Comparative cost and return analysis of cassava production by adopters and non-adopters of improved cassava varieties among farmers in Ibesikpo Asutan LGA, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

This research is a comparative cost and return analysis of cassava production by adopters and non-adopters of improved cassava varieties among farmers in Ibesikpo Asutan LGA, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique was used to select 100 respondents in a ratio of 50 adopters and 50 non- adopters. Data were collected through questionnaire and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Gross margin was carried out to estimate cost and return. Results revealed that females (68 % and 64 %) were dominant for both groups of cassava farmers. Majority (88 %) of the farmers were educated, implying that they would be more amenable to adopt technologies. The cost and return analysis shows that, total variable cost per hectare was N56,455.00 and N36,850.00 with a gross margin of N77,550.00 and N36,560.00 for adopters and non- adopters respectively, indicating that, cassava farming is profitable. Determinants of cassava production for both groups of farmers were farm size, cassava cuttings, fertilizer use and extension contact. Whereas increased farm size, cassava cuttings and extension contact significantly and positively influenced output of both groups of farmers, fertilizer use had a negative but significant influence on output of adopters, implying that fertilizer use resulted in decrease output of the adopters. The adopters are advice to discontinue the use of fertilizer. Furthermore, lack of awareness and high cost of inputs were among the major constraints to full adoption of improved cassava varieties in the study area. Therefore, it is recommended that policies aimed at improving farmer’s education and awareness should be redesign for proper implementation.Keywords: Comparative, cost and return, profitability, cassava, improved varieties, production, adopters, nonadopter

INVESTMENT IN COCOA PRODUCTION IN NIGERIA: A COST AND RETURN ANALYSIS OF THREE COCOA PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS IN THE CROSS RIVER STATE COCOA BELT

The study examined costs and returns in cocoa production in Cross River State in the context of three identified management systems of cocoa production in the area, namely owner-managed, lease-managed and sharecrop managed systems, using a hundred and fifty randomly selected cocoa farmers. Results show that cocoa production is a profitable business irrespective of management system, since all of them had positive net present values (NPV) at 10% discount rate. The NPV for lease-managed farms is highest. The benefit-cost ratio (BCR) at 10% discount rate was greater than one for the three management systems, which indicates that the returns from cocoa production are high. Ownermanaged farms had the highest BCR followed by lease-managed farms in that order. Lease-managed farms were more viable compared with other management systems in terms of their high NPVs. The study surmises that given the high benefits relative to costs involved in cocoa production irrespective of management system, investments in cocoa production can be increased tremendously by providing expanded access to cheap and flexible credit and land, which have presented as limiting factors in cocoa production based on the descriptive statistical analysis in the study

Technical Efficiency Analysis of Small Scale Cassava Farmers in Cross River State, Nigeria: A Stochastic Production Frontier Approach

The stochastic production frontier was employed in the analysis of the technical efficiency of small scale cassava farmers in Cross River State. A multi-stage random sampling technique was adopted in selecting two hundred (200) cassava farmers from Ikom and Ogoja Agricultural zones in the State. Structured questionnaires were used in collecting data for the study. A stochastic production function, using the Maximum Likelihood Estimating (MLE) technique, was used in estimating the farmer's technical efficiency and their determinants in the study area. The mean technical efficiency of the cassava farmer's was 89%. The result of the generalized Likelihood Ratio (LR) tests confirm that the cassava farmers were technically inefficient, implying that there is room to improve technical efficiency with the farmers' current resource base and available technology. Age and sex of the farmers had negative but significant effect on their technical efficiency, while education, family size, farming experience and farm size had significant and positive influence on farmer's technical efficiency. Therefore, policies that would encourage experienced and educated farmers, especially women to continue in cassava farming are recommended