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Analysis Of Profitability And Resource Use Efficiency In Cassava Farming
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1.2 Problem Statement
The problem of declining crop productivity in
Nigeria is important (FACU, 1992; FDA, 1993 and 1995, as cited in Ukoha
et al., 2010). The agricultural problem in Nigeria relates to the
inefficiency with which farmers use resources on the farms (Bamidele et
al., 2008). It also borders on how the various factors that explain farm
efficiency could be determined through research so as to improve
cassava production in the country (Bamidele et al., 2008). Farmers’
output must therefore be expanded with existing levels of conventional
inputs and technology to meet the increasing demand for cassava.
Cassava
farmers in Nigeria are small-holders characterized by very low level of
productivity (Bamidele et al., 2008). These smallholder and traditional
farmers who use rudimentary production techniques, with resultant low
yields, cultivate most of this land. They are also constrained by many
problems including poor access to markets, land and environmental
degradation and inadequate research and extension services (Manyong et
al., 2005).
Simonyan et al. (2010), as cited in Nandi et al. (2011)
stated that Nigerians are poor and hungry despite efforts made by
various governments in improving agricultural productivity and
efficiency of the rural farmers who are the major stakeholders of
agricultural production. Given the various government programmes such as
the National Accelerated Food Production Programme (NAFPP), Operation
Feed the Nation (OFN), the Agricultural Development Projects (ADPs),
Cassava Multiplication Programme (CMP), and Root and Tuber Crop
Expansion Program (RTEP), implemented over the years to raise farmers’
efficiency and productivity in cassava farming, productivity for cassava
is still low. For example, the actual yield of cassava ranges between 8
and 15 tonnes per hectare, compared to a potential yield of 30 tonnes
per hectare – a yield gap of 275 and 100 percent respectively (FAO, 2011
as cited in IITA, 2015). And also, given the increasing interest of
more nations in buying cassava products from Nigeria, the prospects for
enhanced foreign exchange is becoming high (Ogisi and Alimeke, 2013). It
then becomes necessary to economically analyze the profitability and
resource-use efficiency of cassava farmers. This study seeks to find
answers to the following research questions:
i. What are the socio-economic characteristics of cassava farmers in the study area?
ii. What are the costs and returns for cassava farming in the study area?
iii. What is the technical relationship between inputs and output in cassava farming in the study area?
iv. How efficiently are resources used by cassava farmers in the study area?
v. What is the relationship between cassava farmers’ socio-economic characteristics and their output?
vi. What are the elasticities of production and returns to scale for cassava farming in the study area?
vii. What are the major constraints faced by cassava farmers in the study area?
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