Suchergebnisse

Open Access Journal ; The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture and collaborating partners have been introducing and disseminating short season soybean varieties among farm households in the Sudan savannas of Northern Nigeria since 2008. Yet, there is no empirical information on the profitability and technical efficiency of soybean production. This study estimated the profitability and efficiency of production of the early maturing soybean. Nine hundred soybean farming households in thirty communities from three Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Kano State were sampled for the study. Partial budget technique and stochastic frontier production function were used to analyze the data elicited from the sampled farm households. Results from the study established the profitability of soybean production in all the three LGAs of Kano State. The highest profit of N178,613/ha and returns per naira invested of 2.5 respectively was earned by the soybvean producing households of Dawakin-Tofa LGA. Net profit was N157,261 in Shanono with a returns of 1.75 per naira invested. In Bunkure, net benefit was N143,342 with returns of 1.66 per Naira invested. The mean technical efficiency was highest for the Dawakin-Tofa LGA soybean growing households (87%), followed by Bunkure LGA (68%), and Shanono LGA (59%). This result implies that given the current level of resources available to the soybean producing households, they can increase their soybean output in the short run by a margin 13%, 32% and 41% in Dawakin-Tofa, Bunkure and Shanono LGAs respectively through efficient utilization of their available resources. FArmer-specific efficiency factors, which comprise age, education, access to credit, extension contact and farming experience, were found to be the significant factors that account for the observed variation in efficiency among the farmers in the 3 LGAs. It was recommended that the soybean farmers through the assistance of extension agents should be encouraged to adhere strictly to the recommended soybean production practices towards ensuring efficient utilization of their available resources so that they can improve their technical efficiency and increase their profit level towards enhancing their household food security. ; Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa ; Peer Review

The study was carried out to examine the sources of extension information among women maize farmers and the effect of extensive information on the output of the farmers in the study area. Primary and secondary data were utilized in this study. The primary data were obtained using a structured questionnaire and were analyzed using the instrumentality of descriptive and inferential statistics. The result of the data analysis showed that a large proportion (64.5%) of the respondents indicated that radio was their main source of extensive information, 59% of the respondents indicated that visit by extension agents was their main source of extensive information. The mean output (1946.53kg) for women farmers with access to extensive information was significantly higher than the mean output of women farmers without extension information (1456.94kg) at the 1 percent probability level. Based on the findings of this study, it is recommended that the transfer of extension information to women maize farmers should be strongly strengthened as extension information is significant in enhancing the output of the women maize farmers in the study area.