Comparative Economic Analysis of Rainy and Dry Season Maize Production among Farmers in Ekiti State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study focused on the comparative Economic Analysis of Rainy and Dry Seasons’ maize production among farmers in Ekiti State of Nigeria. The main objective of the study is to analyze the economics of rainy and dry seasons maize production in Ekiti State, Nigeria. A multi-stage sampling technique was employed to select one hundred and ten farmers who produce maize during rainy and dry seasons in the study area. Instrument of data collection was via well-structured and pre-tested questionnaire. The results of the analysis show that the mean age of the farmers was 39.2 years and greater proportion of the respondents (87.3%) were married. The average household size was 7 persons and majority of the respondents (84.5%) were male. The mean age of farming experience was 17.3 years and large proportions of the respondents (80.9%) were literates. The result further reveal that production efficiency of maize during the rainy season was higher than that of the dry season in the study area with the total annual revenue of N2,016,442.12 and N1,806,592.43 respectively. The results of the regression analysis shows that f-statistics for both rainy and dry season maize production were 8.380 and 37.851 respectively with probability values of 0.000 indicating that farmers socio-economic characteristics such as age, income, level of education, jointly had influence on maize yield. The major constraints to maize production during the rainy season were disease and pests infestations and dry season maize production witnessed poor weather conditions. An inadequate credit facility was the main problem confronting rainy and dry season maize production. The study therefore recommends that maize producers should be encouraged at all seasons through the provision of improved farm inputs subsidized rate, repairs of bad roads by the government, provision of credit facilities through farmers cooperative group will also enhance production efficiency of maize in the study area.