Factors influencing the adoption of maize in Kahramanmaras province of Turkey

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Abstract We investigate the influence of selected socioeconomic characteristics and communication behavior on maize adoption among Kahramanmaras farm operators. A sample of 264 operators selected by stratified sampling technique is used. Early adopters, late adopters, and nonadopters of maize are compared using a chi‐square test of independence and the ordered probit procedure is used to determine the extent to which selected socioeconomic characteristics and communication behavior influence these adopter categories. It is found that adoption of maize in Kahramanmaras, Turkey, is influenced by the educational level of farmers, income, farm size, travels to nearest town, opinion leadership, use of extension personnel, mechanization level, credit use, and agricultural investments. Early adopters of maize possess these characteristics more than late adopters and nonadopters. Based on these findings, agricultural extension organizations should identify and work together with early adopters when promoting an innovation for agricultural communities in Turkey.