Determinants of Market Participation by Maize Farmers in Ondo State, Nigeria

Smallholder farmers’ performance of marketing functions in Nigeria is very low despite the fact that there are invaluable benefits associated with market orientation and favourable trends in agricultural commercialization. This is the motivation for this study, which analyses market participation by maize farmers in Ondo State, Nigeria. The objectives of the study are to assess the extent of commercialization of agriculture in the rural and peri-urban areas, determine the factors that influence the degree of commercialization among households, identify the constraints facing the respondents in the study areas and carry out a policy simulation and analysis of market participation by maize farmers in the study area. The sample size for this study was 80 maize farmers from both rural and peri-urban areas by employing multistage sampling technique. Data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics, truncated regression analysis and chow- test. The study revealed that the extent of agricultural commercialization in rural area (66.6%) was higher than that of peri-urban (65%) area in maize enterprise. It was observed that age of the household head, experience of the household head, cropping system, quantity of harvested output, farm size, land tenure and unit price of output had significant (5% and 1% significant level) influence on the intensity of market participation by maize farmers in rural and peri-urban areas of the State. As revealed from the study, some of the constraints facing majority of the maize farmers in the State covering rural and peri-urban areas were insufficient capital, high cost of transportation, poor road network, poor storage facilities, lack of credit facilities, inadequate agricultural inputs. It could be concluded that the extent of commercialization in both rural and peri-urban areas were not high enough, which calls for the attention of all the concerned parties (government and individuals) to put in place measures that will critically improve the extent of agricultural commercialization in the study area. In order to enhance market participation of maize farmers, well equipped market centers in various villages should be established by government and private individuals. Keywords: Commercialization, Market Orientation, Marketing, Peri-urban Area, Rural Area, Simulation, Truncated Regressio

STRUCTURAL PERFORMANCE OF ARTISANAL FISH MARKETING IN ONDO STATE, NIGERIA.pdf

Fish is an important source of protein which is highly needed for human beings to experience necessary growth and development. This is the reason for the phenomenal rise in the consumption of fish in order to meet up with the body nutritional requirements. Therefore, marketing of this source of protein is inevitable as its distribution depends largely on the structure of the marketing system. This study examined the structural performance of artisanal fish marketing in Ondo State, Nigeria. Data collected from 250 artisanal fish sellers selected using multistage sampling technique were analysed using descriptive statistics, marketing and gross margin, Gini coefficient and Lorenze curve analyses. The results showed that artisanal fish marketing was profitable with a mean net return of N137.10/kg ($0.85/kg). The estimated value of the Gini coefficient determined was 0.64, indicating the presence of inequality in the share of the artisanal fish market in the study area. It was realized that all the respondents in the study area, mentioned poor transport network, high transport cost, inadequate fund and inadequate storage facilities as major problems confronting artisanal fish market in the study area. Therefore, programmes that will improve fish marketing should be organized for fish marketers by the relevant government parastatals, extension workers, Non Governmental Organizations and the artisanal fish marketers should be sensitized on the formation of better organized fish marketing cooperative societies where they can solve some of their problems themselves

Structural Performance of Artisanal Fish Marketing in Ondo State, Nigeria

Fish is an important source of protein which is highly needed for human beings to experience necessary growth and development. This is the reason for the phenomenal rise in the consumption of fish in order to meet up with the body nutritional requirements. Therefore, marketing of this source of protein is inevitable as its distribution depends largely on the structure of the marketing system. This study examined the structural performance of artisanal fish marketing in Ondo State, Nigeria. Data collected from 250 artisanal fish sellers selected using multistage sampling technique were analysed using descriptive statistics, marketing and gross margin, Gini coefficient and Lorenze curve analyses. The results showed that artisanal fish marketing was profitable with a mean net return of N137.10/kg ($0.85/kg). The estimated value of the Gini coefficient determined was 0.64, indicating the presence of inequality in the share of the artisanal fish market in the study area. It was realized that all the respondents in the study area, mentioned poor transport network, high transport cost, inadequate fund and inadequate storage facilities as major problems confronting artisanal fish market in the study area. Therefore, programmes that will improve fish marketing should be organized for fish marketers by the relevant government parastatals, extension workers, Non Governmental Organizations and the artisanal fish marketers should be sensitized on the formation of better organized fish marketing cooperative societies where they can solve some of their problems themselves

Food Crop Farmers’ Health and Poverty Status Nexus in Ondo State, Nigeria

Poverty may lead to ill-health because it forces people to live in conditions that cause sickness, as a result of indecent shelter, lack of clean water or adequate sanitation. Poor health brings loss of labour hours, loss of money and it may cause death of the farmer. This study therefore evaluated food crop farmer’s health and poverty status nexus in Ondo State, Nigeria. Primary data were used and a sample of 210 farm households was drawn through a multistage sampling procedure. The data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics, Foster-Greer-Thorbecke (FGT) poverty index, quantitative method (cost of illness procedure) and probit regression analysis. The findings revealed that 88% and 44% of the respondents were married and had secondary education respectively, with a mean age of 44 years. Also, 55% of the respondents were actually poor while 19.5% of the poverty line was needed to get out of poverty. The result of probit regression model indicated that number of years spent in school, household size, farm distance, farm income, financial cost of illness and time cost of illness had significant influence on poverty level of the respondents in the study area. Therefore, government should design holistic policies that will focus on the factors highlighted above in order to alleviate poverty and improve the welfare of the food crop farmers in the study area. Keywords: Health, poverty, farmers, illnes

