Economic analysis of soybean production in Kwara state, north central Nigeria

Abstract

The study examined the efficiency of resources used in soybean production in Kwara State using 120 representative farmers. The results of the descriptive statistics showed that 60% of the farmers had no former education with over 90% cultivating only a hectare of farm land to soybean. The costs and returns analysis revealed soybean production as a profitable enterprise with net farm income of N8,217.5 and rate of return of 62%. The regression results show labour in mandays, farm size in hectares and quantity of seeds in  kilogramme determined the production of soybean in the study area and should be the focus for policy targeting. Further analysis showed that land was underutilized while seeds and labour were over utilized. It was therefore recommended that more of land area should be utilized while less of quantities of labour and seeds should be used for optimal profit to be attained in the study area.

Keywords: Soybean production, efficiency measurement, profitability ratio analysis