Abstract

The study examined the economic analysis of watermelon production in Ise Orun Local Government area of Ekiti State, Nigeria. A multistage sampling procedure was used to select 105 respondents for this study. A questionnaire was used for data collection and data were analysed using descriptive statistical tools such as frequency counts, percentage and mean, and budgetary analysis. The average age was 57±10.8 years, majority were males (81.0%) and married (89.5%). The major factors influencing watermelon production include storage problems (46.7%), theft (53.3%), the prevalence of pests and diseases (55.2%), land tenure (53.3%) and market price (47.6%). For one hectare of watermelon, the gross margin was ?662,493 with a cost-benefit ratio of ?5.79, implying that for every ?1.00 invested in watermelon production, there was a corresponding profit of ?5.79. Severe constraints to watermelon production include inadequate capital (75.5%), cost of labour (69.6%), theft (58.4%) and flooding (55.1%). The study recommends that the land acquisition system that makes it hard for farmers to acquire agricultural land should be reviewed to allow the farmers to have more access to land. Also, government grants and loans should be made easy to access as this will reduce the cost incurred on inputs and help provide funds for the production activities.

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