Economic viability of improved fodder production in Iringa region: comparative cost – benefit analysis of different on-farm treatments
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Date
2022-06
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Eastern and Southern Africa Journal of Agricultural Economics and Development
Abstract
Inadequate fodder production and availability has been a challenge to the livestock farmers in
Tanzania. This study assessed the economic viability of fodder production using on-farm
treatments at ASAS farm in Iringa region. A Completely Randomized Design was employed to
arrange 24 sub-plots (six treatments and four replications) in plots of 10m x 10m dimension
making a 100m 2 which is equivalent to 0.025 acres. Sub-plots were spaced each at 0.5m apart
from the adjacent plot by a 1m wide path around the plot’s boundaries receiving different
treatments of fertilizer. The total area for Rhodes’s grass (Chloris gayana) study was 2835m 2 .
The seeds were sown in each plot and fertilizers were applied in Treatment two -Cattle Farm
Yard Manure (T2-CFYM), T3 (CFYM)+Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Sulphur, and Zinc (NPSZn),
T4 (NPSZn), T5 (NPSZn)+Sulphate of Ammonium (SA) and T6 (NPSZn + Urea) while T1
remained as a control (no fertilizer). Through Microsoft Excel, Cost-Benefit Analysis was done
to assess the economic viability of each treatment. The study findings revealed that Treatment 3
and Treatment 6 of the experiments yielded positive Net Present Values (NPVs) of TZS 346
601.3 and TZS 1 324 442; Benefit Cost Ratios (BCRs) of 1.46 and 1.72; and Internal Rates of
Return (IRR) of 15% and 16%, respectively. It is concluded that the application of T3 and T6
to the Rhodes grass would improve fodder profitability. It is recommended that with the
experiment, large and smallholder farmers may produce enough fodder for themselves and
surplus for sale to other livestock keepers.
Description
Research article
Keywords
Production treatment, Fodder production, Rhodes, Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA)