Costs and Returns Analysis of Organic and Inorganic Farming in Abakaliki Local Government area of Ebonyi State, Nigeria
This study comparatively analysed costs and returns of organic and inorganic farming in Abakaliki Local Government Area of Ebonyi State. Yam was adopted as the choice crop in the investigation. A multistage sampling technique was used to select 116 respondents—comprising 59 inorganic and 57 organic farmers. Data were collected through structured questionnaires and analysed using descriptive statistics, cost and return analysis, and logistic regression. Findings revealed that while inorganic farming had higher total revenue of ₦14,548,796.00 (average ₦255,242.04), organic farming had slightly lower revenue of ₦14,187,862.00 (average ₦240,472.24). However, organic farming recorded a higher average profit of ₦153,821.53 compared to ₦144,688.85 in inorganic farming, indicating better profitability due to lower average total cost. The t-test confirmed that the difference in total cost was statistically significant (p = 0.0004), while differences in revenue, profit, and gross margin were not. Logistic regression analysis identified age, household size, farming experience, farm size, education, access to credit, and membership in farmer organizations as significant factors positively influencing profitability, with credit access (β = 1.02, p = 0.007) and education (β = 0.56, p = 0.003) having the strongest effects. The study recommends that financial institutions and agricultural development programs should design farmer-friendly credit schemes with low interest rates and flexible repayment options