Profitability Level and Determinants of Tea Intercropping in Taraba State

Intercropping involves the cultivation of more than one crop on a plot of land at a particular time. Tea intercropping with other crops can increase the profitability of farmers and the development of tea plants. The study estimated the profitability level of intercropped tea farms and determined the factors affecting the profitability of tea intercropping systems in the study area. Information was obtained from two hundred and four tea farmers using a well-structured questionnaire. The analytical techniques used in the study were descriptive analysis and linear regression. The results revealed that the majority (95.6%) of the farmers are from Kakara and Nyiwa towns. There are few (2.9%) women involved in tea farming in Taraba State. 29% of the tea farmers are young less than 30 years and old above 60 years. Fifteen percent of the farmers are single, 83.8% are married and 1.5% are divorced. About 40% of the tea farmers had no formal education, 21% have between 1-6 years of education, 19% had 7-12 years of education and 21% had greater than 12 years of education. The gross margin is 289,900,581.9 and the gross margin per farmer is 1,421,081.28. The net income is 2,879,055,533.3 and the net income per farmer is 1,411,301.63. The amount of profit tea farmers make in Taraba State is ₦1,425,001 and the profit per farmer is ₦6,985.30. Labour costs (weeding, pruning, application of insecticide, watering) and cost of materials (cutlass, file, chemical, bag and others) are significant determinants of the profit level of the tea intercropping system in Taraba State. Tea intercropping farming is profitable in Taraba State Nigeria.