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Nov 24, 2014Keywords:
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Main Article Content
Improved Input Combination Strategy for Increased Productivity And Profitability Of Rice Production in Ebonyi State, Nigeria
Abstract
Ebonyi state is a major rice producing area, where the bulk of rice consumed in Nigeria is produced. Rice production in the area has always fallen short of the demand owing particularly to low rice crop yields in this area. Low rice productivity is ascribed primarily to soil fertility constraints and inefficient use of production resources. In order to address these problems, a farmer participatory research was conducted in 2009 and 2010 rainy seasons at the major rice producing areas of Ebonyi state. The aim was to introduce a new input combination package, compare it with the local production practices and use the result to tackle the rice productivity problem of the area. The new package comprised improved varieties of lowland rice, inorganic fertilizer, herbicide and planting technique, whereas the local production practices involved the landrace varieties and the traditional methods of rice production. A multi-stage (purposive and random) sampling technique was used to draw a total of 240 farmer participants for the study. The data collected included grain yield, cost and return on rice production. The pooled data for the two years were compared using descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. The results showed that average grain yield for FARO 44 was 6.44 tonnes per hectare (t/ha), FARO 52 was 7.25 t/ha under the new package. The mean grain yield for the FARO varieties was 7.03 t/ha. The average grain yield for the land race variety was 2.53 t/ha, under the local production practices. The mean cost of production per hectare using the new package was N151, 400.00 compared to N153, 050 using the local production practices. At the farm-gate price of N55.00 per kilogram of rice grains, the net revenue from 1 hectare for the new package was N 68,600 whereas the local production practices gave net revenue of -N 35,600. It was concluded that the new input combination package led to a higher grain yield, lower cost and was more profitable compared to the local production practices for rice production. Farmers are encouraged to adopt the improved package of production practices.
Key Words: Input combination, rice production, productivity and profitability
