ECONOMICS OF RICE VALUE ADDITION AMONG FARMING HOUSEHOLDS IN TARABA STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

This study evaluated the Economics of Rice Value Addition among Farming Households in Taraba State, Nigeria. A multi-stage sampling procedure was used to select 240 respondents for this study and well-structured questionnaires was administered to farming households involved in rice value addition activities. Data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics, budgeting technique and multiple regression analysis. Results revealed that 70.4% of the activities were carried out by women, 53.8% of the respondents were married and 79.6% had some level of formal education. Mean household size and years of experience in activities were 12 persons and 18 years respectively. Only 26.7% and 31.7% of the respondents were members of cooperative society and had access to credit respectively. Respondents were engaged primarily in parboiling and drying. Net income obtained from value addition was ₦370,680.74 per annum and average rate of returns on investment was ₦1.41 indicating that for every ₦1.00 invested in value addition a profit of 41 kobo was made with operating ratio of 0.7 kobo. Cost of milling (-0.626), price of milled rice (0.311) and cost of paddy rice (0.0519) determined rice value addition enterprises’ profit. The major constraints encountered by respondents in rice value addition activities were inadequate funds, lack of appropriate value addition skill due to inadequate capacity building activities, lack of improved technology/method of processing and poor marketing information. The study concluded that rice value addition was a profitable venture. This study thus recommended that indigenous industries should be encouraged to fabricate small/medium capacity milling machines with parboiler, destoner and polisher features that would improve the quality of locally milled rice.