Comparative Economic Analysis of Rice Production by Adopters and Non-Adopters of Improved Varieties among Farmer in Paikoro Local Government Area of Niger State

Abstract

This study was on the Comparative Economic Analysis of Adopters and Non-adopters of improved rice varieties among farmers in Paikoro Local Area of Niger State. Primary data were collected using a structured questionnaire administered to 90 respondents, which consist of 45 adopters of improved rice variety and 45 non-adopters of improved rice variety using stratified random sampling technique. Descriptive statistics, gross margin and production function were used in analyzing the data. The results revealed that 68.9% of adopters were male, while for the non-adopters, 53.3% were male. Costs and returns analysis shows that adopters had the highest mean gross margin of ₦58, 663.4 per hectare compared to ₦29, 682.6 per hectare for non-adopters. Semi-log functional form was chosen as the lead equation for adopters and non-adopters with R² of 0.92 and 0.65 respectively. Farm Size and fertilizer were significant at 1% and improved seed was significant at 5% level for the adopters, while only farm size and quantity of agro-chemicals were significant at 1% and 10% respectively for the non-adopters. Some of the problems encountered by both categories of farmers in the study area include; pests and diseases, high cost of seed, fertilizer and labour. It is recommended that policy should be designed to ensure adequate supply of inputs to farmers at subsidized rates and extension packages should also be extended to non-adopters.