RESOURCE USE EFFICIENCY AMONG FADAMA CROP FARMERS IN IBADAN/IBARAPA AGRICULTURAL ZONE OF OYO STATE, NIGERIA

Thesis Abstract

The study investigated the resource use efficiency among Fadama crop farmers in IbadanIbarapa agricultural zone of Oyo state, Nigeria. Data were collected from 120 respondents whowere randomly selected and interviewed using both interview schedule and questionnaire. Thedata collected were presented using percentage and means. The findings o revealed that therewas no significant difference in the productivity between Fadama and non fadama (soko)farmers, while there was a significant difference between the productivity of Fadama and nonfadama (watermelon) farmers as well as Fadama and non fadama maize farmers.The grossmargin analysis of Fadama and non Fadama crop farmers revealed that Fadama soko farmers andFadama maize farmers were more profitable than the non Fadama farmers in the area. Forwatermelon, the non fadama farmers were more profitable because they had higher output. Thefindings also revealed that labour, fertilizer, insecticides and seed influenced the technicalefficiency of soko farmers. Herbicides and insecticides influenced the technical efficiency ofwatermelon farmers, while labour, insecticide and seed influenced the technical efficiency ofmaize farmers. The positive coefficient for age variable implies that the older farmers were moretechnically inefficient than theyounger ones. Also negative coefficient for education implies thatthe farmers level of technicalinefficiency declined with more education. With regards to farmerspecificfactors, especially education, there is the need for policyto promote formal education asa means of enhancing efficiency in production over the long-term period. This is because itwould enable farmers make better technical decision and also help in allocatingtheir productioninputs effectively.In the short-term, informal extension education could beeffective, especiallywhen targeted at farmers who have had limited formal educationalopportunities.The coefficientof farming experience was estimated to be negative as expected andstatistically significant at the5-percent level. The implication is that farmers with more years offarming experience tend to bemore efficient in crop production. It is possible that such farmers gained more years offarmingexperience through “learning by doing,” and thereby becoming more efficient.The studyalso found that farmers under Fadama harvested more per unit ofland of output of crop thannonfadama farmers for soko and maizeand this confirms the hypothesis that programmeintervention has the capacity to succor farm production problems while accruing more income tofarmers.