Optimal farm plans for crop-livestock farmers in Sokoto State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study was conducted to determine the optimal farm plans for crop-livestock production system in Sokoto State. In order to achieve this objective, one hundred and eighty farmers were randomly selected from six Local Government Areas of the State. Data collected were analyzed using linear programming models. The optimal total gross margin for the crop-livestock production system was N700,032.33 as against the existing farmers’ total gross margin of N411, 562.03. The shadow prices of capital and man-days were N5.64 and N80.96, respectively. Sensitivity analysis reveals that if the farmer decides to use all the slack variables, the objective function would be increased by N27,959.54 (4 %) over that of the optimal plan. The level of resource use was 2.50 ha for millet/sorghum/cowpea mixture, 2.05 ha for millet/sorghum/groundnut, 0.5 ha for millet, sorghum and groundnut each, while cattle, sheep and goats were one each. It was recommended that farmers should reorganize their resources according to the optimum plan as this will greatly enhance their income.