Abstract

The study surveyed economics of coffee production in Kabba/Bunu local government area of Kogi state. 100 farmers were purposively selected from the villages considered based on the predominance of coffee production. The tools used for data analysis were descriptive statistics, net farm income and multiple regression analysis. The study revealed that 74% of the farmers are male while 26% are female and the mean age of the farmers is 56 years, mean household size of 8 persons and they cultivate an  average of 1.5 ha of farmland with over 25 years experience in coffee production. The cost and return analysis shows that coffee production in the area has a profitability index of 0.29 with a return margin of N8,855.40 per household per hectare. The result of the regression analysis shows that five variables gender (x₁), age (x₂), household size (x₅), farming experience (x₇) and farm size (x₈) were significant at 1% level and have positive effect on the income of coffee farmers. It was concluded that coffee production is profitable in the study area; age, family size, farming experience and farm size play vital roles in increasing coffee production, level of profit was affected by the high cost of labour, processing method, low yield and the unavailability of accessible market. Based on findings, it was recommended that land ownership system in the study area should be revisited, the cost of inputs especially hired labour should be regulated, and extension agents should encourage and educate the farmers on the use of fertilizer.

Key words: Coffee production, profitability, net farm income and Kogi state.