Financial Profitability of Rain-fed Rice (Oryza sativa) Farmers in Taraba State, Nigeria

This study analysed the financial profitability of rain-fed rice farmers in Taraba State, Nigeria.The study described the socio-economic characteristics of rice farmers, estimated the profitability of rice cultivation and pinpointed the obstacles related to rice production in the research region.Data were collected with the aid of a structured questionnaire and analyzed using descriptive statistics and farm budgeting techniques.Results of the socio-economic characteristics of the farmers revealed that farmers had 45 years on average, majority (83.6%) of the farmers were male, 76.5% were married with an average household size of 8 persons, majority (87.3%) of the farmers had some form of education, with 10 years of farming experience on average, 71.5% of the farmers do not belong to any cooperative organization, and 86.7% do not have contact with extension agents.Majority (53.3%) acquired their land through inheritance.Most (53.3%) of the farmers used the machine method of land cultivation, majority (78.4%) of the farmers in the study area used the broadcasting method of planting, and most (92%) of the farmers used the manual method for harvesting.The farm budget technique revealed that rice production was profitable with a net farm income of 410,380 and a return of 0.65 kobo invested.Poor access to credit, poor roads, high cost of transportation, and high cost of fertilizer were the biggest constraints.The study recommended farmers should be encouraged to join a cooperative organization to enable them have access to credit facilities in the study area.