A Comparative Analysis of Profitability of Broiler Production Systems in Urban Areas of Edo State, Nigeria

This study investigated the cost implications of raising broilers under the battery cage and deep litter system of poultry production. The data used in the study were obtained from a cross-sectional survey of broiler farmers in Edo State from October– December, 2013. A multi-stage sampling process was used to select the 211 respondents for this study. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics and profitability ratios. The study showed that the mean age of farmers that adopted the battery cage system was 48 years and 46 years for the farmers that used deep litter system. The Gross Margin analysis gave a value of  ₦2,422.24 and a Net Farm Income (NFI) of  ₦2,412.40 per bird for battery cage system while the deep litter system had a gross margin of  ₦1,601.77 and NFI of  ₦1,593.80 per bird. The profitability ratios showed Rate of Return on Investment (RRI) of about 92%, Return on Labour (RL) of  ₦18.03, Return on Feed (RF)of  ₦144.22 and Return Per Naira Invested (RNI) of  ₦0.91 for the battery cage system as against RRI (71%), RL ( ₦30.28), RF ( ₦117.95) and RNI ( ₦0.71) for the deep litter system. This shows that both systems were profitable and viable in the study area. It was therefore concluded that farmers should be enlightened on the relative profitability/viability of the battery cage system of broiler production over the deep litter system in the study area, as a guide to future investment in the enterprise.Keywords: Battery cage, Cost, Deep litter, Net Farm Income, Viabilit

Comparative Analysis of Profitability of Layers Production in Esan North East and Ovia North East Local Government Areas of Edo State, Nigeria

This study examined profitability in layers production from day old chicks topoint of lay in Esan North East and Ovia North East Areas of Edo State. A simple random sampling of 135 poultry farmers was carried out in the study area in order to generate data for the analysis. Data collected were analyzed using Net Profit (NP), Gross Margin (GM), Benefit Cost Ratio  (BCR), Rate of Return on Investment (RRI), Rate of Return on Fixed Cost(RRFC), Rate of Return on Variable Cost (RRVC) and Return per Naira invested (R/N) and . Results of the study showed that the business of layers production was profitable and viable in the study area with the following mean indices; BCR =N1.39, RRI=N138.67, RRFC=N2,097.12 RRVC N139.43 and R/N= N0.41 in. the mean gross revenue for the respondents was computed as N7,324,350, with a gross margin of N2,144,638.00 and net profit was N2,042,371.96. Result of the regression analysis showed that three of the eight explanatory variables contributed significantly to income earned from poultry business; these are fixed cost (P <0.10), layers mash (P < 0.01) and miscellaneous expenses (P <0.05). © JASE

Efficiency of resource-use and elasticity of production among catfish farmers in Kaduna, Nigeria

This study employed the use of the Stochastic Frontier Production Function in the empirical analysis of efficiency of resource-use and elasticity of production among catfish farmers in Kaduna, Nigeria. The simple random sampling technique was employed in selecting 60 catfish farmers drawn from the sampling frame obtained from the list of list of Agricultural Development Programme (ADP) contact farmers in the four Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Chikun, Igabi, Kaduna and Kaduna North, which made up the study area. Empirical estimates from the analysis showed Marginal Physical Product (MPP) values ranged from -430.850 for catfish feed to 1.004 for labour. It was equally established in thisstudy that catfish farmers in the study area were not efficient in their use of production inputs, based on VMPi/Pxi ratios that ranged from -426.71 for catfish feed to 3.46 for labour, with none approximating to unity (which would have indicated that the farmers were optimally efficient in their use of production inputs). Also, production elasticity estimates indicated that the farmers were in stage 2 of the production process, with a return to scale of 0.664. These estimates indicate the existence of intervention points for relevant stakeholders in the bourgeoning catfish business in Kaduna

Comparative Analysis of Profitability of Layers Production in Esan North East and Ovia North East Local Government Areas of Edo State, Nigeria

This study examined profitability in layers production from day old chicks to point of lay in Esan North East and Ovia North East Areas of Edo State. A simple random sampling of 135 poultry farmers was carried out in the study area in order to generate data for the analysis. Data collected were analyzed using Net Profit (NP), Gross Margin (GM), Benefit Cost Ratio (BCR), Rate of Return on Investment (RRI), Rate of Return on Fixed Cost (RRFC), Rate of Return on Variable Cost (RRVC) and Return per Naira invested (R/N) and . Results of the study showed that the business of layers production was profitable and viable in the study area with the following mean indices; BCR =\u20a61.39, RRI=\u20a6138.67, RRFC=\u20a62,097.12 RRVC \u20a6139.43 and R/N= \u20a60.41 in. the mean gross revenue for the respondents was computed as \u20a67,324,350, with a gross margin of \u20a62,144,638.00 and net profit was \u20a62,042,371.96. Result of the regression analysis showed that three of the eight explanatory variables contributed significantly to income earned from poultry business; these are fixed cost (P < 0.10), layers mash (P < 0.01) and miscellaneous expenses (P < 0.05)

Efficiency of resource-use in Cassava production in Edo state, Nigeria

This study employed the use of the Maximum Likelihood Estimation Technique in estimating the efficiency of resource-use in cassava production in Edo State. Data used for the study were sourced through the cost-route method of data collection, based on a stratified random sampling technique. The average farm size of the farmers in the study area was 2.3 hectares, which indicates that, on the average, cassava farmers in Edo State are smallholder farmers. Estimates of efficiency of resource-use were 7.58 0.90 0.32 and 1.35 for land, hired labour, family labour and planting materials respectively. This indicates that none of the inputs was efficiently utilized, as none equated to unity. While land and planting materials were under-utilized, labour (both family and hired) was over-utilized. The implication of this is that cassava farmers in Edo State can operate more profitably by increasing their farm size and quantity (and quality) of planting materials used while reducing the number of manual labour (through increased use of labour saving machines). br> Journal of Agriculture, Forestry and the Social Sciences Vol. 3 (2) 2005: pp.14-2