The study examined the economics of swamp rice production in Ogoja Local
Government Area of Cross River State Nigeria as an imperative for rice value
chain of the Agricultural Transformation Agenda. The specific objectives
were to describe the socio- economic characteristics of the respondents,
determine cost and returns of swamp rice production, determine the
relationship between input and output used and to identify the constraints
of swamp rice production. Primary data were collected from 120 swamp
rice farmers with the aid of structured questionnaire using random
sampling technique. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive
statistics and production function analysis. Results of the analysis revealed
that majority of the respondents (93.3%) were males, 88.40 % were
educated (35% primary education, 29.2 % secondary and 24.2% tertiary
education ).Swamp rice production was profitable as revealed by a gross
margin and net farm income of N91,604.01 and N88,986.01 per hectare. The
production function analysis indicated that farm size, family labour,
fertilizer and herbicide were significantly related with rice output. The
major constraints to swamp rice production in the study area include high
cost of labour, inadequate supply of input, high cost of fertilizer; pest and
diseases, land tenure system, poor storage facilities and poor marketing.
Recommendations to overcome the identified constraints were made in the
study.