Costs and Return Structure of Small-Scale Maize Farmers In Yewa Division, Ogun State, Nigeria

Abstract

The increasing demand of maize coupled with limited arable land forced many maize farmers to cultivate maize on the same land for an extended time. This deliberate action affects the crop yield and profit for small-scale maize farmers. To provide the necessary impetus to identify factors that affect farmers' profitability, such as input costs, market prices and yield levels, this study examines the cost and return structure of small-scale maize farmers in the Yewa division of Ogun State, Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique was employed to carefully select a total of one hundred and five (105) respondents for the study and descriptive and budgetary analysis was used to analyze the data. The descriptive analysis showed that 75.24% of respondents were males with an average age of 46.88. About 79.05% of the respondents were married with an average household size of six (6) people. Likewise, the descriptive analysis also revealed that inadequate funds and capital (88.57%), pest and diseases problem (83.81%), poor soil fertility and land degradation (60.95%) and lack of irrigation facilities (54.29%) as major production constraints faced by the small-scale maize farmers in the study area. From the budgetary analysis result, the estimated total revenue was put at N231,490.00, the gross margin was N144,685.87, and the net farm income was calculated to be N78090,621.82. The rate of return on investment in maize production in the study area is 64.33% while the profitability index is estimated to be 39.15%, indicating that small-scale maize production in the study area has a high likelihood of generating substantial returns and is considered financially viable. This study, therefore, recommends that government should actively promote and support small-scale maize production by providing farmers with the necessary resources, training, and access to finance.