Pricing and operational efficiencies in the livestock feed market in Ondo State, Nigeria

The Nigerian commercial poultry sector is dependent on commercial feeds. Evaluation of the operational and pricing efficiencies of poultry feed marketing is essential for improving efficiencies in the feed industry and lowering the price of poultry products. A multistage sampling technique was used to select the firms studied. Tools used to analyze data collected included index of pricing and operational efficiencies; and regression analysis. The firms studied handled about N251,870,000 of feed per annum, had an annual Inventory Carrying Cost (ICC) of N4,587,762 and an average ICC of N114,694 per firm. The Marketing Costs (MC) for all the firms was N16,813,860 per annum while the average MC was N420,347. Major contributors to ICC were storage; handling and security costs while storage, transportation and capital costs were major contributors to MC. Efforts to minimize costs should therefore be focused at reducing transportation costs and optimal utilization of storage space. The Average Marketing Costs (AMC) declined with increase in quantity marketed (QM) while unit profit increased with QM. Firms therefore need to increase QM. Marketing Margin (MM) and MC were significantly different from each other. Also, QM was a significant explanatory variable of MM, implying that there was no pricing efficiency in the market. Relative efficiency increased with QM, suggesting that firms should strive to increase the quantity of feed marketed. The major contribution of this study is that it provides information on the components of marketing costs and size economies in the poultry feed industry in Ondo State, Nigeria.Poultry feed, Operational, Pricing efficiency, Marketing costs, Nigeria, Livestock Production/Industries,

ASSESSMENT OF THE USE OF INFORMATION COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES (ICT) ON THE ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE OF AGRO-BASED FOOD INDUSTRIES IN SOUTH-WEST NIGERIA

The use of Information Communication technologies (ICTs) as a management tool has gained widespread significance in recent years and the stock of management advantages provided by ICT cuts across disciplines and sectors. Management experts see this globalization of management options as the “super production and marketing input” needed by firms to boost their competitive edge. This paper assesses the adoption and use of ICTs on the economic performance of Agro-industries (ABFIs) in South-West, Nigeria. Primary data were collected from a total of 80 respondents from the study area. Budgetary analysis, t-test of mean differences and multiple regressions were used in the data analysis to actualise the study objectives. In assessing the effect of ICTs on the economic performance of the companies, the “before and after” scenarios were analysed. The results revealed an increase of about 14 percent increase in total profit after adoption of ICTs. The reduction in marketing cost brought about by adopting ICT s were found to be largely responsible for the increase in profit of the ICT adopting firms. The results also revealed that irrespective of the scale of operation, there was a general reduction in total marketing cost due to ICT adoption. The Cobb Douglas function fitted to explain the cost effect relationship between yearly firms’ expenditure on ICTs and firm’s characteristics revealed that the proportion of ICT literate staff to the total staff strength and age of firm were found to be significant positive determinants of ICTs expenditure. The study recommends the adoption and use of ICTs by agro-based firms as a cutting edge input that is not only cost effective but more efficient in the long run.Agribusiness,

Local knowledge and socio-economic determinants of traditional medicines' utilization in livestock health management in Southwest Nigeria

Smallholder livestock farmers in Nigeria utilize traditional medicines derived from medicinal plants (PMs) for the maintenance of their animals' health. This study was designed to determine the PMs used in the study area and their level of utilization by livestock farmers, compare the level of utilization of PMs across the three states surveyed and identify the socio-economic factors influencing farmer's utilization of PMs. Thirty-five PMs were identified. Farmers had considerable knowledge about the identified PMs but about 80.0% of them used the PMs to poor/moderate extent. There were statistical differences in the utilization level of PMs among the three states. Six socio-economic variables were found to be statistically significant in influencing PMs' utilization. Farmer's age, household size, distance to the nearest veterinary hospital/clinic and extent of travels, had positive effects while negative effects were exhibited by farm income and number of heads of livestock. It was concluded that there was considerable knowledge about PMs and that utilization of PMs varied between the three states. It was recommended that local knowledge of PMs be preserved in the study area through screening and documentation

Preparation and use of plant medicines for farmers' health in Southwest Nigeria: socio-cultural, magico-religious and economic aspects

Agrarian rural dwellers in Nigeria produce about 95% of locally grown food commodities. The low accessibility to and affordability of orthodox medicine by rural dwellers and their need to keep healthy to be economically productive, have led to their dependence on traditional medicine. This paper posits an increasing acceptance of traditional medicine country-wide and advanced reasons for this trend. The fact that traditional medicine practitioners' concept of disease is on a wider plane vis-à-vis orthodox medicine practitioners' has culminated in some socio-cultural and magico-religious practices observed in preparation and use of plant medicines for farmers' health management. Possible scientific reasons were advanced for some of these practices to show the nexus between traditional medicine and orthodox medicine. The paper concludes that the psychological aspect of traditional medicine are reflected in its socio-cultural and magico-religious practices and suggests that government should fund research into traditional medicine to identify components of it that can be integrated into the national health system

