RESOURCE PRODUCTIVITY IN ORNAMENTAL PLANTS PRODUCTION IN JOS METROPOLIS NIGERIA

ABSTRACT

This study was undertaken to analyze resource productivity in ornamental plants production within Jos metropolis of Nigeria. The study covered Jos North and Jos South local government areas. The specific objectives include: identifying the effect of socio-economic factors on resource productivity, determining costs and returns, and resource productivity in ornamental plants production.

An extensive literature review was carried out to provide an in- depth  knowledge  of  the  study.  The  cluster  sampling  procedure  was used because the nurseries are located in clusters. Data was collected from the nursery owners. Six respondents from each cluster and five clusters  from  each  local  government  area  were  selected  using  the simple random sampling method at each sampling stage. Each of the two local government areas was administered  the  30 questionnaires making a total of 60 respondents.

Results revealed that 60% of respondents were aged between 41 – 50, while 80% had some years of tertiary education. Also 60% of the respondents’ nurseries were less than a quarter of an acre. About 40% had horticulture as their primary occupation, while 40% and 20% had business  and  civil  service  respectively  as  their  primary  occupation. The   ornamental   plants   producers   made   a   net   farm   income   of N351,196 per annum and a naira invested gave returns of N1.10.

The regression analysis gave positive coefficients for labour, cuttings, pesticides, water, top soil and polythenes which were significant (P<0.05). However, manure, fuel transportation and annual rent had negative coefficient. Also the regression coefficient of socio economic variables such as education, age, nursery size were positive and significant. Household size had a positive coefficient but was insignificant   (P<0.05).   Ornamental   production   experience   had   a negative coefficient and was insignificant

The  ratio  of  marginal  value  product  to  marginal  factor  cost showed that cuttings,  pesticides, water, top soil,  and  polythene  was greater  than  one,  while  that  of  manure,  labour,  fuel,  transportation and  annual  rent  less  than  one.  The  implication  is  that  the  former inputs were used below the economic optimum while the latter were used  above  the  economic  optimum.  Also,  ornamental  plants producers’ profit could be increased by increasing the use of labour, cuttings,  pesticide,  water,  top  soil,  and  polythenes  while  decreasing the use of fuel, manure transportation and annual rent.

The study showed that ornamental plants business is profitable. It could serve as supplemental source of income. The study showed that only 30% of ornamental plants producers belong to registered cooperatives. It is recommended that they organized themselves into cooperatives  in  order  to  access  funds,  inputs  and  information  on current trends in ornamental plants production. Government on it its side should consider ornamental plants producers in the allocation of farm inputs. Also, special sites should be a assigned for ornamental plants production in new government layout. Ornamental plants production needs to be encourage and sustained as it is a profitable venture. Producers need to pay more attention towards efficient utilization of resources. Agricultural policies that favour this venture will be of great importance to ornamental plants producers.

CHAPTER ONE

1.0     Background Information.

Horticulture is the branch of plants agriculture concerned with intensively  cultured  plants  used  directly  by  man  as  fresh  foods,  esthetics and medicine (Uzo, 1997). Ornamental plants are plants grown either for colourful   flowers   or   decorative   leaves.   They   include   a   wide   range   of herbaceous annuals and perennials extensively employed in landscaping for esthetic  purposes   of  colour,  fragrance  and  enhancing  serenity  in  and around the home, public places such as recreation areas, tourist sites and cities. Ornamental plants also modify the micro climate by providing shade, reducing wind speed, helping to increase humidity and absorbing carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen (Evans, 1999). Ornamental plants provide sanctuary  for  birds,  insects  and  numerous  other  animals.  Miscellaneous uses  include  the  offer  of  cut  flowers as gifts  to  people, friends  sportsmen and women and national leaders. In Nigeria, flowers are used to beautify homes. In countries like India, flowers are used to adorn women’s hair and decorate pictures of gods, saints and deceased loved ones (National Horticulture Board, 1995).

The major facets of ornamental plants include production of flowers and potted plants, growing of flower bulbs and corms including subsequent arrangement and delivery. Each facet is highly specialized with definite requirements,   facilities   and   technical   knowledge   (Edmond,   1997).   This highly specialized industry involves the growers who produce flowers for wholesale marketers and retail florists who market to the public and contribute  occasional  services  such  as  packaging  and  delivery.  Current

buyers of these plants include individuals who buy to beautify their houses, landscape architects who buy on behalf of institutions for landscaping purposes and hoteliers who buy cut flowers for their customers.

