Economic Efficiency of Small Scale Farmers in Ogun State, Nigeria

Cassava holds a prominent position as a food and industrial crop in the Nigerian economy. Thus, there are government initiatives to support its mass production for domestic use and export. This study investigated the efficiencies of cassava production in Odeda Local Government of Ogun State. A random sample of 200 cassava producers was taken and subjected to budgetary and stochastic frontier analyses. Results indicated that most of the farmers were male (90%) with more than half (53%) above 50 years of age. Land holding by inheritance (78%) was prevalent. The gross margin and profit were N105, 775 and N95. 738,10 respectively. Cost ratio (1.8) and percentage profit (80%) indicated that cassava farming was profitable in the area. Total variable and labour costs were 91.6% and 68.2% of the total cost respectively. The return to scale was 1.024. Farm size (0.771) and quantity of planting stakes (0.203) significantly (p ≤ 0.01) affected cassava production. Age and farming experience contributed to technical inefficiency while cost of fertilizer, cost of herbicides, membership of cooperative and level of education enhanced technical efficiency. Efficiency of cassava growers ranged between 88.69 and 100 with a mean of 89.4. It was concluded that cassava production was highly profitable in the area and farmers operated with maximum efficiency given the current technology. Farmers were advised to reduce labour costs and thus increase profit margin.