Spatial equilibrium, market integration and price exogeneity in dry fish marketing in Nigeria: A vector auto-regressive (VAR) approach

Fish is the cheapest animal protein source in Nigeria, and dry fish in particular has the potential to solve the pervasive protein shortage problem owing to its relative affordability compared with fresh fish. Boosting dry fish consumption will entail retail price reduction which is achievable only if the market for dry fish operates efficiently. This study, after testing and correcting price series for non-stationarity, modelled marketing efficiency in 66 pairs of spatially separated markets. The unit root test was used to reveal the order of econometric integration of the price series. All price series showed non-stationarity at their levels (P<0.05), but on first-differencing, they all rejected the null hypothesis of non-stationarity. This confirmed that they were generated by the same stochastic processes and, thus, capable of exhibiting long-run spatial equilibrium. The vector auto-regressive test showed that 59.1% of the markets had prices which were spatially integrated on the long-run. The Granger-causality model revealed that prices in Bauchi, Akure, Makurdi and Kano markets were driving prices in other locations. Kano market exhibited very strong exogeneity while others were either strongly or weakly exogenous. It is concluded that there is low extent of spatial pricing efficiency in Nigeria's dry fish market. The study recommended improved market infrastructures, improved information collection, collation and dissemination, and decisive policy reforms aimed at lowering retail price at the identified leader markets, as ways of enhancing spatial pricing efficiency.El pescado es la fuente de prote?na animal m?s barata en Nigeria, y el pescado seco en particular tiene el potencial de resolver el problema de la generalizada carencia de prote?nas, gracias a su relativa asequibilidad respecto al pescado fresco. Potenciar el consumo de pescado seco conllevar? una reducci?n del precio minorista, lo que solo se puede lograr si el mercado de pescado seco opera eficientemente. Tras probar y corregir la serie de precios eliminando la estacionalidad, este estudio modeliza la eficiencia del mercado en 66 pares de mercados separados en el espacio. Se ha utilizado la prueba de ra?z unitaria para descubrir el grado de integraci?n econom?trica de la serie de precios. Toda la serie de precios se mostr? no estacional en cada nivel (p < 0,05), pero al estimador de primera diferencia todas rechazaron la hip?tesis nula de ausencia de estacionalidad. Esto confirma que se generan por los mismos procesos estoc?sticos, por lo que pueden mostrar equilibrio espacial a largo plazo. La prueba de vector autorregresivo muestra que en el 59,1% de los mercados los precios est?n espacialmente integrados. El modelo de causalidad de Granger revel? que los precios en los mercados de Bauchi, Akure, Makurdi y Kano gu?an los precios en otras localidades. El mercado de Kano muestra fuerte exogeneidad, mientras que otros muestran tanto mucha como poca exogeneidad. Se concluye que la eficiencia de precios del mercado del pescado seco en Nigeria es de poco alcance. Para potenciar la eficiencia espacial de los precios, el estudio recomienda mejoras en las infraestructuras del mercado y en la captura, el tratamiento y la divulgaci?n de datos, as? como reformas pol?ticas esenciales dirigidas a reducir los precios minoristas en los mercados de referencia identificados

Spatial equilibrium, market integration and price exogeneity in dry fish marketing in Nigeria: A vector auto-regressive (VAR) approach

Fish is the cheapest animal protein source in Nigeria, and dry fish in particular has the potential to solve the pervasive protein shortage problem owing to its relative affordability compared with fresh fish. Boosting dry fish consumption will entail retail price reduction which is achievable only if the market for dry fish operates efficiently. This study, after testing and correcting price series for non-stationarity, modelled marketing efficiency in 66 pairs of spatially separated markets. The unit root test was used to reveal the order of econometric integration of the price series. All price series showed non-stationarity at their levels (P<0.05), but on first-differencing, they all rejected the null hypothesis of non-stationarity. This confirmed that they were generated by the same stochastic processes and, thus, capable of exhibiting long-run spatial equilibrium. The vector auto-regressive test showed that 59.1% of the markets had prices which were spatially integrated on the long-run. The Granger-causality model revealed that prices in Bauchi, Akure, Makurdi and Kano markets were driving prices in other locations. Kano market exhibited very strong exogeneity while others were either strongly or weakly exogenous. It is concluded that there is low extent of spatial pricing efficiency in Nigeria's dry fish market. The study recommended improved market infrastructures, improved information collection, collation and dissemination, and decisive policy reforms aimed at lowering retail price at the identified leader markets, as ways of enhancing spatial pricing efficiency.El pescado es la fuente de proteína animal más barata en Nigeria, y el pescado seco en particular tiene el potencial de resolver el problema de la generalizada carencia de proteínas, gracias a su relativa asequibilidad respecto al pescado fresco. Potenciar el consumo de pescado seco conllevará una reducción del precio minorista, lo que solo se puede lograr si el mercado de pescado seco opera eficientemente. Tras probar y corregir la serie de precios eliminando la estacionalidad, este estudio modeliza la eficiencia del mercado en 66 pares de mercados separados en el espacio. Se ha utilizado la prueba de raíz unitaria para descubrir el grado de integración econométrica de la serie de precios. Toda la serie de precios se mostró no estacional en cada nivel (p < 0,05), pero al estimador de primera diferencia todas rechazaron la hipótesis nula de ausencia de estacionalidad. Esto confirma que se generan por los mismos procesos estocásticos, por lo que pueden mostrar equilibrio espacial a largo plazo. La prueba de vector autorregresivo muestra que en el 59,1% de los mercados los precios están espacialmente integrados. El modelo de causalidad de Granger reveló que los precios en los mercados de Bauchi, Akure, Makurdi y Kano guían los precios en otras localidades. El mercado de Kano muestra fuerte exogeneidad, mientras que otros muestran tanto mucha como poca exogeneidad. Se concluye que la eficiencia de precios del mercado del pescado seco en Nigeria es de poco alcance. Para potenciar la eficiencia espacial de los precios, el estudio recomienda mejoras en las infraestructuras del mercado y en la captura, el tratamiento y la divulgación de datos, así como reformas políticas esenciales dirigidas a reducir los precios minoristas en los mercados de referencia identificados

