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Economics Of Vegetable Production
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Riskiness of vegetable production may
be attributed to several factors that are beyond the control of
producers. Biological processes of plant growth and climatic conditions
inherent in agricultural production cause random production shocks
(Goodwin and Mishra, 2000; Holt and Chavas, 2002) such as harvest
failure as a result of drought, frost, floods and other adverse climatic
events; policy shocks (Dercon, 2002). Due to perishable nature and
biological nature of production process there is a difficulty of
scheduling the supply of vegetables to market demand. The crops are
subjected to high price and quantity risks with changing consumer
demands and production conditions. Unusual production or harvesting
weather or a major crop disease can influence badly the marketing
system. While food-marketing system demands stable price and supply, a
number of marketing arrangements like contract farming provide stability
(Kohl and Uhl, 1985). Hence, knowledge of small-scale crop producers
perception towards risk is important in designing strategies and
formulating policies for agricultural development (Ayindeet al., 2008).
On the other hand, lack of market infrastructure is one of the limiting
factors causing low returns in vegetable cultivation. Profitability is
not only determined by the use of input resources but it is also
dependent on the availability of proper logistic for transporting the
farm produce from farm gate to the market. Vegetable production is also
influenced by the location of the farms due to the fact that the farms
near to input market are in a better position to purchase different
inputs such as seeds, fertilizers, etc. at the appropriate time. In Yewa
North Local Government, some of the major problems faced by vegetable
farmers include the following; lack of capital, lack of storage
facilities, climatic conditions, pest and diseases. Another problem that
I perceive farmers are facing in the study area and in Nigeria as a
whole is, the lack of standard measure for vegetables/pricing. The
questions of interest in this study are: · What are the
socio-economic characteristics of the vegetable farmers in the study
area? · What is the level of profit generated from vegetable
production in the study area? · What are the determinants of
income generated from vegetable production in the study area? ·
What are the constraints militating against vegetable production in the
study area?
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