5 research outputs found
A Comparative Profit Analysis of Catfish (Clarias Gariepinus) Production in Ughelli, Delta State, Nigeria.
This research was conducted using the same feeding regime and stocking density to determine the effect of using two different fish rearing facilities (earthen pond and concrete tank) of the same size (9m x 9m x 1.4 m) each on the profitability of fish raised to market size in six months. Results showed that final mean weight (initial mean weight 13g/fish of catfish (Clarias gariepinus) was greater in earthen pond (0.62 kg) than in concrete tank (0.53 kg). Despite the higher survival rate of 70% recorded in concrete tank as against 65% for earthen pond, the results further showed that the size of fish harvested affected the biomass, which negatively affected the profitability. The fish harvested from the earthen pond gave a profit margin of N78,770.00 as against the N61,000.00 from concrete tank pond. The profit margin difference of N 17,765.00 realized between the two structures demonstrates that, final mean weight of fish reared to market size was greatly influenced by culture media. Keywords: Profit margin, concrete tank, earthen pond, catfish
Micro-Credit Access and Profitability on Crop Production in Orhionmwon Local Government Area of Edo State, Nigeria
This study focused on the effect of micro-credit on the profitability
of crop production in Orhionmwon Local Government Area of Edo State,
Nigeria. A sample size of 166 small-scale farmers was randomly selected
from the farming communities in Orhionmwon Local Government Area.
Ninety two (92) beneficiaries and 74 non-beneficiaries were randomly
selected from the study area. A well-structured questionnaire and
scheduled interviews were used to obtain data from the farmers. The
data collected were subjected to descriptive statistics such as
frequency counts, percentages and mean scores. The mean scores were
compared using the t-test. Results showed that the respondents in the
study area were almost uniformly distributed gender-wise. The females
were however slightly more, both among the beneficiaries (58.7%) and
non-beneficiaries (52.7%). The mean years of farming for both the
credit beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries were 32 years and 34 years
respectively. Most of the farmers had farm holdings less than 2.5 ha.
The profit margin obtained from the beneficiaries was higher than that
of the non-beneficiaries. For maize, it was N145,40.66/ha against
N139,178.69/ha, for yam, N671,588.06/ha against N552,927.93/ha, for
cassava N377,194.99/ha against N223,000.74/ha and for plantain
N681,416.68/ha against N430,756.59/ha. Untimely delivery of loan was
indicated as the greatest constraint to loan acquisition by the
beneficiaries while the non-beneficiaries identified high interest rate
charges by the microfinance bank and distance as the greatest reasons
for not accessing loans
Designing Agricultural Development Projects for the Small Scale Farmers: Some Lessons from the World Bank Assistance Small Holder Oil Palm Development Scheme in Nigeria
Soaring prices of food staples and the implications for food security: The case of rice in Edo State, Nigeria.
This paper examined the soaring prices of
food staples with emphasis on rice in Edo State, Nigeria
covering the period 1990-2005. Specifically, the
study examined the nature of the price movement and
the quarterly trend between markets for rice in Edo State,
Nigeria and the price relationship of rice within the
markets. The rates of increase in price of rice in the rural
and urban markets were also determined. Also, the
differences in rice prices between the rural and urban
markets were tested if they were significant. The prices
used were derived from the daily prices of rice collected
by staff of the Edo State Agricultural Development Programme
(EADP) from the various markets in Edo State,
Nigeria. The data were analyzed using simple descriptive
statistics (such as means, standard deviations, tables,
graphs etc.) and multiple regression analysis. The
study revealed that the price of rice for both markets
(rural and urban) started rising from the second quarter
through to the third before peaking in the fourth quarter.
Generally, urban market prices were higher than that of
the rural market prices. However, for four consecutive years (1996 – 1999), the rural market prices were higher
than urban prices by 7.14 %, 3.46 %, 1.12 % and
4.89 % respectively. The observed mean annual price
increase was 15.56 % and 16.49 % for rural and urban
markets respectively. When the differences between the
rural and urban market prices for the period were compared
using the Student t-test, they were significantly
different from each other at the 95 % confidence level.
The regression analysis showed that the price of rice
had no significant relationship with the prices of other
food staples in the rural market. However, the relationships
observed were both complementary and competitive.
The urban markets had no competitive relationship.
Due to the disparity in prices between the rural
and urban markets, it is recommended that government
should direct its effects towards stabilizing the price of
fuel and create motorable roads in the rural areas where
rice is produced in order to close up the considerable
price disparity between the rural and urban markets