The practice of horticultural plants cultivation in Jos can be traced to as early as 1930s (David, 1999). This was as a result of the activities of tin miners  that  came  to  the  area  under  the  auspices  of  Amalgamated  Tin Miners of Jos. These Europeans came mainly from British Isles with their wives  and  siblings.  Their  wives  were  quite  keen  on  gardening  as  their favourite  pastime  in  the  absence  of  regular  jobs.  These  women  started gardens at home where they had varieties of imported flowers from their country side. Much later, these Europeans developed interest in some of the locally available fruits, shrubs and hedges. The Europeans started the horticultural society.

Later in the early 1970’s, Nigerians also became interested in the art of flower gardening, encouraged by the Horticultural society during their flowers shows. The government gardens soon took off with Bukuru and Naraguta gardens which were established to encourage gardening, tree planting, and afforestation culture (David, 1999). The Plateau Urban Development Board now known as the Jos Metropolitan Board encouraged the establishment of privately owned commercial gardens in the 1990’s. The idea  was  for  these  gardens  to  occupy  vacant  plots  along  the  major  roads within the city thereby holding the land in trust and also  beautifying the environment (David, 1999).

Horticulture   in   Nigeria   gained   an   impetus   by   a   commitment   of $43,433,260 to the National Horticultural Research Institute Ibadan in form

of  grant  for  research  into  the  genetic  improvement  of  the  plants  between

1995 and 1998. Hitherto, the federal government’s financial commitment to horticulture has been low to the tune of 1.2 percent of total allocations for food crop production (Babalola, 1996)

Commercially, there is very active and visible trade in horticultural products which engage and provide employment for some people. Although the actual volume and value of horticultural crops produced and traded are unknown,   they   are   enormous,   and   contribute   substantially   to   Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In 1995, the value of agricultural output, made up of  crops,  livestock,  forestry,  and  fishing  amounted  to   N39.88  billion  and constituted 38.6 percent of GDP (Central Bank of Nigeria, 1995). The contributions of horticultural crops were estimated at  N2 billion, which was much more than forestry (N1.34 billion) and fishing (N1.23 billion).

Nigerians are gradually becoming aware of the need for a beautiful, manageable  and  sustainable  environment.  The  high  intensity  of  a flourishing  horticultural  business  in  metropolitan  centres  attests  to  this fact.   However,   according   to   Fawusi   (1996),   the   genetic   base   of   our ornamental production is dangerously narrow, whereas, a lot of plants are awaiting collection and domestication in our forest. Kenya and Cote d’ Ivoire are major exporters of cut flowers into the French market, yet Nigeria has more potential than these countries. Horticultural crops require intensive care. It is therefore necessary to have information on cost of production and returns  per  naira  invested  to  serve  as  a  basis  for  motivating  farmers  to invest in horticultural crops production (Adekunle and Oladoja, 1996).

1.2 Problem Statement

Nigeria’s  economy  is  based  on  oil  while  its  agricultural  sector  is focused on arable crops. There is a social cost to the failure to recognize the importance of the income supplementing sector (such as floriculture) in absorbing   the   growing   urban   labour   force   and   promoting   of   a   more equitable distribution of income. It is becoming difficult to increase employment in agriculture. A growing population has decreased farm size in the study area, leading to expansion into sloppy marginal lands. The result has  been  widespread  degradation  of  highlands.  Crop  residue  and  animal dung  are  increasingly  being  used  as  fuel  for  cooking  rather  than  for enriching   the   soil   as   is   practiced   in   traditional   agriculture   systems. Livestock production is not promising either, because forage supplies come from unimproved and over-grazed pasture and crop residue.

One major problem inherent with ornamental production is that of access  to  resources  such  as  land  and  water.  Most  areas  with  water  are already occupied and competition arising from other informal entrepreneurs such  as  block  moulding  companies  abound.  Also,  access  to  land  due  to land-use title typical of an urban setting makes production highly insecure. Lack   of   knowledge   in   certain   production   technologies   such   as   plant protection  and  economic  use  of  irrigation  water  can  cause  considerable losses. Given this situation it is quite important for resources to be used at their most efficient levels. Resource productivity is thus an important matter in determining the sustainability of ornamental production. The resources applied can find alternative uses in other enterprises. They can be sustained in agriculture only if they can be employed economically. It is important to generate information on the resource availability and productivity.

