Abstract:
This research analysed the economic returns of mushroom production in South-West of
Nigeria.Structured questionnaire and personal interview were used to collect data from
mushroom farmers selected through snowball sampling technique in Oyo, Ondo and Ekiti States.
Data were collected on the demographic characteristics of the mushroom industry, cost and
revenue over a period of five year from 2012 to 2016. The collected data were analyzed using
descriptive statistics, ordinal ranking, percentage mention, Benefit Cost Ratio (BCR), Rate of
Return on Investment (RORI), Net Present value (NPV) and Sensitivity Analysis. The results
show that no mushroom industry was established before 2005. Of the three mushroom species
produced, Pleurotus sajor-caju ranked highest with 96.43% followed by Pleurotus oestratus with
92.86% while Pleurotus florida ranked the least with 46.43%. The production of these
mushrooms was profitable with BCR and NPV of 1.45 and N15,658,173 respectively at 21%
discount rate. The RORI ranged from 32.04% to 58.22% with an average of 45.36% for the five
years studied. Sensitivity analysis revealed that at 50% increase in cost of production, mushroom
production was no longer viable as the mean RORI was -3.1%. High cost of spawn, poor
production technology and inadequate funding were the major problems militating against the
production of mushroom. Research Institute in Nigeria, should be committed to train mushroom
producers on how to produce spawn so as to reduce cost of production and encourage more
people to produce mushroom |
