Costs and Returns Analysis of Cassava Production in Ijebu-North Local Government Area, Ogun-State, Nigeria

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The study on Costs and Returns of Cassava production was carried out in Ijebu-North local government area of Ogun state in Nigeria in 2023. Given the importance of cassava in the lives of the farmers and the general public in Ijebu-North LGA, there is need to examine the current trend whether the farmers make profit or not by engaging in cassava production per hectare in the area. This gap will help to encourage farmers to cultivate cassava as a means of improving family living standards. The study described the socio-economic characteristics of the farmers and determined the farm profit per hectare of the cassava farmers. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select one hundred and twenty (120) cassava farmers as respondents. The tools used for data collection were questionnaire and interview schedule. The data were analyzed with descriptive statistics and profitability analysis. The results showed that 75.8% of the cassava farmers are male, 79.2% of the cassava farmers are married, 50.8% are within the age bracket of 51 years and above, 99.2% of the respondents are educated i.e. they have obtained at least a First school leaving certificate, 50% have an household size of 6-10 persons per family, 65.8% of the respondents have a farming experience of 11 years and above, 47.5% of the respondents have a farm size of 4ha and above and 100% of the respondents have personal savings as their major source of capital. The Profitability analysis revealed that the total variable cost (TVC) of producing cassava per hectare was N185,500 and the total fixed cost (TFC) of producing cassava per hectare was N72,015 giving a total cost (TC) per hectare of N257,515. The total revenue generated per hectare was N368,000 with a gross margin of N182,500. The finding further revealed that a profit of N110,485 with N1.43k made on every naira invested into the business. On cassava production constraints, the farmers ranked Lack of Credit/loan facilities, Poor extension facilities and Lack of improved cassava varieties as the three top major constraints. The study recommends that youths should be encouraged to engage themselves in cassava production on a large-scale basis in the study area.