Jul 2026· Varendra International Journal for Interdisciplinary Research· Vol 2· 0 citations
Abstract
This study examines the farm-level profitability of maize production and identifies the key determinants of gross revenue among maize producers in Northern Bangladesh. Using primary data collected from 100 farmers through a multistage sampling technique during the 2024–2025 production season, the analysis integrates descriptive statistics, cost–return analysis, and a Cobb–Douglas production function estimated by the ordinary least squares (OLS) method. The results indicate that maize cultivation is economically viable, with an average profit of Tk. 14,462.6 per bigha, reflecting strong income potential for smallholder farmers. The regression findings represent that hired labor, machinery, seed, and pesticide costs exert statistically significant positive effects on gross revenue, highlighting the importance of modern inputs and efficient farm management practices. In contrast, plowing cost shows a negative association with revenue, suggesting inefficiencies in land preparation, while irrigation, fertilizer, and harvest–transport costs are found to be statistically insignificant, possibly due to uniform usage patterns or suboptimal application. The model demonstrates strong explanatory power, accounting for a substantial proportion of variation in farm revenue. Despite profitability, farmers face several constraints, including limited access to credit, inadequate extension services, and high input costs, which hinder optimal resource utilization. Therefore, this study recommends strengthening institutional support, improving access to quality inputs and affordable credit, and enhancing extension services to promote sustainable and efficient maize production in Bangladesh.
Background:
Maize plays a critical role in ensuring food security and supporting rural livelihoods in Tanzania. However, smallholder maize farmers continue to face persistent profitability challenges driven by low productivity, high input costs, and market inefficiencies. Although the government has prioritized promoting improved seed varieties across various agricultural development initiatives, evidence of their actual economic benefits in smallholder farming conditions remains limited. Understanding how different seed types affect farm profitability across agroecological zones is essential for informing sustainable agricultural policy and investment decisions.
Methods
: This study used a non-parametric stochastic simulation approach with nationally representative data from the 2019/20 National Sample Census of Agriculture (NSCA). The analysis estimated income distributions for three seed types (local, improved, and recycled) while accounting for yield variability, maize prices, and production costs. Profitability was assessed using two income thresholds: a minimum threshold of TZS 0.6 million/ha and an optimal benchmark of TZS 1.2 million/ha. Simulations were disaggregated by agroecological zone to capture spatial differences in cost structures, productivity, and market dynamics.
Results
: The findings indicate that improved seeds modestly increase the probability of achieving profitable outcomes but, on their own, are insufficient to lift most farmers above the optimal income threshold. Nationally, 64% of improved seed users earned below the minimum profitability level, compared with 67% of local seed users and 77% of recycled seed users. Only 14% of improved seed users exceeded the profitability benchmark. Regional variations were substantial: the Lake and Southern Zones recorded relatively better profitability due to lower input costs and favorable maize prices, while the Eastern and Western Zones remained largely unprofitable across all seed categories.
Conclusion
: Although improved seeds are essential for enhancing maize productivity, they do not guarantee profitability in the absence of complementary inputs and supportive market conditions. Multiple interacting factors, including production costs, yield variability, and market access, shape profit outcomes. The study recommends integrated, zone-specific interventions, including bundled input support, targeted subsidies, and investment in rural infrastructure, to improve farm-level returns. These insights contribute to SDG 1 (No Poverty), SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), and SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production) by promoting more resilient and inclusive agricultural systems in Tanzania.
Ibrahim L. Kadigi· CABI Agriculture and Bioscie...· 0 citations
This study investigates if participation in Farmer Producer Companies (FPCs) increases farm income amongst agricultural households in Assam, India. It evaluates the effectiveness of institutional participation in improving farm profitability and identifies the key determinants influencing income variation.
Using primary cross-sectional data from 404 farm households, the study employs descriptive comparisons and multivariate regression analysis to assess the role of FPC participation. Farm income per unit of landholding is measured using three complementary indicators – Gross Value Added per hectare (GVAH), Farm Business Income per hectare (FBIH), and Gross Profit from Farming per hectare (GPFH) – capturing different dimensions of farm profitability.
Whilst FPC-member farmers report higher average income, the differences become statistically insignificant after controlling for farm, household and locational factors. Cropping intensity and irrigation significantly influence income, whilst regional and social disparities persist. Disaggregated results show positive relationship for banana and fishery but weaker outcomes for potato due to inadequate postharvest infrastructure. Field evidence indicates that these effects operate through improved input access, reduced transaction costs and better price realisation through collective marketing.
The use of cross-sectional data limits causal interpretation; future research using longitudinal or quasi-experimental approaches is recommended.
Strengthening FPCs can promote collective empowerment, income equity and rural economic resilience, contributing to inclusive agricultural development.
This study integrates multiple income indicators with crop-specific analysis to provide a nuanced assessment of FPC's role in smallholder agriculture.
