Summary
The study analyzed the profitability and
technical efficiency of cassava production in Ndokwa West local government area
of Delta state. The data used for the study was collected using structured
questionnaire and analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistics.
Descriptive statistics such as frequency, percentage, table etc were used to
analyze socio-economic characteristics of the respondents and production system
employed by the farmers. Multiple regression analysis was used to establish the
technical efficiency of cassava production, while mean score derived from
4-point likert
scale was used to actualized constraints to cassava production
in the area. F-test was used to test the
hypothesis of the study and finally gross margin analysis was used to actualize
the profit indices from cassava production in the area.
From
the result of the socio-economic characteristics of the respondents showed that
more (52.5%) females are involved in cassava production than males. Most (70%)
of the farmers were aged between 31-50 years. Moreover, majority (50%) of them
are married with average household size of 7 members. Also most (87.5%) the
respondents had acquired formal education of various qualifications. The
farmers also had average farming experience of 10 years, while the farmers earn
an average income of N180,000.00 per annum. Most of the farmers practiced mono
cropping farming system in the area.
More-so, the result of the costs and
returns actualized using gross margin
analysis, showed that the profits of the
cassava farmers was N200,400.00, while
benefit cost ratio was N2.0, indicates
that cassava production in this area was very profitable.
Also, the result of the multiple
regression used to determine the technical efficiency of cassava production showed
that coefficients of multiple determination (R2) was 0.833 or 83.3%,
implying that the 83.3% of total variation in the cassava output was explained
by the explanatory variables (inputs) included in the model. Farmers were not
efficient in the utilization of all the specified resources as far as cassava
production is concerned in the study area. Farm size had the highest efficiency
index of 10.8, followed by labour (6.3), cassava cuttings (3.1), fertilizer
(1.3) and herbicide (0.07). Farm size, labour, fertilizer and cassava cuttings
were underutilized since the efficiency index was greater than one.
The following were identified as the
constraints militating against cassava production in the area, these are: lack
of ready market, lack of access to credit facility, lack of adequate storage facilities,
poor, high cost of transportation, high cost of labour, inadequate supply of
fertilizer, poor extension services, problems of pests and diseases and poor
road network.
Conclusion
Cassava farming is profitable in the
area, the benefits cost ratio was high 2.00:1.00, with a gross margin of 198,200.00.
From the benefit cost ratio, it implies that for every Naira spent in cassava
production in cassava, a profit of N1.00 kobo was realized.
Further more, the farmers should be encourage
through technical training on production techniques/ practices that will
improved their productivity especially in those areas of inefficiency and
underutilization. These are: farm size, fertilizer and cassava cutting. Therefore,
more farmers should be encouraged to go into cassava farming since it is profitable
and can tolerate soil with low fertility.
Recommendations
Based on the findings of the research,
the following recommendations were made:
·
The farmers should form cooperative society as a way
of accessing credit facility from financial institutions.
·
Adequate
and effective extension services should be provided to the farmers.
·
Provision
of good transportation network such as motorable roads, railways etc system
should be provided to easy the evacuation of produce from point of production
to point of sales.
·
Development
of modern storage facilities, as way of improving shelf life of cassava tubes
for longer time. This is important because it will enable the farmers to store
their produce when prevailing market price is not favourable and in-turn sale
when price improves.
·
The
recent fertilizer and other farm inputs distribution programme of the federal
government is a step in the right direction, however effort should be intensify
to ensure that the wrong people do not hijack it to the detriment of genuine
farmers.
·
The
improved varieties developed in research centre of IITA and NRCRI such as TMS
98/0510, TMS 98/0581, TMS 97/2205, TMS 98/0505, TME 419, TMS 92/0326, TMS
96/1632, TMS 98/0002, TMS 92/0057, and NR87184 should be extended to the
farmers through extension agents, ADPs, and farmers group as a way of enhancing
cassava productivity per hectare.
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