Household Requirements Versus Profit Optimization: The Win-Win Solution Strategies Among Small-Holder Farmers in South Western Nigeria

Abstract

Satisfaction of household requirements and profit maximization has been the main goals of subsistence small-holder farmers in the rural communities of Nigeria. This necessitated the practice of multiple/mixed cropping of arable crops. On the contrary, a part of the National food security agenda of the Federal government is the raising of maize sole to meet the need of local consumers as well as export market. The need to chat a middle course for meeting the requirements of all the parties concerned calls for this study. Data used were obtained from well organized and supervised rural farmers in south-western Nigeria and analyzed by using budgeting and linear programming. Results obtained from the use of Linear programming techniques have demonstrated that mixed cropping involving maize/cocoyam, maize/cassava/yam and cassava/yam are more rewarding in terms of profits and satisfaction of subsistence goals on small-holder farms in south western Nigeria. This contrasts diametrically with sole cropping of maize which has been the priority of the agricultural extension departments of the ministries of agriculture in tune with government programme. The use of parametric programming suggests that increase in farm size, introduction of labour-enhancing technologies and improved production techniques would raise returns from sole cropping of maize to a competitive level and thus resolve the empirical conflict.