ISSN 2360-798X
Abstract
Accepted 28th July, 2014
A gender-balanced agricultural growth is critical to successful agricultural policy which aims at enhancing food security and thereby attaining the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) in Nigeria. Hence, this study was designed to determine the efficiency of male and female rice-farmers in Adamawa State, Nigeria. Primary data were collected from 378 randomly selected male and female rice-farmers in Adamawa State. The data were analysed using both descriptive statistics, and inferential statistics which include stochastic frontier function and gross margin analysis. The study identified the socio-economic characteristics of both male and female rice-farmers in the area. The results revealed that the Gross Margins for male and female farmers were ₦45,311.24 and ₦38,344.86 respectively indicating that rice production in the area was a profitable venture. However, the male farmers were shown to be operating at a higher level of profitability than their female counterparts. Therefore, government policy should emphasize measures that promote women farmers’ access to agricultural resources and services at affordable prices thereby bridging the existing gender gap among rice-farmers in Nigeria.
Keywords: Profitability, Gender, Rice, Production, Gross margin