PROFITABILITY AND RESOURCE USE EFFICIENCY OF CASSAVA FARMING IN MAKURDI LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF BENUE STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

The study was conducted to assess the profitability and resource use efficiency of cassava farming in Makurdi Local Government Area of Benue State, Nigeria. A total of 122 respondents were selected through multistage sampling technique. Data for the study were collected with the use of structured questionnaire and analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistics.The results showed that, majority (64.75%) of the respondents were males with mean age of 37years, 80.33% were married and had primary education (49.18%). The major occupation was farming (72.95%) with an average farm size of 1.22hectares, annual output of 2831.148kg, annual income of N319,557.4, 85.25% were members of cooperatives and about 72.95% had access to credit. The major findings on varieties of cassava produced revealed TME 419 (44.26%), TMS 0581 (14.75%), NR 8082 (13.11%) and TMS 0505 (11.48%).  The gross margin result on profitability of cassava farming showed an average total variable cost (TVC) of N40,819.67, total revenue (TR) of N319,557.4 and profit of N278,737.7. The major findings on the factors affecting resource use efficiency in cassava farming revealed age of farmers (37.70%), sex of farmers (13.11%), household size (12.30%), marital status (11.48%) and educational qualification (10.66%). The study concludes that cassava farmingis a highly profitable enterprise. It was recommended that, agricultural extension agencies and research institutes should intensify the multiplication and distribution of high-yielding and disease-resistant cassava varieties to ensure sustained productivity and profitability.