Economic Analysis of Sickness and Labour Productivity among Cocoa Farmers in Obafemi/Owode Local Government Area, Ogun State

A high proportion of people suffer from malnutrition and other diseases related to poor nutrition and the rural people are worst hit by sicknesses resulting from poor nutrition. Therefore, this research work examined effects of sickness on labour productivity among crop farmers in Obafemi/Owode Local Government Area of Ogun State. A total number of one hundred and forty two farmers were interviewed using a structured questionnaire. The data obtained were analyzed using descriptive statistics and regression analytical procedure. The descriptive analysis indicated that farmers in the study area literarily have no other source of income (59.86%). They are mostly aged males (65.49%) who have little or no education but a long year of experience in farming (more than 90% have more than ten years experience). Malaria is discovered to be the main cause of the prevailing sickness in the area with about 52% victims affected by it. The regression analysis revealed that the type of toilet used by the farmers, distance of toilet from homestead, working hours per day, diversification extent of food consumed and number of days farmers fell sick during cropping season are major influencing factors. The effects of sickness on labour productivity revealed that land area cultivated by farmers and weight of seeds planted directly affect labour productivity while proportion of days lost by farmers due to sickness and educational qualification have negative effects. It is therefore, recommended that youths should be encouraged to venture into agriculture and the provisions of rural community health services should be strengthened. Keywords: Sickness, days, labour, productivity and cocoa farmers

Market level characteristic factors influencing smallholder coffee marketers in Kogi State, Nigeria

The study assessed the market level characteristic factors influencing coffee marketing among coffee farmers in the study area. The study was carried out in Kogi State and purposive sampling technique was used to select eighty four respondents. Data were collected from the respondents with the use of structured questionnaire and the data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics (frequency and percentages) as well as multi-variate regression analysis. Result of the descriptive analysis shows that the mean age of the farmers was 64 years while 60% of the farmers had no access to formal education. Regression analysis revealed that farm size, variety of coffee, marketing channels, trading experience, membership of association, price satisfaction and selling method constituted major characteristic marketing factors influencing coffee marketing in the study area and they all affected coffee marketing at 1% significant level. Based on the findings, the study therefore recommended that efforts should be made to assess variety of coffee that is more preferred by the buyers. Also, farmers should be given incentives to increase their farm holdings for higher productivity

DETERMINANTS OF THE OCCURRENCE OF BLACK POD DISEASE OF COCOA IN EDO STATE, NIGERIA: A MULTIVARIATE PROBIT ANALYSIS APPROACH

This study was conducted at Edo state of Nigeria during July 2007 to determine factors that favor the infestation of black pod disease of cocoa in the study area. Cocoa is a very important cash crop in Nigeria. In fact, cocoa is the second main source of income to Nigerian government after petroleum. One of the major threats to cocoa production in Nigeria is the infestation of Black Pod Disease (BPD). A simple random sampling technique was used to collect information from fifty respondents in seven cocoa producing local government areas in the state and the information was collected with the aid of structured questionnaires. The data collected was analyzed using the multivariate probit model. The result of the probit analysis showed that price of fungicides (P<0.05), price of spraying pump (P<0.1), educational level of the farmers (P<0.05), price of cocoa beans (P<0.1) and the quantity of cocoa pod husk on the farms (P<0.1) were significant factors in determining the probability of the occurrence of black pod disease in cocoa farms in the study area

INTRODUCTION OF SOIL TEST KIT TO SMALL-HOLDER COCOA FARMERS IN SOUTH-WESTERN NIGERIA

ABSTRACT Soil nutrients depletion of cocoa plantations is one of the causes of low cocoa production in Nigeria. Soil testing to determine the appropriate type and rate of fertilizer to boost cocoa bean yield suggests itself. Conventional soil testing is not within the reach of smallholder cocoa farmers because of its cost and other logistics but soil testing is necessary to avert negative consequences of blanket fertilizer recommendation. Therefore the objective of this study is to introduce an affordable soil test kit for soil testing to smallholders cocoa farmers. The study was carried out in Ondo and Osun States of Nigeria. Multi-stage random sampling technique was used to select eighty two cocoa farmers from the study area. Information was collected from the selected cocoa farmers with the aid of structured questionnaire and the data were analysed using descriptive statistics. The result shows that only 20.73% of the respondent farmers carry out soil test on their farms while 85.36% of the farmers know the relevance of soil test. The result also revealed that 98.78% of the farmers are ready to acquire the soil test kit. The study therefore recommends that (i) The soil test kit should be included among the subsidized inputs that government gives to farmers from time to time and (ii) private entrepreneurs could also procure and make the kits available to the farmers

Environmental burden of fungicide application among cocoa farmers in Ondo state, Nigeria

The use of copper based fungicide in the control of black pod disease caused by Phytophthora megakarya is a common practice among cocoa farmers. Copper based fungicide has detrimental effect on the environment as well as the output of cocoa production in Ondo State, Nigeria. Deviation from the recommended quantity of fungicides by cocoa farmers is not uncommon. Several studies on cocoa production often ignore these externalities. The objective of the study was to determine the environmental efficiency of cocoa farmers using detrimental variable (deviation from the recommended quantity of fungicide on cocoa farm) and traditional inputs within the framework of stochastic frontier approach. The averages of fungicide used per cropping season per hectare were 2,230 grams, 5,820 grams 10,555 grams for respondents that used below, actual and above the recommended doses respectively while average cocoa outputs were 0.92, 3.35 and 1.32 metric tons for farmers that used below, actual and above recommended doses of fungicide respectively. The low environmental efficiency did not only raise the cost of production but also affirmed that the wrong use of fungicide in cocoa farm constitutes environmental burden and make the environmental unsustainable. The study recommended that farmers should be educated on the significance and mode of application of recommended dose of fungicide on cocoa plantation. Keywords: Environmental efficiency, detrimental input, stochastic frontier, cocoa production

Environmental burden of fungicide application among cocoa farmers in Ondo state, Nigeria

The use of copper based fungicide in the control of black pod disease caused by Phytophthora megakarya is a common practice among cocoa farmers. Copper based fungicide has detrimental effect on the environment as well as the output of cocoa production in Ondo State, Nigeria. Deviation from the recommended quantity of fungicides by cocoa farmers is not uncommon. Several studies on cocoa production often ignore these externalities. The objective of the study was to determine the environmental efficiency of cocoa farmers using detrimental variable (deviation from the recommended quantity of fungicide on cocoa farm) and traditional inputs within the framework of stochastic frontier approach. The averages of fungicide used per cropping season per hectare were 2,230 grams, 5,820 grams 10,555 grams for respondents that used below, actual and above the recommended doses respectively while average cocoa outputs were 0.92, 3.35 and 1.32 metric tons for farmers that used below, actual and above recommended doses of fungicide respectively. The low environmental efficiency did not only raise the cost of production but also affirmed that the wrong use of fungicide in cocoa farm constitutes environmental burden and make the environmental unsustainable. The study recommended that farmers should be educated on the significance and mode of application of recommended dose of fungicide on cocoa plantation. Keywords: Environmental efficiency, detrimental input, stochastic frontier, cocoa production