ABSTRACT
The study analysed the marketing
of dry season vegetables in South-East Nigeria. This study was carried out with
five specific objectives. The specific objectives included (i) description of
the channel, as well as the analysis of the structure and conduct of marketing
of dry season vegetables in South-East Nigeria; Objective (ii) determined the
marketing margins of dry season vegetables marketers; (iii) determined the effect
of the constraints on the margins of dry season vegetables marketers; (iv)
determined the price causality in the marketers’ prices of dry season
vegetables; (v) measured the extent of market integration of dry season
vegetables in the study area. Multi-stage sampling technique was used to select
a total sample size of 227 respondents for the study. Data was collected for 61
days using 2 sets of structured questionnaires for the wholesalers and the
retailers. Data were analyzed using simple descriptive statistics, Gini
coefficient model, marketing margin analyses, Pearson Chi-square model,
Granger causality tests and Bivariate autoregressive model of Dynamic spatial
and temporal market model. The results showed that there were no barriers to
entry and exit in and out of the vegetables markets during the dry season
period. Also, eight (8) marketing channels were identified and described for Ugu
and Okra respectively. The marketing margin analyses showed a high
percentage margin of Okra marketers as 93%, and that of Ugu
marketers as 79%, implying that dry season vegetables marketing is a profitable
business venture in the study area. The identified constraints included:
problem of storage, high transport cost, lack of market, poor sales, lack of
market stalls, poor preservation facilities, weather problem and inadequate
capital. Pearson Chi-square results showed that few constraints such as
problem of weather, lack of market stalls, lack of market, problem of weather
and problem of poor sales were significant to the marketers’ margins either at
5% or 10% levels of significance. Granger causality test showed that there was
bilateral price causality existing between the farmgate and wholesale prices,
as well as bilateral price causality relationships between the wholesale and
their retail prices respectively. There was no causality relationship between
the farmgate and the retail prices. But there was a unidirectional price
causality relationship existing between the wholesale price of Okra and
retail price, and not the other way. Bivariate autoregressive model which was
used to measure the extent of integration amongst the vegetables markets
ascertained that there was significant relationship between the central and
local market prices for Ugu wholesalers and retailers, as well as Okra
wholesalers and retailers. From the result, it showed that there is an
instantaneous adjustment to price changes in the market pairs of the
marketers, an indication of perfect competitiveness amongst them, suggesting
the existence of non-collusive pricing arrangement. Hypothesis (i) was accepted
and rejected for the marketers’ prices, based on the judgment from their
results. For instance, there were bilateral price causalities for both Ugu
wholesalers’ and retailers ’ purchase and selling prices. On the other hand,
hypothesis (ii) was also accepted and rejected based on the findings. For
example, it was rejected Ugu retailers, Okra wholesalers and Okra
retailers, because their local and central markets were integrated at 5%, 5%
and 1% significant levels. The study therefore, recommended that government
should build sufficient and modern market stalls to ensure and foster conducive
environment and as well provide hygienic environment for their sales. Moreso,
waste places and incinerators should be built by the government in order to
maintain a clean market environment. Government should build new roads and
repair worn out roads, as well as construct railways to link the northern
regions due to huge supplies from there; marketers should form market
associations, which will in turn bring about easy access to information as well
as lower transaction costs. There is need for improved information on current
market prices, margins and supply situation of the marketers; as well as need
to strengthen emphasis with research on dry season marketing of vegetables.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background
Agriculture
is receiving increasing attention as an instrument for growth, especially going
by the World Development Report 2008 (WDR) titled “Agriculture for Development”
(World Bank, 2007). Agriculture is one of the most important sectors in all
developing countries (World Bank, 2008). Agriculture remains the largest sector
of the Nigerian economy, where it plays an important role as food provider,
employer of labour, foreign exchange earner, key contributor to wealth and
poverty alleviation (Onyishi, 2010). From statistics, agriculture contributes
about 31% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), with crops accounting for 87%,
livestock 7%, fisheries 4% and forestry 2% (Central Bank of Nigeria, 2011). It
employs about 51.3% of the labour force in
Nigeria and accounts for 70% contribution to GDP of the non-oil sector (Mang,
2009; National Bureau of Statistics, 2010; World Bank, 2010; Achike and Ichoku,
2011). With the projected annual population growth rate of 5.5% and food
production annual growth rate of 3.2% in the country, there is need to improve
the agricultural system in Nigeria (Adebisi-Adelani, Olajide-Taiwo, Adeoye and
Olajide-Taiwo, 2011; CBN, 2011).
