ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF TAMARINDS PRODUCTION IN KANO STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

ABSTRACT The study examined the profitability of Tamarind production in Kano State of Nigeria. Data were collected using structured questionnaires with oral interview among 150 respondents, in four tamarind production areas selected in the state. The data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The results indicated that majority of the respondents (47.33%) were civil servants who were mostly teachers and 70.66% had tamarind farm size of 1 – 4 hectares scattered in different plots that were relatively far apart. The profitability analysis revealed that N6,273,493.40 was realized as total revenue and the gross margin (GM) was N4,885,986.85 which give GM/ha/year of N7,091.42. Similarly, the mean profit per respondent was N27,401.13. also, the analysis of revenue distribution among the respondents determined by Gini Coefficient (GC) also shows that there was high level of revenue equality distribution among tamarind farmers (GC = 0.35). The study identified constraints of tamarind production and made recommendation to overcome them.