Volume 12, Issue 25, January - June 2026

Determinants of Profitability and Constraints in Cassava Production Among Microcredit Beneficiaries and Non-Beneficiaries in Ona-Ara Local Government Area, Oyo State, Nigeria

Ismaila MO^1♦, Akanbi OM², Fakayode SB¹

¹Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension, Federal University Oye-Ekiti, Nigeria
²Department of Animal Health and Production, Federal University Oye-Ekiti, Nigeria

^♦Corresponding author
Ismaila MO, Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension, Federal University Oye-Ekiti, Nigeria

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to describe the socio-economic characteristics of cassava farmers, identify factors influencing profitability in cassava production, and examine constraints faced by farmers in Ona-Ara Local Government Area, Oyo State, Nigeria. The methodology employed multistage sampling to purposively select villages and communities prominent in cassava production, followed by stratification into credit beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries and random selection of 2% of registered farmers (yielding 218 valid responses from 238 questionnaires), with primary data collected via structured questionnaires and interviews, analysed using descriptive statistics, Cobb-Douglas production function, marginal value productivity for resource allocation efficiency, and Likert-scale ranking of constraints. Findings indicated that cassava farmers were predominantly male, married, and literate with secondary education, averaging small households and limited extension contact; beneficiaries operated larger farms (2.1 ha compare to 0.8 ha for non-beneficiaries) and achieved significantly higher profitability; key profitability determinants included farm size (production elasticity >1 indicating increasing returns), planting materials, labour, herbicides, and fixed costs, though most inputs were inefficiently allocated; major constraints ranked high were poor transportation, land scarcity, delayed and inadequate loans, and high labour costs, with non-beneficiaries additionally hindered by capital access barriers. In conclusion, microcredit access substantially boosts cassava production profitability by facilitating farm expansion and input intensification despite prevalent resource inefficiencies and infrastructural challenges. It was therefore recommended to encourage greater microcredit uptake among farmers, improve rural infrastructure such as roads, and timely disbursement of adequate credit facilities to mitigate production bottlenecks.

Keywords: Cassava, Microcredit, Profitability, Determinants, Constraints

Discovery Agriculture, 2026, 12, e8da3203

PDF

Published: 16 May 2026