Economic evaluation of maize intercropped with some major food crops in Southwestern Nigeria

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.