According
to Akintoye, Adekunle and Kintomo (2011), agriculture is the bedrock of the
Nigerian economy. What must be made clear is that crop agriculture, with
limited support already supplies a significant share of food, especially fresh
vegetables. Fresh vegetables add to the important component of diversified
diets which improve dietary quality. They could be boiled, fried or cooked and
consumed in different forms. In Nigeria, vegetables are usually boiled in water
resulting in soups and sauces, which are relished. They also serve as soup
thickeners and are one of the most expensive items in the food basket of the
nation (Schippers, 2000; Egbuna, 2009; Kennedy, Razes, Ballard and Dop, 2011).
In
Nigeria, the term vegetable is frequently used to refer to leafy plants whose
succulent stem portions, petioles and leaves are mainly cooked and eaten in
soups and stews (Okunlola, 2009; Aju and Popoola, 2010). Vegetables are among
the major dietary intake in our everyday life. Vegetables, in their fresh form,
contain high percentage (75% or more) of water, and 25% or less of dry matter
(Ajayi and Nwalieji, 2010). They include edible leaves of different colours
with less starch content. Vegetables are rich sources of many essential micronutrients
and are loaded with health-related phytochemicals and anti-oxidants (De la
Rosa, Alvarez-Parrilla and Gonzalez-Aguilar, 2010).
They are of great nutritive value and are important sources of vitamins,
minerals, proteins, carbohydrates and dietary fibres, thus essential components
of the human diet (Aju and Popoola, 2010;
According
to Farinde, Owolarafe and Ogungbemi (2007) vegetables such as Okra are
suitable for medicinal and industrial applications and have medically found
application as a plasma replacement or blood volume expander. In other words,
they are generally regarded as very essential plant having high moisture
content in fresh forms with considerable quantities of vitamins A, B, C, D, E
and K, which helps to protect the body against diseases and contributes in no
small measures to good health (Alderson, Herman and Mitchell, 2012). They are
part of high perishable good commodity, which is collectively known as
horticultural food products. Olericulture is a branch of horticulture which
studies vegetables. They comprise approximately 25% of the major food
commodities in our country as other less developed countries (Food and
Agricultural Organization, 2011).
Vegetables
are among the living things and hence carry out their physiological function of
respiration, thereby absorbing and releasing gases and other materials from and
to their environment (Idah, Ajisegiri and Yisa, 2007). Vegetables have
tremendous potentials to address poverty alleviation and nutritional security
because they are affordable and easily available, easy to grow and require
minimum production inputs (Nwauwa and Omonona, 2010). According to Pasquini and
Young (2009), the nutritional security of a country can be achieved only when
enough vegetables are consumed. However, this study will focus on some selected
African Indigenous Vegetables (AIVs), with special interest on leafy and fruit
vegetable classes, which are Telfairia (Ugu or fluted pumpkin) and Abelmoschus
(Okra).
According
to Okunlola (2009), vegetables are among the most important and widely
cultivated food and income generating crop in many parts of Africa. They are
cultivated extensively by both small scale farmers and large scale enterprises.
They can give high yield per unit area of land and hence generate high income
for the vegetable farmers. Worldwide production of vegetable such as Okra
is estimated at six million tonnes per year. In West Africa, it is estimated at
500,000 to 600,000 tonnes per year (Burkill, 1997; Agbugba, Nweze, Achike and
Obi, 2013). In Nigeria, enormous quantities of vegetables are produced, and
staggering figures are sometimes given as estimated annual production. For
example Idah et al. (2007) quoted figures like 3.8 million tonnes
of onions and 6 million tonnes of tomatoes as annual production levels
for some vegetables, which are really large quantities of food crops. The
amount of vegetable produce available to the consumer by the marketer is more
important, rather than the level of....
================================================================
Item Type: Ph.D Material | Attribute: 92 pages | Chapters: 1-5
Format: MS Word | Price: N3,000 | Delivery: Within 30Mins.
================================================================
No comments:
Post a Comment