Abstract
The study determined the profitability level in cowpea production in Takum Local Government Area of Taraba state, Nigeria. The broad objective of the study was to determine the factors affecting farmer's profit in cowpea production in Takum local government area of Taraba state. A multi stage and purposive sampling procedure was used. The districts were divided into four according to the political zoning. Eight villages were purposively selected from each of the districts based on its importance in cowpea production. Ten farmers were randomly selected from each village using simple random. About 80 farmers were selected to form the sample size. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics, profit function and the gross margin analysis. The profit function analysis revealed that the costs of hired labour and mechanized labour were statistically significant at 5% level of significance while the cost of fertilizer and the cost of rented land were statistically significant at 10% level significance. The negative coefficient shows that the costs of hired labour, mechanized labour and fertilizer were found to be inversely related to profit. The costs and returns analysis revealed that cowpea production in the study area is profitable venture, with the gross margin of N 54,909.75/ha and return per man- day of N 156.89 / ha. Pests and diseases were ranked the most important constraint followed by high cost of inputs, storage handling, transportation and soil infertility. It is recommended that the business of cowpea production should be encouraged since it is a profitable venture. Farmers should also be encouraged to form cooperatives to take advantages of the economies of scale to reduce cost and improve profit.
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