Socio-institutional factors influencing Orange Flesh Sweet Potato (OFSP) production in Offa Local Government Area of Kwara State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study examined socio-institutional factors influencing Orange Flesh Sweet Potato (OFSP) production in Offa Local Government Area (LGA) of Kwara State, Nigeria. The specific objectives are to; describe socio-economic characteristics of the OFSP farmers, estimate costs and returns of OFSP production, determine the factors influencing OFSP production and identify constraints associated with OFSP production. Three-stage sampling procedure was used for the selection of 96 OFSP farmers on which questionnaire was administered. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics, farm budgeting technique and Ordinary Least Square (OLS) regression model. Results of the analysis revealed that 93.8% of the respondents were males, while 96.9% were married. The mean age, farming experience and household size of the respondents was 53 years, 18.5 years and 9 people, respectively. The cost and returns analysis revealed that the farmers’ revenue from production was ₦132,875.00, while the Net Farm Income of the farmer was ₦ 99,381.65 per hectare with returns invested of 2.97 implying that for every one naira (₦1) invested in OFSP production, there is a profit of two naira, ninety-seven kobo (₦2:97k) indicating a profitable venture. The OLS regression analysis result revealed R2 value of 0.7376 implying that about 73.8% variation in the output of OFSP production are due to socio-institutional factors such as age (-1.848, p<0.1), marital status (2.404, p<0.05), education (1.733, p<0.1), experience (2.957, p<0.01), Labour (1.822, p<0.1) and extension contact (2.035, p<0.05). These variables were significant and statistically influences OFSP production. Major constraints of OFSP production identified was unavailability of finance and high cost of labour (90.6%) ranked 1st, followed by inadequate government support (85.4%) ranked 3rd. In conclusion, the production of OFSP was profitable. It was therefore recommended that, Government in partnership with relevant stakeholders (private investors) should help in formulating policy that will support OFSP production.