AGRARIAN STRUCTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT: A SPATIAL AND ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION UNITS IN IGALALAND, KOGI STATE, NIGERIA
AGRARIAN STRUCTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT: A SPATIAL AND ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION UNITS IN IGALALAND, KOGI STATE, NIGERIA
| dc.contributor.author | JOHN, ATAKPA UKOJE | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2014-02-10T09:44:02Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2014-02-10T09:44:02Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2000-09 | |
| dc.description | A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL, AHMADU BELLO UNIVERSITY, ZARIA, IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN GEOGRAPHY | en_US |
| dc.description.abstract | ABSTRACT The main aim of this study is to assess the economic efficiency of farmers in the use of agricultural production resources in southern Igalaland. In order to achieve the aim of this study, a total of 204 fields belonging 43 farmers from ten settlements were surveyed using prismatic compass, and a measuring tape to determine their sizes. Two sets of questionnaire were administered to cover soeio-eeonomie characterises of the people and their cultural practices. The Held areas were calculated. The information thus obtained was subsequently used in the analysis of factor productivity, cost and returns, and profitability of the crops cultivated"'by the farmers. The result of the study showed that the farmers with an average family size of 16 persons cultivated an average farm size of 5.26 ha per household. They relied more on non-family labour (55.7%) for the cultivation of their fields. Sole cropping was the most dominant cropping pattern in the area because it constituted about 50 percent of the crop enterprises and accounted for about 76 per cent of the total area cultivated by sampled farmers. They also relied more on their savings, which accounted for 85 per cent of the total amount of money invested in farming. The farmers used insignificant quantities of fertilizers, insecticides and herbicides because they were either not affordable or available or they had no knowledge of their uses. The small-scale farmers' households were about 58 per cent of the sampled farmers, they cultivated only about 25 per cent of the area under cultivation. The small farmers had an average farm size of 2.26 ha while the large-scale farmers had 13.72 ha. \ ii per household. The small-scale farmers were generally more efficient in the use of production resources than the medium and large-scale farmers. Crop yields in the area were appreciable as crops like yam, maize, rice and millet had yields higher than average yields for Nigeria. Labour was profitably used and returns to family and non-family labour were generally much higher than the wage rate for the survey year. All the selected crop enterprises were profitably cultivated. So the farmers were found to be efficient in the use of their production resources. The results of the production function analyses for showed that seed was the most important variable that explained the variations in the yield of yam while labour was the major variable that explained the variation in the yields of maize and cassava. Both variables seed and labour, were important in explaining the variations in the yield of rice. The results further showed that the areas of production resources could be adjusted in the process of producing yam. maize, rice and cassava, if increase in productivity is to be sustained. It was recommended that for improved productivity and consequently improved standard of living, the farmers in southern Igalaland should be provided with basic farm inputs like seeds, fertilizer, insecticides and herbicides; services such as tractor hiring, extension and loans; basic infrastructure including roads, clean water, and health centres. It is therefore recommended that the provision of these infrastructure, farm inputs and services in addition to regular data collection to update the information about the farmers and their socio-economic life will facilitate effective viii future rural planning, for the area. Effective implementation of such laudable plans will bring about the desired rural development. | en_US |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/786 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | en_US |
| dc.subject | AGRARIAN | en_US |
| dc.subject | STRUCTURE | en_US |
| dc.subject | RURAL DEVELOPMENT | en_US |
| dc.subject | SPATIA | en_US |
| dc.subject | ECONOMIC ANALYSIS | en_US |
| dc.subject | AGRICULTURAL | en_US |
| dc.subject | PRODUCTION | en_US |
| dc.subject | GALALAND, | en_US |
| dc.title | AGRARIAN STRUCTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT: A SPATIAL AND ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION UNITS IN IGALALAND, KOGI STATE, NIGERIA | en_US |
| dc.type | Thesis | en_US |