Determinants of Profitability of Small Scale Tomato Irrigation Production in Talata Mafara and Maradun Local Government Areas of Zamfara State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study determinants of profitability of small scale tomato irrigation production in Talata Mafara and Maradun Local Government Areas of Zamfara State, Nigeria. A combination of purposive sampling and Slovin’s formula was used to select one hundred and fifty-three (153) irrigated tomato farmers for the study. Data were collected with the aid of structured questionnaires and were analyzed using gross margin and linear regression analysis. Result showed that the return per naira invested was 0.66, meaning that for every ?1 invested an additional 66kobo was gained, which depict that irrigated tomato production is profitable. The linear regression result revealed that coefficients for age, farm size and the cost of irrigation, household size, output of tomato and cost of manure significantly influenced the profitability of irrigated tomato farming in the study area. It was concluded that irrigated tomato production is profitable. The study recommended that government and NGOs should encourage tomato production under irrigation.