This study assessed the competitiveness of rice productionunder different varietal technologies in Osun State.A multistage sampling technique was adopted to select the respondentsfor the study. Both primary and secondary data, includingprices of inputs and outputs, rice yields, import tariff,transportation cost, port loading and unloading charges andofficial exchange rate, foreign exchange premium, etc., werecollected and analyzed using descriptive statistics and thePolicy Analysis Matrix (PAM) approach. The results revealedthat effective protection coefficients (EPC) for the three identifiedrice varieties (Local, FARO53 and FARO54) were 0.89,0.98 and 0.97, respectively. The Domestic Resource Cost(DRC) was 0.84, 0.48 and 0.48; the Nominal Protection Coefficient(NPC) on tradable inputs and outputs was 0.89, 0.98and 0.97; while the Social Cost Benefit (SCB) was 0.85, 0.52and 0.52 for the three varietal technologies, respectively. Theresults indicate that rice farmers using the three varieties havea comparative advantage (DRC < 1) in rice production in thestudy area, and the two improved varieties provided a greatercompetitiveness. The study concluded that Osun State hasa comparative advantage in rice production under the importparity prices regime which, however, is not true under the assumptionsof export parity.

The study analyzed the marketing of maize in Irewole Local Government Area of Osun State and describes the socio-economic characteristics of maize marketers by determining the marketing margin, marketing cost, markup, operational efficiency as well as constraints faced by maize marketers in the area. Data used for the study were generated through the administration of structured questionnaire. A total of 120 respondents comprising of 40 maize wholesalers and 80 retailers, were randomly sampled from three purposively selected major maize markets. Descriptive statistics, Concentration Ratio, Gini Coefficient and Operational Efficiency Model were the analytical tools adopted for the study. The findings of the study revealed that maize marketing was efficient and profitable; N900 and N1200 per 100 kg bag for wholesalers and retailers, respectively in the study area. There also exists variation in marketing cost, marketing margin, marketing profit, and markup for both wholesale and retail maize markets. Gini Coefficients of 0.319 and 0.312 were obtained for wholesaler and retailer, respectively indicating high level of competition in the industry. Major problems facing both wholesalers and retailers are price uncertainty, high perishability of maize and seasonal nature of maize. However, insecurity and high capital requirement are considered as major constraints. It is therefore recommended that the challenges be alleviated to improve efficiency of maize market in the area.