Abstract:
In Nigeria, the traditional
farmer finds it more satisfactory to plant a
diversity of crops than planting sole. It is
cheaper for farmers to grow many crops
of their own requirements than to buy
them. Hence, intercrop has remained the
traditional farming practice in many other
developing nations. Maize is a major
cereal crop grown by all farming
households all over Nigeria in
combination with other crops. There are
many studies on intercropping of maize
with other food crops in Nigeria;
however, many of these studies do not
bother to look into the economics of
intercrop. Therefore, this study examines
the economic profitability of maize
intercropped with major food crops in
Southwestern Nigeria. Multi-stage
sampling technique was employed in the
study. A total of 138 questionnaire were
used for analysis. Information was
collected on socio-economic characteristics
of the farming households, cropping
systems, cost of labour input, cost of
seeds, fertilizer and chemicals; yield and
price of output. Data analysis involved the
use of descriptive analysis, which
includes frequency distribution, mean and
percentages. Also, benefit-cost ratio and
net farm income analyses were employed.
The results showed that the average farm
size was 1.5 ha, 75% of the farmers
intercropped maize with other crops and
six varieties of maize were planted in the
study area. Among all the crop
combinations, sole maize has the least
cost, while maize intercropped with
cassava and yam has the highest cost.
Benefit-cost analysis showed that for
every N 1 spent in maize intercropped
with cassava and yam, N 1.26 would be
realized as profit. It is therefore,
recommended that for optimal use of
resources and crop combinations, both
public and private extension workers
should advice farmers on this finding and
the most profitable crop combinations.
