Profitability of groundnut-based cropping systems among farmers in Hong local government area of Adamawa state, Nigeria

A H Bathon,A A U Jongur,D C Maurice,J F Shehu

doi:10.4314/gjass.v15i1.1

Abstract

Groundnut is an important cash crop and a good source of vegetable oil to resource-poor farmers. The study examined the Profitability of Groundnut–based Cropping Systems among farmers in Hong Local Government Area of Adamawa State, Nigeria. Specifically, the socio-economic characteristics of the farmers were described, their cropping systems identified, and the profitability of groundnut-based cropping systems determined. Multi-stage random sampling was used in selecting one hundred and twenty respondents used for the study. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics, gross margin and profitability ratios. The result of the analysis revealed that majority (60%) of the farmers were female, having an average household size of 8 people and had some level of formal education. Two groundnut-based cropping systems were identified, namely; groundnut/sorghum and sole groundnut cropping systems. The analysis of cost and returns revealed a total variable cost of N18,931.68/ha in groundnut/sorghum enterprise, while that of sole groundnut enterprise was N20,244.40/ha. On the returns from production, the total revenue from groundnut/sorghum production was N66,273.950/ha while that of sole groundnut enterprise was N77,319.40/ha. The profit from groundnut/sorghum production was N47,324.27/ha, while that of sole groundnut production was N57,075.00/ha indicating the later to be more profitable than the former. Sole groundnut production had higher profitability index, higher rate of return on investment and higher rate of return on variable cost than groundnut/sorghum production. Based on the findings the study recommended that farmers cultivate groundnut solely. Government and donor agencies should encourage groundnut breeding researches so as to raise the productivity of existing groundnut seeds. KEYWORDS : Groundnut, Production, Cropping System, Profitability

Highlights

Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L) known as earthnuts, peanuts, gobber peas, pinders, manilanuts is a member of the genus Arachis in the family Leguminosae which has replaced the traditional bambaranut (Vigna subterranean) in many areas of the country (Beghin et al.,2003)
About 61% of the farmers were female, while male constituted only 39% indicating that female farmers are mostly involved in groundnut production in the area
The mean age of the farmers is 33 years, indicating that majority of them are young, energetic and within the economically active age. This connotes that given the right set of inputs the farmers have the potential of raising their production levels

Summary

Introduction

Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L) known as earthnuts, peanuts, gobber peas, pinders, manilanuts is a member of the genus Arachis in the family Leguminosae which has replaced the traditional bambaranut (Vigna subterranean) in many areas of the country (Beghin et al.,2003). It is ranked 13th most important food crop in the World and the World’s 4th most important source of vegetable protein (26%), and the second largest source of vegetable oil (45%), the largest being the soya bean (International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics, ICRISAT, 2001). Okolo and Utoh (1999) estimated that Nigeria’s cultivated area under groundnut production is about 1.0 to 2.50 million hectares annually and yield in the range of 500-3,000 kg/ha

Methods

Results

Conclusion