Cost Reducing and Profit Enhancing Effects of System of Rice Intensification Under Input and Output Endogeneity in Zamfara State, Nigeria

The study analyzed the cost and profit efficiency causal effect of System of Rice Intensification (SRI) in the Bakolori Irrigation Scheme (BIS), Zamfara State. A pre-tested structured questionnaire was used to collect primary data from 300 rice farming households in BIS, consisting of 40 (15%) and 260 (85%) adopters and non-adopters of SRI. Primal cost and profit systems and endogenous switching regression (ESR) models were used to achieve the research objectives. The findings reveal that under farmers’ cost minimization and profit maximization objectives, price of fertilizer, price of agrochemicals, amount of credit received and distance to rice plots significantly influenced adopters’ cost and profit efficiency. Similarly, the cost and profit efficiency of non-adopters were primarily determined by the price of organic fertilizer, agrochemicals and the distance to rice plots. Results further showed that SRI use reduced the excess cost in rice production by about 5.3% and the profit loss by about 40%. Based on the findings of this study, we recommend that more efforts should be harnessed by the government and research institutes in scaling up the testing and promotion SRI technology across other States of the economy in order to significantly reduce the current deficit of rice and for financial empowerments in rural areas. Extension agents should be used extensively in the process of dissemination of the technology.