Abstract

Oluwemimo Oluwasola

Smallholder agriculture is characterized by underemployment during off seasons, low-income earnings and severe post harvest losses. The study thus analyzed the economics of cassava processing by rural farm households to establish the socio-economic and policy strategies required to stimulate rural enterprise. Multistage sampling technique was used to collect data from 150 respondents using structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, budgetary analysis and the Cobb Douglas regression function were used to analyze the collected data. Results revealed that women constituted 90% of processors and had a mean age of 36 years. Family sizes averaged 9 while the level of education among the processors was low (e.g. more than 80% did not read beyond primary school level). The initial capital invested in the enterprise averaged N10,106.80 ($80.85) and came mostly from personal savings. The gross margin and net income were N329,178.00 and N68,119.00 respectively. The internal rate of return to cassava enterprise was 1.84 while the benefit-cost ratio was 1.17. The regression analyses showed that age, experience and size of enterprise were significant determinants of the profitability of cassava processing enterprises while age, experience, level of education and initial capital outlay were significant determinants of the size of enterprise. Policy efforts should be geared towards accessing processors with locally fabricated machines while policy, research and extension regarding food processing at the rural farm-gate should be tailored to meet the needs and constraints of women.