Demand-Driven Technologies for Sustainable Maize ... - IITA

402Socio-economics of community-based maize seedproduction in the Guinea savanna of NigeriaM.O. Akinola 1 , S.A. Sanni 1 , I. Usman 2 , F. Orakwe 2 , 3 J.E. Onyibe, and M.A. Hussaini 41Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural SociologyAhmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria2Department of Plant Science, Ahmadu Bello University3NAERLS, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria4Department of Agronomy, Bayero University, Kano, NigeriaAbstractThe objectives of this study were to assess the socio-economicfeasibility of maize seed production at community level, identifyfarmers’ preferences among the varieties introduced and investigatethe problems and prospects of the technology. The ultimate goal is topromote sustainable community-based maize seed production in theGuinea savanna ecological zone of Nigeria. Using a semi-structuredquestionnaire, 50 participating farmers in the project were surveyed.Descriptive statistics and farm budgeting techniques were used toanalyze the data collected from the participating farmers. The resultsshowed that, at the initial stages of the project, most farmers preferredthe ACR Pool–16 maize variety because of its high yield and easymilling quality. At the later stages, TZL Comp 1 became the preferredvariety due to its resistance to Striga parasitism. The least preferredvariety was TZEE Y 1because yellow maize was not in popular demandin the study area. The total variable costs per hectare of maize seedfarm was N41, 815.43 (US$ 1=N130). Labour and fertilizer costsaccounted for about 53% and 19% of the total variable costs. Anaverage seed yield of 2100 kg/ha was realized, amounting to aboutN168,000/ha. A gross margin of N126,184.57/ha was estimated.The return to investment on maize seed production was about N3 perNaira invested. The benefi ts accruing to participating farmers includedincreased income and improved social status in their communities. Themajor problems highlighted by the farmers were high labor demandand poor market/prices of maize seed. In spite of these problems, thefarmers considered maize seed production as a profi table enterprise.RésuméCette étude avait pour objet d’évaluer la faisabilité socio-économiquede la production communautaire durable de semences de maïs,identifi er les préference des paysans entre les variétés introduiteset investiguer les problemes et prospects de la technologie. Le butfi nal est la promotion de la production comunautaire de semence de