Optimum resource allocation among selected smallholder root and tuber crops farmers in Abia State, Nigeria

Abstract

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.

Perspective Chapter: Environmental-Friendly Agro Waste Management

“…A significant deal of interest has been focused in the research for the removal of heavy metals from industrial effluent using agricultural by-products as bio-adsorbents. The use of agro waste in bioremediation of heavy metal ions, i.e., biosorption utilizes inactive (nonliving) microbial biomass to bind and aggregates heavy metals from waste water by physicochemical pathways (mainly chelation and adsorption) of uptake [98]. Agro waste such as hazelnut shell, rice husk, pecan shells, jackfruit, maize cob, or husk can be used as bioadsorbent for heavy metal removal after chemical modification or conversion of these agro wastes into activated carbon.. Orange peel was employed for Ni(II) removal from simulated wastewater and was found maximum metal removal occurred at pH 6.0 [99].…”

Optimum Enterprise Mix Under Risk and Limited Resource Conditions Among Smallholder Livestock Farmers in Kwara State, Nigeria

“…The variables considered are price of output, capital and labour wage rate given their potentiality to induce or inhibit the level of farmers' gross margin. These variables among others are considered germane to the achievement of the gross margin maximization and risk minimization objectives of the farmers and were all varied at -50%, +50% and +100% respectively following Igwe (2012) and Jacob (2019). The selection of prices of output is justifiable with the fact that price risk according to Drollete (2009) usually occurs due to the imperfect knowledge about input and output prices.…”

“…Smallholder farmers who are key actors in economy of many countries of the world are characterised with limited level of resources and are faced with the challenge of competing choices for allocating farm resources between different farm enterprises. The farmers' ultimate aim is to attain production objectives by making efficient utilisation of the limited available resources at their disposal and combining farm enterprises optimally as affirmed by Ohajianya and Oguoma (2009) and Igwe et al (2015). Foster and Rauser (1991) opined that smallholder farmers have two alternative decision criteria in farm planning.…”