FACTORS AFFECTING THE PROFITABILITY OF POULTRY EGG PRODUCTION IN SOUTHWEST NIGERIA. AN APPLICATION OF QUANTILE REGRESSION

This study investigated the key factors affecting the profitability of poultry egg production in Southwest, Nigeria. A multi-stage sampling procedure was employed to select 360 egg farmers using a structured questionnaire. Data collected were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Descriptive statistics showed that the mean age of egg farmers was 45 years. Majority (68.3%) of the farmers were male households. Over half (57.8%) of the farmers had tertiary school education and majority (85.0%) of them were married. The distribution of flock size showed that majority of the farmers was medium-scale poultry farmers. The result revealed that egg production is profitable. Results of the quantile regression revealed that farmer’s age, farm size, price per crate of egg, cost of drugs as well as farm location had positive significant impacts on farm income at various quantiles. However, education, experience and household size, costs of labour, feed and day-old-chicks were identified to have negative but significant impact on farm income across the quantiles

Pricing and operational efficiencies in the livestock feed market in Ondo State, Nigeria

The Nigerian commercial poultry sector is dependent on commercial feeds. Evaluation of the operational and pricing efficiencies of poultry feed marketing is essential for improving efficiencies in the feed industry and lowering the price of poultry products. A multistage sampling technique was used to select the firms studied. Tools used to analyze data collected included index of pricing and operational efficiencies; and regression analysis. The firms studied handled about N251,870,000 of feed per annum, had an annual Inventory Carrying Cost (ICC) of N4,587,762 and an average ICC of N114,694 per firm. The Marketing Costs (MC) for all the firms was N16,813,860 per annum while the average MC was N420,347. Major contributors to ICC were storage; handling and security costs while storage, transportation and capital costs were major contributors to MC. Efforts to minimize costs should therefore be focused at reducing transportation costs and optimal utilization of storage space. The Average Marketing Costs (AMC) declined with increase in quantity marketed (QM) while unit profit increased with QM. Firms therefore need to increase QM. Marketing Margin (MM) and MC were significantly different from each other. Also, QM was a significant explanatory variable of MM, implying that there was no pricing efficiency in the market. Relative efficiency increased with QM, suggesting that firms should strive to increase the quantity of feed marketed. The major contribution of this study is that it provides information on the components of marketing costs and size economies in the poultry feed industry in Ondo State, Nigeria.Poultry feed, Operational, Pricing efficiency, Marketing costs, Nigeria, Livestock Production/Industries,

Pricing and operational efficiencies in the livestock feed market in Ondo State, Nigeria

The Nigerian commercial poultry sector is dependent on commercial feeds. Evaluation of the operational and pricing efficiencies of poultry feed marketing is essential for improving efficiencies in the feed industry and lowering the price of poultry products. A multistage sampling technique was used to select the firms studied. Tools used to analyze data collected included index of pricing and operational efficiencies; and regression analysis. The firms studied handled about N251,870,000 of feed per annum, had an annual Inventory Carrying Cost (ICC) of N4,587,762 and an average ICC of N114,694 per firm. The Marketing Costs (MC) for all the firms was N16,813,860 per annum while the average MC was N420,347. Major contributors to ICC were storage; handling and security costs while storage, transportation and capital costs were major contributors to MC. Efforts to minimize costs should therefore be focused at reducing transportation costs and optimal utilization of storage space. The Average Marketing Costs (AMC) declined with increase in quantity marketed (QM) while unit profit increased with QM. Firms therefore need to increase QM. Marketing Margin (MM) and MC were significantly different from each other. Also, QM was a significant explanatory variable of MM, implying that there was no pricing efficiency in the market. Relative efficiency increased with QM, suggesting that firms should strive to increase the quantity of feed marketed. The major contribution of this study is that it provides information on the components of marketing costs and size economies in the poultry feed industry in Ondo State, Nigeria