PROFITABILITY OF GINGER PRODUCTION IN JABA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF KADUNA STATE, NIGERIA

The study assessed the profitability of ginger production in Jaba Local Government Area of Kaduna state, Nigeria. A multistage sampling procedure was used to select respondents from four council wards in the study area, giving a total of 96 respondents. Structured questionnaire was used to collect data for the study. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Gross Margin analysis and ordinary least square regression. Results showed that ginger production was profitable by a revenue of ₦1,700,000 per hectare of ginger. Mean total cost incurred by the respondents was ₦746,207.1 with a gross margin of ₦953,792.9. The average rate of returns on investment was 1.28, indicating that for every ₦1 invested in ginger production, ₦1.28kobo was returned. The regression analysis showed six factors had significant effect on ginger gross margin in the study area. The coefficient of farm size, seeds, fertilizer, labor, and age were significant at 1%; marital status was significant at 10%, with an R2 of 0.997 indicating that the variables included in the model explained 99.7% of changes in the gross margin of ginger production in the study area. Constraints to ginger production were found to include incidence of pests and disease, poor access to roads and transportation facilities, and unavailability of farm inputs. It was concluded that ginger production was profitable in the study area but producers were limited by some constraints. It was recommended that ginger producers expand their production in terms of farm size and seed used