Socio-Economic Determinants of Sweet Melon Production in Balanga Local Government Area of Gombe State, Nigeria

Abstract

The potentials of the horticulture sub-sector in solving the prevailing food crisis in Nigeria remain largely untapped because of inefficient use of production resources. The study examined socio-economic determinant of sweet melon production in Balanga local government area of Gombe state. A two stage sampling procedure was used in drawing a sample size of sixty sweet melon farmers from three communities. Data collected were analyzed using both descriptive and multiple regression models. The result revealed that the majority of the farmers were male, married, and literate, with small holding. A coefficient of multiple determinants, R2 of 0.765 indicated a high relevance of the input in explaining the observed variation in melon production. The regression co-efficient of experiences, farm size and house hold size were significant at 5% level of probability, therefore, making the three factors important determinant of output from sweet melon production. Based on findings from the study, it is recommended that government should provide credit facilities with less bureaucracy and low interest rate to producers; this will enable farmers to increase their farm size and in turn increase output.