PAPER TITLE :ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF PLANTAIN PRODUCTION UNDER AGROFORESTRY SYSTEM IN EDO STATE, NIGERIA

APPLIED TROPICAL AGRICULTURE | VOLUME 21 NUMBER 1 2016

Paper Details

  • Author(s) : Idumah, F.O.*; Owombo, P.T.; Ighodaro U.B. and Mangodo, C.
  • Abstract:

Plantain is one of the staple crops commonly planted in the Southern part of Nigeria under various cropping systems. This study investigated the economics of plantain production under agroforestry system in Edo State, Nigeria. Sixty (60) farmers operating under the agroforestry system were purposively selected for the study. A translog stochastic production frontier function using the maximum likelihood estimates was used as analytical tool. The results revealed that labour and capital were the major factors that influence the production of the crop. The coefficients of labour and capital were positive and significant at 1 percent level implying that they contribute positively to plantain output. The coefficient of plantain suckers was positive but not significant, implying that increase in the planting densities of plantain suckers is not a requirement to increase yield (kg ha1) linearly, that is, planting an excessive number of plantain suckers within an area leads to competition for space and other resources. However, the coefficients of the interaction between farm size and labour (β9) and between farm size and capital(β10) and between farm size and suckers (β11) were positive and significant indicating that increases in the joint use of farm size and other inputs (labour, capital and plantain suckers) increased plantain output. Therefore, formulation and judicious enforcement of policies that ensure the provision of farm land, improved plantain planting materials and labour availability and affordability will go a long way to improve the efficiency of the farmers and increase their farm output. These variables have been found to influence the technical efficiency of plantain in the study area. In order to improve production of plantain, farmers should be assisted by the relevant government agencies to access finance in order to acquire farm inputs, hire labour, and acquire suitable farmland.