PRODUCTIVITY AND PROPERTY RIGHT TO LAND USE AMONG IFAD/VCDP RICE FARMERS IN GWER LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF BENUE STATE OF NIGERIA

Abstract

The study assessed the productivity and property right to land use among IFAD/VCDP rice farmers in Gwer local government area, Benue State. A sample size of 120 farmers was collected through a cluster sampling technique using a pre-tested questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, total factor productivity (TFP), and Gross Margin Analysis (GM) were the tools for data analysis. Results of the data analysis show that the majority (69.2%) of the farmers acquired their lands by inheritance. Also, (79.8%) had controlling access to a piece of land and hence had land tenure security. Among these, 62.7% believed they could sell their rights to other individuals, 55.8% believed they could sell the land outrightly while 100.0% believed they could lease it. The average farm size for cultivation was 2.683ha and (53.3%) of the farmers had an average TFP value of 4.8981. Many (48.2%) farmers with the secured land tenure type had a TFP of 5.2207, a mean total variable cost of N279783.7838 and earned revenue of N1,054,918.92 with a mean GM of N775,135.13 which is rated at N288389.86/ha. Conversely (64.9%) of farmers with the in-secured land tenure type had a TFP of 4.1745, a mean total variable cost of N24,1330.1205 and earned revenue of N1,167,409.64 with a mean GM of N926,079.51 which is rated at N359,993.17/ha. The t-test showed that there was an as significant difference in the TFP and GM of rice farmers between secure and insecure land tenure types. The constraints faced by the farmers are; Poor access to technological resources in terms of machinery and adverse weather factors. The study recommends that government should provide credit resources in form of inputs that should be supplied to farmers and extension information on weather issues as well as assist farmers with loans and another agricultural resource to enhance large scale production through mechanized farming.