Here are the calculations for the gross margin of each crop and the discussion of factors for farm planning.
i) Calculate the gross margin for each crop
The gross margin is calculated as:
Gross Margin=TotalRevenue−Total Variable Costs
All calculations are per hectare.
For Maize:
Step 1: Calculate Total Revenue for Maize.
Total Revenue=Yieldperhectare×Price per kg
Total Revenue=5500kg×15Kshs/kg=82500 Kshs
Step 2: Calculate Total Variable Costs for Maize.
- Cost of cultivation/ha: 3000 Kshs
- DAP fertilizer cost: 3bags×1500Kshs/bag=4500 Kshs
- Labour cost: 50mandays×150Kshs/manday=7500 Kshs
- CAN fertilizer cost: 3bags×1000Kshs/bag=3000 Kshs
Total Variable Costs (Maize)=3000+4500+7500+3000=18000 Kshs
Step 3: Calculate Gross Margin for Maize.
Gross Margin (Maize)=82500Kshs−18000Kshs=64500 Kshs
For Beans:
Assumption: For Beans, "Yield per hectare Kshs.5000" is interpreted as 5000 kg, consistent with the maize data format.
Step 1: Calculate Total Revenue for Beans.
Total Revenue=Yieldperhectare×Price per kg
Total Revenue=5000kg×50Kshs/kg=250000 Kshs
Step 2: Calculate Total Variable Costs for Beans.
- Cost of cultivation/ha: 3600 Kshs
- Labour cost: 75man−days×200Kshs/manday=15000 Kshs
- DAP fertilizer cost: 2bags×1500Kshs/bag=3000 Kshs
- Seed cost: 20kg×80Kshs/kg=1600 Kshs
- CAN fertilizer cost: 1bag×1000Kshs/bag=1000 Kshs
- Cost of sprays: 3000 Kshs
Total Variable Costs (Beans)=3600+15000+3000+1600+1000+3000=27200 Kshs
Step 3: Calculate Gross Margin for Beans.
Gross Margin (Beans)=250000Kshs−27200Kshs=222800 Kshs
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