Cost-Benefits Analysis of Cucumber (Cucumis Sativus L) Production in Delta State, Nigeria

Cucumber is among important and exotic vegetable in Nigeria because of its inherent health benefits. The study analyzed the economics of cucumber production among smallholder farmers in Delta State, Nigeria. Data were collected with a well-structured questionnaire from a cross section of random selection techniques; with 100 cucumber farmers. The data were analyzed with descriptive statistics and gross margin. Results showed that smallholder cucumber production was dominated by male farmers (80.0%) with average age of 37 years, 14 years of farming experience and 8 people as the average farmer’s household size. The study equally found that greater proportion (62.0%) of the farmers attended secondary education. The average farming experience was 6 years, the farmer’s mean farm size (0.5ha), number of extension contact, number of training. The revenue realized from the sales was490, 618.14. The gross margin was N272, 138.14 while net return on investment was N 155,030. The profitability index (PI) and return on investment (ROI) were 0.878 and 0.850 respectively. The study therefore suggests that farmers should be trained on post-harvest handling of produce.