Resource use efficiency of yam/maize cropping enterprise among small scale farmers in Bosso Local Government Area in Niger State, Nigeria

Abstract

Despite the contribution of inter cropping to the economy and food security of small scale farmers in particular and Nigeria in general, there is still widespread food shortage. This study therefore analyzed the resource-use efficiency among yam/maize intercropping enterprise in four villages in Bosso local government area of Niger state. A total of 80 yam/maize farmers were randomly selected for this study. Data was obtained from farmers using structured questionnaires. Production function and multiple regression analysis were used for the analyses. Findings showed that all the resources were inefficiently allocated with an efficiency index of 0.0083 for farm size. This implies that farm size was not efficiently utilized by the farmers it also indicates that the marginal factor cost (MFC)of acquiring an additional hectare of land is greater than the marginal value product (MVP) therefore the resource is being over utilized. The inefficient utilization of all the resources underscores the existence of marked mal- allocation and a great scope for improvement in output by re-allocating the existing resources more efficiently. Factors influencing efficiency in the study were farm size, fertilizer, labour and capital. It was recommended that small scale farmers needed to be enlightened on best practices in production.