ABSTRACT

The study assessed the economic analysis of water melon production in Ibarapa Central Local Government Area of Oyo State, Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique was used in selecting the respondents. A total number of eighty respondents were selected in the study area by simple random sampling, and data collected from them with a well-structured questionnaire. The objectives of the study were to identify the socio-economic characteristics of the respondents, determine the profitability or otherwise of watermelon production, identify the factors that affects the yield of watermelon production, and to examine constraints associated with watermelon production in the study area. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, and quantitative analytical tools such as farm budget analysis and stochastic frontier. The results revealed that the majority of the respondents (95.5%) were male. Majority of the respondents (68.8%) were aged 30-50 years, which implies that mature adults dominated the production of watermelon. Majority (96.3%) of the respondents were married. Most (85.0%) of the respondents had primary education or higher, while 47.5% of the farmers had farmed watermelons for 1-5. The budgetary analysis revealed that watermelon intercropped with cassava had a higher gross margin per hectare (₦258,367.02) than sole watermelon farms. However, sole watermelon farm had higher Benefit Cost Ratio (BCR) of 2.35 than the one intercropped with cassava. This signified profitability in watermelon production. The problems encountered included inadequate credit and pests and disease infestation. It was recommended that farmers be organized into cooperative groups by facilitators from the Local Government or State department of extension services for easier access to loans. Also, there should adequate pest and disease control from recent research discovery in traditional and biological pest/disease control methods to reduce production cost.