Resource use efficiency of groundnut farmers in Bekwara Local Government Area, Cross River State, Nigeria

The study assessed the resource use efficiency of groundnut farmers in Bekwara Local Government Area of Cross River State, Nigeria. The specific objectives were to; describe the socio-economic characteristics of groundnut farmers, determine the cost and returns of groundnut production, determine the technical efficiency of groundnut farmers, identify the socio-economic factors influencing technical efficiency of groundnut production. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select groundnut farmers in the area. Data were obtained using a set of structuredquestionnaire. Descriptive, gross margin analysis and stochastic frontier were used for data analyses. Result from the study showed that majority (51.02%) of the respondents fall within age ranged of 31 – 40 years, with a mean age of 34 years. Females dominated groundnut production, 67.4% were married, 89.9% had family sizes of 1-10 persons per households, 94.9% had one form of education or the other. The result further shows that majority (79.60%) had 6 – 11 years of farming experience, 58% had farm sizes of between 1 – 1.5 hectares. The gross margin analysis shows that groundnut production was a profitable business with a gross margin and net farm income of ₦338, 019.249 and ₦330, 407.51 respectively. The result also revealed that quantity of seed used and farm size had positive and significant relationship with groundnut production. The mean technical efficiency was 0.97 with minimum and maximum efficiencies of 0.85 and 0.99. The inefficiency model showed that educational level, membership to co-operative, access to credit and the amount received were the significant variables that increased the technical efficiency of the respondents. It is recommended that policies by the government and non-governmental agencies should be geared towards encouraging farmers’ education on farm management practices so that they would be able to allocate production resources more efficiently especially agrochemicals for optimum yield.Keywords: Groundnut farmers, Resource efficiency, technical efficiency, inefficienc

Determinants of livelihood diversification among farm households in Akamkpa Local Government Area, Cross River State, Nigeria

The study examined the determinants of livelihood diversification of farm households in Akamkpa Local Government Area, Cross River State, Nigeria. The specific objectives were to describe the socio-economic characteristics of respondents in the study area, identifying the factors influencing farm household livelihood diversification as well as to identify the constraints to farm household livelihood diversification. A multistage sampling technique was used in sampling the respondents. A set of validated questionnaire were used to gather data for the study while a total of 60 respondents were selected. Data were analyzed with both descriptive and inferential statistics. The study revealed that the majority (60%) were female, aged 20-30years, married (46%) and literate. The majority of them had household size ranging from 4-7 persons, engaged in farming (61.7%) and diversified to non-farm income. The result also revealed that (70%) of the respondents did not have access to credit. The factors influencing livelihood diversification among the farm households were volume of credit received, household size, farm size and marital status.. More so, the major constraints to livelihood diversification among them were unstable electricity (78.3%), poor access to market (65%), insufficient market price of commodity (58.3%), inadequate access to loan (51.7%), inadequate skilled labour (51.7%), high cost of business premises (51.7%) and appreciation in tax rate (51.7%).. The study recommends improved access to credit and strengthening of the credit institutional arrangement to improve the livelihoods of rural households.Keywords: Determinants, Farm, Households, Livelihood, Diversificatio

Costs and return analysis of fish farming in Calabar Metropolis, Cross River State Nigeria

The study examines the costs and returns analysis of fish farming in Calabar Metropolis, Cross River State. A twostage sampling technique was used to select 30 fish farmers from two local government areas in the Calabar metropolis. Data for the study were sourced via structured questionnaire and were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics alongside budgetary techniques. Results showed that more men (70%) were involved in fish farming and that 33% were between the age brackets of 40 – 49 years, operating majorly (56,70%) on small scale basis with 40% of them having a family size of 2 - 4 persons and most (83.3%) being literates. The results of the budgetary analysis show that average total cost (TC) of ₦525,000 was incurred and total revenue (TR) of ₦650,000 was realized giving a returning gross margin (GM) of ₦425,000 with a Net farm income (NFI) of ₦125,000 per cycle. This is an indication that fish farming is profitable in the study area using a minimum of 1000 fingerlings for a start. From the results, feeds cost, production systems, education level and stocking density were important factors that influence fish output. Constraints perceived by most of the farmers include: high cost of fish feeds, lack of awareness and skilled personnel were identified ab initio that hindered fish production in the area. The study, therefore, recommended that the development of nutritive research institute for the development of fish feeds is a sine qua none for enhanced productivity in the fishery subsector in Nigeria.Keywords: Fish farming, fingerlings, returns, revenue, total cos

Economic impact of climate change on cocoa production among South-Western states, Nigeria: Results from ricardian analysis

The study was carried out to determine the economic impact of climate change on cocoa producing states in south western states, Nigeria using Ricardian analytical procedure. The specific objectives were to: analyze the economic impact of climate change on cocoa production, estimate the marginal impact of climate change on net cocoa farm revenue in the areas of study, find out whether there is a significant mean difference in climatic variables among the cocoa producing states in the south-west Nigeria and make useful recommendations based on findings. Data were sourced from CBN bulletin, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NIMET), spanning 1981 - 2015. Model specification was based on Ordinary Least Square (OLS) multiple regression technique using Ricardian framework on net revenue. Data obtained were analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. Results show that 11, 47 and 77% of the variations in net revenue from cocoa production were explained by rainfall and temperature for Oyo, Ondo and Osun states respectively. The study also affirms that the climatic (rainfall and temperature) and non climatic (area, producer price, yield and technology) variables accounts for 98%, 97% and 96% of the variations in net revenue per hectare of cocoa production respectively in Oyo, Ondo and Osun states. The study further showed that there was a significant difference in climate change over time across the cocoa producing states at 1% level of probability. The study indicated that climatic changes culminated in economic losses/benefits of about ₦27.63million (₦3.50million), ₦5.6million (₦14.90million) and ₦1.3million (₦5.8million) respectively across the states amidst varying marginal economic losses of ₦1billion (Ondo) and benefits of ₦10.08 and ₦270.48million (Oyo and Osun States) in the study area. Based on these, it was concluded that climatic changes over time are not the only parameters that accounted for economic losses and benefits, other factors also contributed. It was recommended that low-yielding cocoa trees, which have exceeded optimum production ages be replaced with the high-yielding ones alongside farmers should cultivate cocoa varieties that are tolerant to climate change in the area of consideration, ab initio.Keywords: Climate change, Cocoa, Ricardian, Production, Economic impact