Economics of plantain production in oil producing communities of Bayelsa State, Nigeria

This study examined the economics of plantain production in oil producing communities in Bayelsa State with a view to ensuring a green economy. The specific objectives were to: describe the socio-economic characteristics of plantain producers, determine the socio-economic variables that influence productivity in plantain production, determine the technical efficiency in plantain production, estimate cost and return associated with plantain production, identify constraints faced by plantain farmers in the study area. To materialize this, 60 structured questionnaire from 6 oil producing communities were selected and data were analysed using descriptive statistics and multiple regression. The results showed that greater number of the plantain farmers fall within an age bracket of 39-59 years, with an average age of approximately 40 years. Majority of the plantain producers were female, this showed that plantain production is a female crop in the study area. The result also showed that greater number (65 %) of farmers used family labour; the involvement of skilled labourers (educated youth) may be attributed to lack of employment in oil producing companies. The result further showed that the estimated average farm size in the study area was less than I hectare which connotes that the farmers were operating on small scale farming, with an estimated average output of 300 bunches of plantain per year. Major determinants of productivity in plantain production in oil producing communities were farm size, sex of farmer and labour in harvesting plantain as they were statistically significant (p≤ 0.05).