Determinants of the adoption of improved varieties of Maize in Cameroon: case of cms 8704

A cereal in full expansion, maize is currently eaten by two out of every three Cameroonians. The NCRE (National Cereals Research and Extension) project introduced and distributed new improved varieties to increase maize output. The objective of this research is to study determinants guiding the adoption of new varieties of maize following the example of “Cameroon Maize Series (CMS)” 8704. In relation thereto, a Probit model adapted to membership of a smallholders’ cooperative was used. The study was conducted on 100 farms in Cameroon’s Centre Region. The results show that the zone, the level of education, belonging to a smallholders’ cooperative and market orientation positively affect the probability of adopting improved maize varieties. The age, area, gender and risk seem to have no effect on the adoption of such varieties.