and sub zones over the years. 67% of the farmers realised a decrease in rainfall while 56.8% perceived an increase in temperature across the agroecological zone. 56.3% perceived declining rainfall and 52% realized increasing temperature in the southern sub zone while 42% realised a decrease in rainfall and 40.6%, an increase in temperature in the northern sub zone. Belonging to a group and age has significant positive effect on farmers’ perception of climate while farming experience and access to extension workers had a significant negative effect. The results suggest the need for strengthening networking among farmers for peer learning and support and location specific intervention measures to improve perception and adaptation to climate for each of the sub zones.

Effects of Farmers’ Practices on Maize (<i>Zea mays</i>) Contamination by Potential Aflatoxigenic Fungi and Aflatoxin in Benue State, Nigeria

Aflatoxin associated with a number of cereals and legumes is estimated to increase the chances of developing primary liver cancer in 152.7 and 61.1 cancer/year/100,000 population of infants and children, respectively in Nigeria. This study was carried out to assess the implications of some agronomic practices on the infestation of aflatoxigenic fungi and total aflatoxin in maize produce in Benue State. Two maize sample types (Pre-harvest and Post-harvest) collected from 3 locations in Benue State were cultured on Sabouraud dextrose agar for fungi isolation and identification. Moisture content and total aflatoxin concentration were determined (ELISA method) in both pre-harvest oven dried and farmer’s post-harvest sun dried samples. Information on agronomic practices was obtained with the aid of questionnaire. T-test and analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to analyze the data with confident levels set at 95&#37;. Overall, 5 mould genera were identified: Aspergillus (44.0&#37;), Fusarium (24.44&#37;), Botryodiplodia (17.78&#37;), Rhizopus (15.56&#37;) and Penicillium (4.44&#37;). Moisture content of oven dried samples was significantly less than that of farmers sun dried samples (t = 10.45, P < 0.001). Similarly, a significant difference in total aflatoxin concentration was recorded between farmers sun dried and oven dried samples (t = 2.37, P = 0.03). Half of the farmer’s sun dried samples had aflatoxin concentration above the recommended EU (4 ug/Kg) limit, but none of the pre-harvest oven dried samples exceeded EU limits. Maize samples from fertilized farms were more likely than non-fertilized farms to have higher aflatoxin concentration (P = 0.002). Similarly, Maize seeds purchase from the open market were more likely than seeds from previous harvest to be contaminated with aflatoxin (P = 0.003). The study advocates rapid drying of timely harvested maize so as to reduce or stop the action of heavy field fungi contaminants as well as aflatoxin accumulation.