Evaluating the Total Factor Productivity of Smallholder Cassava Farmers based on Socio-economic Variables, Cost and Revenue in Southwest, Nigeria

The nation's low productivity in producing food crops is a reflection of inefficiency and the use of antiquated technology, which further impedes attempts to make sustainable progress in food production and availability. This study used a structured questionnaire to gather cross-sectional data from 360 cassava-based farmers who were randomly selected using a multi-stage sampling method. The goal of the questionnaire was to estimate the Total Factor Productivity (TFP) of productive resources used in cassava-based farms in South-West Nigeria. Descriptive and inferential statistics, the gross margin and the total factor productivity index were used to assess the data. The results showed that the majority (82.2%) of cassava farmers were male and they were within the active age group given a mean of 47.9years with a mean household size of 6 persons. About 87.2% of the farmers were married and had an average farming experience of 13years while about 58.3% of them had secondary education. The cassava farmers had an average farm size of 3.4ha and many (72.2%) of them had no access to credit. According to the summary statistics on total factor productivity, 66.9% of farmers produced at high levels, with their total factor productivity indices being above the optimal range. It was discovered that a number of factors significantly influenced the productivity of cassava-based farmers, including age, gender, marital status, farming experience, farm size, access to financing, availability of extension agents, membership in a cooperative association, and total household income. It was also found that cassava-based production was a profitable enterprise and that the total variable cost, total cost, gross margin, profitability ratio, efficiency ratio, income expenditure ratio and return on investment were significant in determining the level of productivity of farmers. There was a significant difference between the socio-economic characteristics of farmers who had low productivity and farmers who had high productivity. As a result, the report advises that the government give farmers with subsidized inputs such as agrochemicals and fertilizer, as well as loan facilities, to help farmers raise their scale of output and productivity.