ANALYSIS OF PROFITABILITY AND THE LEVEL OF AGRONOMIC AND ECONOMIC EFFICIENCIES AMONG SMALL-SCALE PRODUCERS OF RICE IN RUZIZI PLAIN, EASTERN D.R. CONGO

Efforts have been made to promote local rice production to meet both local demand and improve the income level of small-scale producers involved in rice cultivation in D.R. Congo, especially in its east part. The work aims to understand the current dynamics of rice supply & demand, and the level of agronomic & economic efficiency of the factors of production. A quantitative study, using a well-structured questionnaire survey, was conducted to request information on the efficiencies and cost-effectiveness of the factors influencing the quantities produced and the demand available. The concept presented as area exploited, fertilizers, price explained the rice supply and demand. Total cost of fertilizers, coefficient of work efficiency, land productivity, productivity rate of capital, net income, value-to-cost ratio were used for rice profitability and efficiencies analysis. The level of agronomic efficiency of fertilizers is 59.73 and 88.09, respectively in BVB and LVA. Fertilization with NPK positively influences the yield of rice cultivation. The economic efficiency is expressed according to the value-cost ratio (VCR) and net income (NI) indicators. VCR is 39.3 and 40.3, respectively in LVA and BVB. The average NI values of 3152.4, 2595.6 and 892.1 were recorded respectively in LVA, BVB and LVC. The supply is provided by rice farmers, at a very affordable price of 0.57 US$ per kg. For 80% of small producers, the demand for rice products is available. Besides the productivity of the land is 4379.7 US$ per hectare, as well as the labor hired allows to produce more. The coefficient of labor efficiency being 5.07 (CWE >1) and is all well paid. The financial and commercial profitability recorded by rice producers per hectare is 1.0217 and 0.495 respectively. There are several factors explaining household behavior towards rice demand and supply in the Ruzizi plain, including price, available demand, agronomic and economic efficiencies, and profitability.