Binod Goswami, M. P. Bezbaruah, Utpal Baishya· Journal of Agribusiness in D...· 0 citations
This study was undertaken to estimate the financial profitability and to assess the factors affecting adoption of soybean production in Noakhali and Lakshmipur districts of Bangladesh. To collect primary data, a structured interview schedule was used to interview 90 farmers using stratified random sampling technique. A combination of descriptive, mathematical and statistical techniques were employed to analyze the data. According to the findings, 47 percent of farmers were small in farm size category. Financial profitability analysis shows that soybean production was profitable with benefit cost ratio (1.43). The logit regression model demonstrated that farmers’ education, farm size, farm income, extension contact, crop diversification practiced, and distance to market had a significant effect on farmers' decision to pursue soybean cultivation.The research findings also indicated that higher price of seed and fertilizer, low price of output and lack of transportation facilities were the major problems for input, production and marketing of soybean, respectively. Among all the problems, high price of seed and fertilizer had the highest problem confrontation index value (255) as first rank. The study recommended for ensuring affordable price of seed and fertilizers along with better infrastructure and transportation facilities to overcome the problems. Furthermore, government needs to implement subsidy scheme and assistance should be provided from the personnel of Department of Agricultural Extension to enhance soybean production in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh J. Agril. Res. 48(3): 293-305, September 2023
M. Uddin, SS Roy, M. Nasrin et al.· Bangladesh Journal of Agricu...· 0 citations
This study examines the economic performance of rice-based crop diversification among Nigerian smallholders, addressing a gap in the empirical literature, which often highlights diversification benefits without assessing its direct impact on production efficiency.
A stochastic frontier production function was used to estimate output elasticities, input contributions, technical efficiency and scale elasticity in diversified rice-based farming systems. The analysis also assesses how farmer and household characteristics influence efficiency.
Rice is the most responsive output in the diversification system, with an elasticity of 0.574. Fertiliser has the strongest positive effect on input efficiency, followed by hired labour, pesticides, cultivation costs, farm assets, seed costs and family labour. Average technical efficiency is 0.68. Diversification, farmer age and family size and family size are associated with lower efficiency, whereas education, marital status and income are associated with higher efficiency. A scale elasticity of 0.896 indicates increasing returns to scale in diversified rice production.
The findings provide robust empirical evidence on the efficiency implications of diversification in rice-based systems and underscore the importance of demographic and institutional factors in shaping farm-level performance.
This study provides empirical evaluations of the relationship between rice-based crop diversification and economic performance using a stochastic frontier framework, offering evidence-based insights to improve efficiency and support the scaling-up of diversified farming systems in Nigeria.
O. Okorie, C. U. Okoye, A. Enete et al.· Journal of Agribusiness in D...· 0 citations
Riverbank erosion along the Padma and Jamuna rivers remains a major constraint on agricultural production and rural livelihood resilience in Bangladesh. This study compares the production performance, resource-use efficiency, profitability, and erosion-related monetary gaps of rice and banana cultivation and examines household risk responses in Pabna District. The analysis is based on primary cross-sectional data collected in August 2025 from 300 farm households, equally divided between erosion-prone and non-erosion areas. Separate Cobb–Douglas production functions were estimated for rice and banana in the two environmental settings. Resource-use efficiency, profitability indicators, monetized return gaps, and household risk-perception measures were also analysed. The results reveal substantial crop- and location-specific differences. In erosion-prone areas, only seed cost is marginally significant in the rice and banana models, while the remaining inputs show weak gross-return responsiveness. The sums of the estimated elasticities are 0.168 for rice and 0.204 for banana, indicating decreasing returns to scale. In non-erosion areas, seed, pesticide, fertilizer, labour, and land rent are positively and significantly associated with gross return for both crops. The corresponding returns-to-scale estimates are 2.51 for rice and 2.88 for banana, indicating increasing returns to scale. Rice cultivation generates a benefit–cost ratio of 1.21 in erosion-prone areas and 1.98 in non-erosion areas, while the corresponding ratios for banana are 1.07 and 2.22. The comparative gross-return gaps are Tk. 30,000 per bigha for rice and Tk. 66,300 for banana, while the net-return gaps are Tk. 25,000 and Tk. 62,300, respectively. Household-level evidence further indicates high perceived vulnerability and risk-averse responses, including preference for short-duration crops, cautious investment, income diversification, and reliance on community-based coping mechanisms. The findings demonstrate that riverbank erosion is associated with weak input responsiveness, inefficient resource allocation, low profitability, and constrained agricultural investment. Integrated interventions combining riverbank protection, crop-specific extension, risk-sensitive credit, crop insurance, social protection, and livelihood diversification are required to strengthen resilience in erosion-prone communities.
Tanzida Akther· International journal of res...· 0 citations
Ethiopia faces persistent food security challenges owing to rapid population growth and low agricultural productivity. This study examines the technical, allocative, and economic efficiency of smallholder rice producers in Shabe Sombo District, Oromia Region, and identifies factors influencing efficiency. A two-stage sampling technique was used to select 255 farmers; primary data were collected for the 2022/23 production year. A stochastic frontier approach with a Cobb–Douglas production function was applied to estimate efficiency levels, while a two-limit Tobit model was used to identify determinants of efficiency. Land, chemical inputs, oxen power, and seed positively and significantly influence rice output, with estimated returns to scale of 0.96 indicating decreasing returns. Mean technical, allocative, and economic efficiency stood at 94%, 75%, and 70% respectively, indicating that allocative inefficiency is the dominant source of overall efficiency loss. Tobit results show that farm distance from homestead, household size, and market distance negatively affect technical efficiency, while sex of household head, farm size, and extension contact frequency have positive effects. Age, education level, and livestock ownership negatively influence allocative and economic efficiency; training participation has a positive effect. Policy interventions should focus on strengthening extension services, expanding access to training and education, improving rural infrastructure and access to credit.
Wasihun Mitiku, Amsalu Mitiku, Ibrahim Aliyi· Journal of Business and Eco...· 0 citations