ABSTRACT
The study evaluates comparative economic analysis of FARO-54 and NERICA-1 rice production in Niger State, Nigeria. Primary datawere collected using structured questionnaire, administered to 174 respondents for both FARO-54 and NERICA-1 farmers during the 2014 cropping season. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics, farm budgeting analysis and stochastic frontier production function.Results of the study indicated that,the average age were 42 and 40 years for FARO-54 and NERICA-1 farmers respectively. The average household size for the two groups was 4 and 5 members per household for FARO-54 and NERICA-1 respectively. Majority 59%and 54% of FARO-54 and NERICA-1 farmers had between 11-20 years of farming experience respectively. The average farming experience for the two groups are 11years. Majority 60%and 70% of FARO-54 and NERICA-1 rice farmers do nothave formal education. The average farm size among FARO-54 and NERICA-1 farmers was 1.2 hectares and 0.8 hectares respectively. Majority of FARO-54 (87.4%) and NERICA-1 (92.5%) had no access to credit, majority of FARO-54 (82.2%) and NERICA-1 (86.8%) do not have access extension contact. However, majority of FARO-54 (88.5%) and NERICA-1 (76.4%) do not participate in any cooperative association in the study area. The total revenue (TR) for FARO-54 and NERICA-1 were ₦84,315.88/ha and ₦76,458.96/ha respectively while the total cost of production for FARO-54 and NERICA-1 was ₦78,447.12/ha and ₦61,483.04 respectively. The net farm income was therefore ₦84,315.88/ha and ₦76,458.96. The estimated mean technical efficiency for FARO-54 was 0.76 and NERICA-1 was 0.83. The mean allocative efficiency of FARO-54 farmers is 0.92 while the average allocative efficiency for NERICA-1 farmer is 0.86.The mean economic efficiency of FARO-54 farmers is 0.54 while the average economic efficiency for NERICA-1 farmer is 0.45. Finally, among the constraints identified in the study area, the majority of the rice farmersattested to the fact that pest and diseases, poor market price, inadequate capital and poor transportation. It could be concluded that the two production systems are profitable; however, NERICA-1 production was more profitable with higher rate of returns to investment. It is recommended that agro based industries and non-governmental organization should be encouraged by the local government to support research and production of rice for commercial purposes
