A Profit Approach Comparison between Tomato Grown under Organic and Inorganic Methods in a Typical Nigeria’s Soil

Subject Areas : Extension and Economic

Hamza Babagiwa Aliyu ¹ , Muhammad R. Ja’afar-Furo ²

1 - Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension,Faculty of Agriculture,Adamawa State University, PMB 25, Mubi,Nigeria
2 - Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension,Faculty of Agriculture,Adamawa State University, PMB 25, Mubi,Nigeria.

Received: 2020-10-19 Accepted : 2020-12-04 Published : 2020-12-01

Keywords: production, farmers, Comparative, Crop, vegetative,

Abstract :

The role of tomatoes as nutritive vegetable crop in the diet of most humans has been stressed or advanced by many scientists. This study therefore, assessed the profitability of tomato production using organic and inorganic fertilisers on a typical irrigated soil in Hong Local Government Area, Adamawa State, Nigeria, with the intent of ensuring a more acceptable measure of sustainability among rural farming communities. A total of 120 (60 in each category) producers were purposely selected from 2016/2017 irrigation season for the study. Data were collected through a cost route method by application of structured questionnaire and complemented with interview and group discussions. Descriptive statistics, Gross Margin Analysis and Net Farm Income were engaged in the analysis of data. Findings showed that most of the farmers were married males aged between 31 and 60 years with farming experience ranging from 11 – 20 years. A larger proportion of the farmers had first school leaving certificates and cultivated less than a hectare of farmland. While the most popular organic fertilisers among the farmers were cow dung and small ruminant droppings, Nitrogen-Phosphorus-Potassium 15-15-15 (NPK) fertiliser was largely applied among the respondents. The returns on Naira (₦) invested for users of organic and inorganic fertilisers were 2.5 and 0.73, respectively, signifying that the former farms were more profitable. Conclusively, it can be stated that the application of organic fertilisers yielded more profit than the chemical fertilisers. Therefore, institutions of concern should strongly work towards making the application of organic fertilisers more popular.

References:

1. Akibu, Y. (2014). Tomato Production in Nigeria: Prospect of  Bright Future. Retrieved on 27th February, 2019, from http://www.belvynaglobal.com/tomato-production-in-nigeria-prospects-of-a-bright-future


2. Anonymous. (2019). History of Tomatoes. Retrieved on 22nd February, 2019 from
        http://www.vegetablefacts.net/vegetable-history/history-of-tomatoes/


3. Cox, B. (2015). Field Production of Organic Tomatoes. Retrieved on 2nd March, 2019 from https://articles.extension.org/pages/18653/field-production-of-organic-tomatoes


4. Emana, B., Afari-Sefa, V., Nenguwo, N., Ayana, A., Kebede, D. and Mohammed, H. (2017). Characterisation of Pre- and Postharvest Losses of Tomato Supply Chain in Ethiopia. Agriculture and Food Security, 63, 1-11.


5. Ghorbani, R., Jahan, M., and Asadi, G. A. (2006). Effects of Organic Fertilisers and Compost Extracts on Organic Tomato Production. Aspects of Applied Biology, 79, 113-116.               


6. Giovannucci, E. (1999). Tomatoes, Tomato-Based Products, Lycopene, and Cancer:
   Review of the Epidemiologic Literature. Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 91(4), 317-331.


7. Heeb, A., Lundegardh, B., Savage, G. P. and Ericsson, T. (2006). Impact of organic and inorganic fertilizers on yield, taste, and nutritional quality of tomatoes. Journal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science, 169(4), 535 – 541 DOI: 10.1002/jpln.200520553.


8. Iwuoha, J. P. (2017). Tomato Millionaires in the Making: How these 4 Smart
   Entrepreneurs are Making Money from Africa’s Tomato Problems. Retrieved on 6th March,
   2019, from http://www.smallstarter.com/get-inspired/how-these-4-smart-entrepreneurs-are-making-money-from-africas-tomato-problems/


9. Jones, J. B. (2015). Growing Tomatoes. Retrieved on 12th February 2019 from  www.growtomatoes.com/tomato-world-production-statistics.

10. Kutawa, I. I. (2016).  Empirical Evidence on Contract Farming in Northern Nigeria: Case Study of Tomato Production.  Asian Economic and Social Society, 6(12), 240-253.

11. Magee, E. (2019). Health Properties of Tomatoes. Retrieved on 27th February, 2019, from             https://www.webmd.com/food-ecipes/features/health-properties-tomatoes#1

12. Makinde, A., Jokanola, O. O., Adedeji, J. A., Awogbade, A. L. and Adekunle, A. F. (2016). Impact of Organic and Inorganic Fertilisers on the Yield, Lycopene and Some Minerals in Tomato (Lycopersicum Esculentum Mill) Fruit. European Journal of Agriculture and Forestry Research, 4(1), 18-26.

13. Maliwichi, L. L.; Pfumayaramba, T.K.  and Katlego, T. (2014). An Analysis of Constraints that Affect Smallholder Farmers in the Production of Tomatoes in Ga-Mphahlele, Lepellenkumbi Municipality, Limpopo Province, South Africa. Journal Human Ecology, 47(3), 269-274

14. Monroe Works Worldwide, MWW. (2018). Organic Fertiliser Vs Chemical Fertiliser – Does it Matter?  https://www.monroeworks.com/contact.html. Retrieved on 25th March 2019.

15. Ogundare, S. K.; Babalola, T. S.; Hinmikaiye, A. S. and Oloniruha, J. A. (2015). Growth and Fruit Yield of Tomato as Influenced by Combined Use of Organic and Inorganic Fertilisers in Kabba, Nigeria. European Journal of Agriculture and Forestry Research, 3(3), 48-56.

16. Ogunniyi, L.T and Oladejo, J.A. (2011). Technical Efficiency of Tomato Production in Oyo State, Nigeria. Agricultural Science Research Journal,  1(4), 84 – 91.

17. Oladejo, Joana Adefemi (2015). Effects of Credit Accessibility on Performance of Tomato
Market in Osun State, Nigeria. Journal of Emerging Trends in Economics and Management Sciences,  6(7), 277-283.

18. Tsado, E. K. (2016). The Best Source of Compost for Tomato Production: A Study of Tomato in Niger State, Nigeria. European Journal of Agriculture and Forestry Research, 4(2), 50-59.

19. United States Department of Agriculture, USDA (2018). Tomatoes. Retrieved on 5th March, 2019, from https://www.agmrc.org/commodities-products/vegetables/tomatoes

20. Zhengzhou First Industries, ZFI (2018). The Biggest Tomato Exporter is Netherlands. Retrieved from https://fruitprocess.com/fruitprocess-news/the-biggest-tomato-exporter-is-netherlands/ on 6th March, 2019.

21. Zoran, Ilic S.; Nikolaos, Kapoulas and Ljubomir, Sunic (2014). Tomato Fruit Quality from
 Organic and Conventional Production. Organic Agriculture towards Sustainability, 7, 147-169 http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/58239.