Economic implications on management earnings of substituting traditional for improved cassava varieties in mix cropping farms in Cross River State.

Abstract

Information through questionnaires and farm records were obtained from farms across the fourteen Local Government Areas of Cross River State between April and October 1990 and 1992, to investigate the economic impact on management earning associated with the adoption of structure on mixed crop farms in Cross River State. A sample of one thousand heads of farms family household across the State were interviewed and their records obtained were analysed following the residual claimant procedures. The result reveal that 5% of the farms operators who had adopted both improved Cassava varieties and applied fertilizers on their farms had earned incomes in excess of N 20, 000 while operators who had not adopted this practice could not make similar income. Seventy percent of farms operators who had adopted both improved varieties and applied fertilizers earn incomes between N5, 000 and N19, 000. Only 16.6% of non-adopter earned incomes within this range. Overall, 83.33% of the non-adopters earned incomes of less than N 15, 000 while only 30% of the adopters fell in this category. A critical problem uncovered in the study was that there were serious instability problems in the supply/procurement sources of these inputs, which could create problems of sustainability of this new technology. The study, therefore, recommends the adoption effective strategies that will enhance and stabilize input procurement. Resources structure in these class of farms is changing but at a relatively very slow rate. The notable significant changes are in substitution of hired labour for family and addition of cassava enterprises in all the farm enterprise combinations in the state.

Journal of Applied Chemistry and Agricultural Research Vol. 2 1995: pp. 3-10