Land Rights and Improvement Investments Among Crop Farmers in Southwest, Nigeria

This study examined the effects of land rights on investment decisions of farmers and determinants of land rights as well as the impact of land rights on farm productivity in Southwest Nigeria. Multistage sampling process was used in the selection of 320 respondents for the study. Two-stage conditional maximum likelihood (2SCML) approach of multivariate probit regression model and Endogenous switching regression (ESR) model were used for the analysis of the collected data. The results of Average Treatment Effect on the Treated (ATT) estimates from ESR revealed that land rights increase farm productivity. This study further confirmed the importance of land rights in facilitating investment in soil-improving measures which subsequently leads to higher productivity. One of the policy implications emanating from this study suggests that having use and transfer rights as against use only rights goes a long way in enhancing investment in soil-improving or conservation measures. Keywords: Crop, Investment, Land, Multivariate Probit Regression Model, Rights, Two-stage Conditional Maximum Likelihood

STRUCTURAL PERFORMANCE OF ARTISANAL FISH MARKETING IN ONDO STATE, NIGERIA POWER POINT PRESENTATION.pdf

Fish is an important source of protein which is highly needed for human beings to experience necessary growth and development. This is the reason for the phenomenal rise in the consumption of fish in order to meet up with the body nutritional requirements. Therefore, marketing of this source of protein is inevitable as its distribution depends largely on the structure of the marketing system. This study examined the structural performance of artisanal fish marketing in Ondo State, Nigeria. Data collected from 250 artisanal fish sellers selected using multistage sampling technique were analysed using descriptive statistics, marketing and gross margin, Gini coefficient and Lorenze curve analyses. The results showed that artisanal fish marketing was profitable with a mean net return of N137.10/kg ($0.85/kg). The estimated value of the Gini coefficient determined was 0.64, indicating the presence of inequality in the share of the artisanal fish market in the study area. It was realized that all the respondents in the study area, mentioned poor transport network, high transport cost, inadequate fund and inadequate storage facilities as major problems confronting artisanal fish market in the study area. Therefore, programmes that will improve fish marketing should be organized for fish marketers by the relevant government parastatals, extension workers, Non Governmental Organizations and the artisanal fish marketers should be sensitized on the formation of better organized fish marketing cooperative societies where they can solve some of their problems themselves

Efficiency Analysis Among Maize and Cassava Farmers in Southwest, Nigeria: Application of Log Input Mean Correction Strategy

This study applied log input mean correction strategy and imposed linear homogeneity restriction in the estimation of efficiency among maize and cassava farmers in Southwest, Nigeria. Multistage sampling procedure was used to select 310 respondents for the study. Data collected through well-structured questionnaire were analysed using Descriptive Statistics, Stochastic Frontier Translog Cost and Production Function. The results show direct relationships between the total cost of production with respect to maize output and input prices in the two enterprises. The input price elasticity estimates in the two enterprises support the assumption that the cost function is homogenous of degree one and that the cost minimizing factor prices is non-decreasing in P. Also, regularity condition of monotonicity is fulfilled as inputs increase output in the two enterprises. Therefore, maize and cassava farmers should be encouraged to expand their scale of operation which also allows them to benefit from economies of scale.Keywords: Efficiency, homogeneity, stochastic, crop, log-input

Determinants of Health Management Practices’ Utilization and Its Effect on Poultry Farmers’ Income in Ondo State, Nigeria

Nigeria is the second largest poultry industry in Africa, with its poultry industry the most commercialized livestock sub-sector. Despite its significance, the farmers still experience economic losses due to disease outbreaks. Hence, the application of standard Health Management Practices (HMPs) is very important, as these practices improve the welfare of animals and increase animal production and farmers’ income. This paper examined the determinants of HMP’s utilization and its effect on poultry farmers’ income in Ondo State, Nigeria. We used multistage sampling procedures to select 120 respondents who provided data for the study. The study used Generalized Poisson Regression (GPR) and Conditional Quantile Regression (CQR) models to estimate the determinants of HMP’s utilization intensity, and its heterogeneous effects on farmers’ income, respectively. The results revealed that the HMP’s utilization intensity was significantly driven by variables such as education, training, experience, land ownership, stock size, mortality rate, and production system. In addition, HMP’s utilization had significant heterogeneous effects on farmers’ income. Therefore, the government and other developmental agencies should promote HMP’s utilization through the provision of poultry-based skills acquisition and vocational education