This study examined optimum cropping patterns for selected root and tuber crop based production and resource allocation of smallholder farmers in Abia State, Nige ria, using the linear programming approach. The objective function was to maximize gross revenue from the production of selected root and tuber crop based production activities subject to land, labour and minimum subsistence family staple food consumption. Cost route approach was used to collect data from a random sample of 60 smallholder farmers in the state using the multistage stratified technique for location. The activities incorporated in the LP model include crop production activities, labour activities and product selling activities. Crop production activities comprise sole crops and crop mixtures. Existing selected crop activities were compared with their optimum counterparts. Resource allocation was compared between farm land owners and tenants wit h the aim of investigating their relative competitiveness in major root crop based production combination. Results showed that the sampled farmers were not optimal in their resource allocation. There was gross misallocation of labour for both land owners a nd tenant farmer. For the selected root and tuber crops, yam, cocoyam and cassava crop activities were found in their soles in the existing plan whereas crop mixtures were dominance in the optimal plan except cocoyam for the tenants’ category. However, optimal farm plans favoured fewer crops than in the existing plan. Cassava/melon, yam/maize and cocoyam/melon were the crop activities prescribed for an average land owner to maximize gross margin of N231,119.40K as against N190,265.00K in the existing plan (an increase of 21.48%) while for the farm tenants N 190,671.30K was prescribed as optimal gross margin as against N 184,600.00K (an increase of 3.29%) . Yam/melon and Cassava/cocoyam/maize had the least tendency to depress farm income if forced into the plan for the land owners and farm tenants respectively. Farmers’ purchasing power would be enhanced given optimal crop production activity combination and land resource allocation.
The study examined the factors that affect fish production among fish farmers who use pond for their fish production in Umuahia Metropolis, Abia State. Thirty six respondents were sampled from a list of fish farmers derived from Abia State Agricultural Development Programme Office. The Cob Douglas stochastic production function was used to determine factors that affect fish production as well as the factors that affect the technical efficiency of fish production. Pond size (p=0.05), capital input (p=0.01), labour input (p=0.05) and fertilizer used (p=0.05) were the major factors that determined fish production while species of fish stocked (p=0.1), number of ponds (p=0.1), distance (p=0.1) and educational status (p=0.1) determined the technical efficiency of fish production. The mean technical efficiency of fish production by use of pond in Abia State, Nigeria is 62%, implying that there are yet about 38% of chances for improvement on the technical efficiency of production. Given the existing technology of the fish producers, proper management that bears in mind the use of improved fish species, maintenance of number of ponds and increased education of the fish producers on current techniques of production are policy measures that could help improve on the technical efficiency of fish production in the study area.
The study analysed the determinants of productivity of farmland in Imo State, Nigeria. Primary data were collected using a set of structured questionnaires from 60 food crop farmers who were selected through purposive and random sampling techniques. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and econometric tools. The results showed that majority of the respondents were young in their active years, with a mean age of 45 years, married, mostly females, had mean level education of 8 years and mostly farming as their major occupation. The results also showed that the food crop farmers had adequate labour force of a mean 7 persons per household and cultivated an average farm size of 1.06 hectares. The result of the productivity of farmland was 4.03, which showed high productivity. From the results also, the exponential function is the lead equation. The study concluded that farmlands in Imo state are productive and are determined by farm size, location, distance, quantity of fertilizer used, type of soil and duration of tenancy. The study advocated for food crop farmers to form a cooperative to enable them pool their resources together for gaining larger farmlands, fertilizer and other farm inputs. Keywords: Farmland, Determinants, Productivity, Imo state.
The study employed the stochastic frontier function to examine factors that affected economic efficiency and the level of the efficiency for yam production in Nasarawa State, Nigeria. A multistage sampling procedure was used to sample for location while purposive sampling technique was employed to sample for the respondents. One hundred and sixty yam farmers constituted the sampling size and the sampling frame was derived from the list of yam farmers gotten from the Agricultural Development Programme (ADP) extension offices in the respective communities. A mean economic efficiency of 51% was measured for the sampled yam farmers. Price of planting materials (p=0.01), price of fertilizer used (p=0.01) and capital inputs (p=0.01) were significant factors that strongly determined yam production. However, the factors that strongly determined economic efficiency of yam production in Nasarawa State were age (p=0.01), household size (p=0.01) farm size (p=0.05) and extension contacts (p=0.1). Policies of government for increased yam productivity and economic efficiency in the study area should target the young farmers, geared towards improving on the existing extension service provision which should include sustained subsidies and easy accessibility of farm inputs by the farmers.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.