An area which is much unknown is the prospects for the production and exports of ornamental plants (Babatola, 1996). Horticulture was introduced into Nigeria much earlier and given prominence relative to food based agriculture and substantial resources were diverted to it at a period of acute shortage of fund (Ojehomon, 1997). Unfortunately, the floriculture programme could not be sustained because expenditure on this enterprise is accorded in aggregate terms with other horticultural plants, thereby compounding the problem of cost computation (Akinola, et al, 1996). This was alluded to by Kessel (2004) who stated that inspite of the growth and contribution  of  floriculture  to  world  economy,  it  is  difficult  to  calculate  a naira per hectare return since costs, returns and length of the production cycle changes relative to the type of plant grown.

In all, the problem for investigation can be stated in the following set of questions:

–    What  are  the  socio-economic  characteristics  of  ornamental  plants owners?

–     What are the costs incurred in a typical ornamental nursery?

–    How   much   return   does   the   entrepreneur   get   from   each   naira invested?

–    Is there any relationship between the quantities of cuttings, labour, manure, pesticides, water, top soil, polythenes/pots, fuel, transportation and rent and the number of plants raised?

–    How efficient are resources utilized in nursery plants production?

–    Generally, is ornamental plants business profitable?

1.3     Objectives of the Study

The main objective of this study is to investigate the resource productivity of ornamental plants production in Jos metropolis, Nigeria. The specific objectives are to:

(i)       Determine the costs and returns of ornamental plants production. (ii)      Determine resource productivity in ornamental plants production. (iii)    Identify   the   effect   of   socio-economic   factors   on   resource   use

productivity in ornamental plants production. (iv)     Make recommendations for policy.

1.4     Research Hypotheses

The null hypotheses to be tested are:

(i)      The socio-economic characteristics of ornamental plants producers have no relationship with resource productivity.

(ii)     There   is   no   relationship   between   cuttings,   labour,   manure, pesticides, water, top soil, polythenes/pots, fuel, transportation and rent, and the number of plants raised in the nurseries.

1.5     Justification

Ornamental enterprise is often considered as part of formal economy. What is relevant is that for some urban groups, such an enterprise is extremely important, in that, it is a strategy to maintain a certain level of livelihood. Given the importance of income to the social and economic development of households, this study will help to identify some of the significant socio- economic variables that may be important to agricultural planners in their effort to improve the well-being of the people.

Until recently, the ornamental plant seedling business was considered more of a hobby than a profitable or environmentally important activity. Modernization, urbanization, tourism development, flora and fauna conservation  and  more  importantly  the  potential  to  generate  employment and income have made the venture an area of further investigation and analysis (Adepoju Et al, 2006).

In order to achieve optimum production level, resources must be available and used efficiently. Successful and result-oriented farm planning and  policies  required  the  knowledge  of  productivity  of  farm  resources  to know the resources whose quantity or rate of use should be increased or decreased (Alimi, 2000). The general objective of farmers is sustainable production at reasonable levels and minimal risk, to satisfy subsistence and commercial   needs   (Beets,   1990).   These   needs   have   increased   due   to increasing population while land availability has become less over the past decades. Therefore, the only way to increase productivity would be through efficient   use   of   resources   on   the   farm.   The   study   seeks   to   provide information on resource use efficiency in ornamental plants production. The farm level information to be generated is expected to help fill the information/knowledge gap between resource use and productivity in ornamental plants production. Furthermore, the study will be relevant and of benefit to the academia, farm manager, and those interested in this area. Financial institutions will find the result of the study particularly helpful. This is because knowledge of resource use efficiency and profitability could guide in assessing the viability of the ornamental plants industry, and thus, their willingness to finance it. Also politicians and policy makers will find

the study useful in making judgments about equity distribution of resources and design of land reforms.

In the light of the importance of ornamental plants production in supplementing   the   income   of   urban   dwellers   in   Nigeria,   it   becomes necessary to investigate resources used by its producers in the study area. The resources are land, labour, capital and management. The productivity of land needs to be improved in resource poor economies considering the fact   that   it   is   a   scarce   resource.   Labour   is   important   in   ornamental production for land preparation, mixing of manure, planting, packaging and so on. Its productivity enhances farm income and total income of the household.  Capital  is  another  resource  in  ornamental  production  in  the forms of farm credit, farm tools, chemicals and equipment. Management is a resource that enables decision making and combination of the other factors of production in the production process.

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