Profitability Analysis of Plantain Production in Yewa Division, Ogun State

Abstract

The study analyzed the profitability of plantain production in Yewa Division of Ogun State. The study was based on primary data obtained in a cross-section survey of 120 respondents drawn by multi-stage random sampling across communities the Local Government Areas (LGAs). Trained enumerators, that personally administered questionnaires/interview schedule, were employed in collecting the study data. The data consists of socio-economic characteristics of the sampled respondents. The study data were analyzed by both descriptive and quantitative techniques. Descriptive techniques including construction of frequency distribution, computation of descriptive statistics (mean, standard errors, etc) were used to analyze socio-economic characteristics of the farm households. The finding reveal that age distribution showed that 61.7 per cent of the sampled farmers, and by extension, rural farm households in the study area have the age of their household heads (farmers) falling below 60 years. While, 71.7 per cent of the heads of the rural farm households were males and 51.7 per cent of the household heads were married. Majority (64.8 per cent) of the household heads possess some formal education, which is predominantly at the primary level; an appreciable level of illiteracy exists among the respondents. Age of the farmers, household size, years of farming experience, fertilizer quantity used, quantity of pesticides used, quantity of insecticide used and total revenue from plantain are statically significant in determining the level of output of the plantain in the survey area. It is therefore recommended that roads linking the rural communities where plantain is being produced should be made motorable to enhance prompt movement of goods from the farms to the market.

Keywords: Plantain, Rural, Communities, Profitability, Households