yam production and marketing in oji river local government area anambra state

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YAM PRODUCTION AND MARKETING IN OJI RIVER LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA ANAMBRA STATE

Table of Content

TITLE PAGE
DECLARATION
CERTIFICATION
APPROVAL PAGE
DEDICATION
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
ABSTRACT
TABLE OF CONTENT
LIST OF FIGURES
LIST OF TABLES

 

CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1Introduction
1.2Background of the problem
1.3Statement of the problem
1.4Aim
1.5Objective
1.6Justification
1.7Study Area

 

CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW

2.0Literature Review
2.1Introduction

CHAPTER THREE
3.0Methodology
3.1Introduction
3.2 The reconnaissance survey
3.3 Selection of house hold and respondents
3.4 Design of Questionnaire
3.5 Statistical analysis and result
3.6 Problem of Data Collection

 

CHAPTER FOUR
DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS

4.1Introduction

 

CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

5.1Introduction
5.2 Summary and Major finding
5.3 Conclusion
5.4 Recommendation
REFERENCES
APPENDIX

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1       Background Of The Study

Today, the amount of food available per person on a global basis is 18 percent higher than 30 years ago. Most developing countries benefited from this development with the result that their nutrition has witnessed very tremendous improvement. As impressive as this improvement is, about 800 million people worldwide still suffer from chronic hunger; and one quarter of this population resides in Africa. The situation gets worse every year and can lead to a catastrophe if it is not possible to increase food supply at a rate faster than that at which the world population increases (Asogwa et al., 2013).

Yam is a staple crop in many parts of Africa and South East Asia. It belongs to the genus Dioscorea (family Dioscoreaceae). Of the estimated 300-600 species available, there are just over half-dozen principal species that are grown for consumption, while others are grown for medicinal purposes. Yams originated in the Far East and spread west ward. They have since evolved independently in the eastern and western hemispheres, and today yams are grown widely throughout the tropics. In the West African yam zone which is the principal producer on a global basis,

Dioscorea rotundata (white yam), Dioscorea alata (water yam), Dioscorea esculenta (lesser yam) and Dioscorea cayenensis (yellow yam) are the most common species.

The West African zone produces more than 90% of the total world yam production with Nigeria alone producing over 70% of the world total (FAO, 2000).

Yams have both economic and social value in many growing areas. Beside their importance as food source, yams also play a significant role in the socio-cultural lives of some producing regions like the celebrated New Yam Festival in West Africa, a practice that has also extended to overseas where there is a significant population of the tribes that observe it. Yams store relatively longer in comparison with other tropical fresh produce and therefore stored yam represent stored wealth which can be sold all-year-round by the farmer or marketer.

For maximum yield, the yam requires a humid tropical environment, with an annual rainfall of over 1500millimeters distributed uniformly through out the growing season. White, yellow, and water yams typically produce a single large tuber per year, generally weighing 5 to 10 kilograms. Most edible yams reach maturity in 8-11 months after planting. Planting materials include yam seed, seed yam and yam setts.

In many parts of the West African yam zone, mature yams are harvested at the end of the rainy season or early parts of the dry season, which coincides with the end of vegetative growth. Yams for long-term storage (for marketing or seed) are usually harvested during the harmattan period (December – January) in many parts of south eastern Nigeria when the crops have attained maximum growth and maturity. During this period, the soil is generally hard and tuber breakage during harvesting can be an economical problem (FAO, 2003).

Prior to long-term storage and marketing, yams are cleaned (without water) by scrapping off soil and other debris on the surface. A knife or piece of stick is usually used. The root ‘hairs’ are also removed so that the tuber has a smooth surface. Water must not be used to clean tubers before storage because of increased susceptibility to microbial infection and growth under the ambient humid storage conditions.

The three main conditions are necessary for successful yam storage; aeration, reduction of temperature, and regular inspection of produce. Regular inspection of tubers is important to remove sprouts, rotted tubers, and to monitor the presence of rodents and other pests. In general, tubers should be protected from high temperature and provided with good ventilation during storage.

Transportation of yam is important since most yams are produced in areas far from where it is consumed.

Storage and transportation affects to an extent the availability of yam to consumers which also affects the market price of yam.

From the foregoing, it could be inferred that if the marketing functions (most especially storage and transportation) of yam is well understood, production could be expanded and the market price can be regulated to the benefit of farmers and consumers.

1.2       Statement Of The Problem

Problems affecting the availability of yam in the market and the subsequent price of purchase to the consumer can be divided into two; Production problems and marketing problems.

Yam production in Nigeria has witnessed increased output yet has not been able to meet the demand of the people (FAO, 2002). Its insufficiency is as a result of an increase in the Nigeria population (Oyaide, 2002). Oyaide noted that the growth rate of the Nigerian population is 3.3percent as against the agricultural growth rate of 2.3percent. So, the gap between domestic supply and demand is still wide in favour of demand.

The production problem according to Parikh et al. (1995) can be summarized to include low productivity of the farm lands, production being left in the hands of small-scale farmers, decreasing soil fertility with the limited use of fertilizer, use of unimproved crop varieties, lack of credit, inadequate extension services and the use of very simple manually operated tools. These problems according to Okwuokenye (2011) are gradually being solved.

Marketing problem also determine the availability of yam in the market. Since yam is bulky and has a high level of perish ability and high risk of spoilage, it requires good storage system and transport system to enhance its availability to the final consumers. These marketing functions (storage and transport) affect the price of yam which therefore reduces patronage by consumers.

1.3       Research Questions

So, the following questions will be answered;

  1. What are the socio-economic characteristics of yam marketers?
  2. What are the marketing functions that contribute to the size of the market margin?
  3. What is the profit margin of the yam marketers?
  4. What are the factors affecting market price of yam?

1.4       Objective Of The Study

The overall objective of the study is to unveil how marketing functions affects the market price of yam in Ogbomoso.

The study has the following research-specific objectives;

  1. To identify the socio-economic characteristics of the yam marketers in Ogbomoso
  2. To identify the marketing functions that contribute to the size of the market margin
  3. To assess the profit margin of the yam market in the study area.
  4. To analyze factors affecting the market price of yam.

1.5       Hypotheses Of The Study

Hₒ: The market price of yam is not significantly influenced by the marketing functions.

1.6       Justification Of The Study

Although several research works have been carried out on yam crop but none seem to have been carried out on the effect and impact of marketing functions on the market price of yam especially in Ogbomoso land.

This study seek to highlight the effect of marketing function and its contribution to the large market margin which makes consumers feel they have been exploited and the farmers feel they have been deprived of a substantial part of the consumers’ pay.

1.7       Limitations Of The Study

  1. Most of the marketers were illiterate and kept no record of their day-to-day transactions
  2. Some marketers could not give detailed account of what they sold per day accurately
  3. Some of the questionnaires proposed for the study were not rightly answered. There were irregularities in them and therefore inconsistent
  4. Problem of costing services rendered: Services such as transportation and storage were difficult to cost because in most cases, other commodities were stored under the same roof by the same market women together with yam, which makes it difficult to attach a particular amount of money to a particular commodity such as yam.

YAM PRODUCTION AND MARKETING IN OJI RIVER LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA ANAMBRA STATE

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