CHAPTER
ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Recognizing Nigeria’s
tremendous Agricultural potentials, the government has accepted the view that
the country should resolve to make agriculture the main source of living of the
economy and to Enugu state. Agricultural development has to with the increase
of the agricultural productivity to be able to generate substantial surpluses.
The issues of
surpluses lead to the issue of marketing because when they engage in large
production, and then there will be surpluses left out.
Production of
surpluses should occur simultaneously with adequate processing and store it and
make sure that the surpluses are waste.
We find out that the
surpluses, if they are not appropriately processed, it may bring about increase
in the harvest losses which reduces the productivity and income in the
agricultural sector (RUSEP 2002).
Nigeria is currently
the largest cassava producer in the world with estimated annual production of
about 40 million metric tones. About 90% of this is however, consumed as food.
Cassava is next to petroleum as major contributor to the Gross Domestic Product
(GDP). The presidential initiative on cassava has set in motion the process of
achieving on annual basis 5 billion dollars from export of cassava. This plan
also involves building of the domestic productive capacity to an efficiently,
profitable and sustainable satisfaction to the new market demand with the
quality and quantity required to realize the objective. One of the strategies
put in place to realize this noble objective is the establishment of 6-farmgate
primary processing centers. However, lack of funds to procure essential
processing machinery and equipment, which will create increase demand for
cassava product, has been a problem.
Evidence has shown
that cassava production has been increased from 1999 to date. (FMARD) 2004,
However, post harvest system such as processing, packaging, marketing storage
distribution and transportation have constrained sustainable cassava production
in recent times. This has resulted into substantial losses, which complicate
food insecurity status in terms of available calorie dietary consumption.
Studies have shown that efficient marketing system stimulates agricultural
production (Waurika and Ikpi 2005: Adesope et al, 2005).
However, marketing of
cassava in Nigeria especially in Enugu state has been characterized with a lot
of deficiencies. These deficiencies have constrained sustainable agricultural development
in one way or the other. In Nigeria, several policy studies have been
commissioned to identify potential contributions of agricultural marketing
policy to agricultural development, these studies, however, failed to
incorporate strategies for combating perennial constraints to effective and
efficient food marketing in Nigeria.
Since sustainable
food policy issues and options require different strategies for both domestic
and international markets and different strategies for minimizing the problems
confronting cassava marketing, it is important to identify strategies for
minimizing constraints to food at the different levels, as well as
incorporation of these strategies into food marketing policy framework. This
study, therefore, investigated effectiveness of cassava marketing policy and
its contribution to agricultural sector development in Nigeria, Enugu state in
particular, the policy design and its potential contributions to agricultural
development in Nigeria.
We have various
sectors that will be discussed: problems associated with agricultural marketing
in Nigeria and in Enugu particular, the potential of cassava marketing to
economic development of Nigeria.
1.2
STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
Agricultural
marketing efficiency has been bedeviled by both external and internal market
related factors. These factors are also peculiar to cassava marketing in
Nigeria and Enugu in particular (FMARD 2004). The markets have served the
economy well in the past but currently inadequate in the face of growing demand
for products due to population growth and changing of dietary demand patterns.
There is the inadequacy of transport service in rural areas. The Rural feeder
roads are in a very bad condition. The entire rural communities rely mainly on
human transport before they will talk of conveying their produce.
There is the problem
of marketing information because the required data required are not available
and even those that are available is not being managed properly to generate the
required information to support decision making by the producers, consumers, government
officials and other market participants.
There are no official
or organized ways of transmitting price information in Nigerian’s agricultural
markets; therefore there is no mechanism for coordinating production activities
of the millions of farmers with the demand of millions of individual, corporate
and institutional consumers. The paucity of data and information also limit
forecasting planning farm management and marketing practices.
Another problem
associated with the poor marketing for agricultural produce in Nigeria is the
existence of an inefficient and inadequate storage system. As a result there is
a substantial waste at the farm level and the poor storage system also
contributes to price fluctuations in the agricultural markets whereby produce
prices are low during harvest time’s adversely affecting farmer incomes. At
times the price fluctuations are magnified by speculative activities in the
face of scarcity of market information all in favour of marketers only further
aggravating the poor economic position of farmers.
Another related
problem is that of poor storage system in the low level of processing of
agricultural produce in Nigeria, Enugu state in particular. In view of the low
level of food processing in Nigeria for example the use of this activity in
increasing effective supply of food as well as solve some nutritional problems
of human beings is not possible.
There is also the
limited nature of raw agricultural produce processing limits how this
potentially flourishing agro-business can contribute to enhancing the economics
value of food, improving farmers income by providing additional outlets for
their produce, particularly in the harvest seasons when prices tend to be low,
generating employment, enhancing the storage of food and other produce, and
reducing dependence on imported processed food and other agro-industrial
products.
In addition to
problems associated with inadequacy of processing facilities for food and other
agricultural produce in Nigeria, there is a such as irradiation and freeze
dying to reduce rotting in particular and spoilage in general and thereby
increasing effective agricultural supplies in the country.
Another economic
problem associated with agricultural marketing in Nigeria, Enugu state to be
precise has to do with the absence of standardization of products in the market
place. Standardized system of grading and measurement, which enhances marketing
efficiency, is not a feature of agricultural markets in Nigeria. Grades are
determined arbitrarily by sizes, colour or smell. Measures come in various
types of metal and plastic bowls, dishes, tins basket and calabashes. The use
of weighing scales is limited which explains why prices are determined by
haggling between sellers and buyers. In addition, sorting and packaging
activities are not carried out further reducing the ability of using a sound
marketing system to boost farmers’ income and ensure adequate protection of
consumers in the country.
Agricultural produce
supply and price instabilities characterized the Nigerian agricultural markets.
By the nature of agricultural production in Nigeria and the limitation imposed
by the marketing problems highlighted previously, farmers generally adjust
current productions according to prevailing prices in the immediate past period
or season. When the price of commodity is lower than expected in a particular
season due to period to over supply into the market, farmers will cut back on
production and supply less into the market the next period. This subsequent
short supply in the next time leads to supply and price gyrations which follow
a cobweb-like pattern which may be explosive depending on how elastic the
supply side of the commodity market is. In summary agricultural processing and
marketing have problems associated with them which include:
– Poor storage of the
processed products which leads to its rottenness.
– Low level of food
processing because of lack of processing machines.
– Poor market
information system.
– Low market demand
of value-added products by the consumers.
– Limited purchasing
power of consumers.
– Stiff competition
between the firms, in terms of location, quality of food and prices.
– Increasing costs of
marketing functions irregular power supply which push the firm to source of
alternative (generator) and this increases transaction cost.
1.3
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
Objectives of study
show the direction of research and what the study intends to achieve, hence Eze
and Agbo (2005, p.26) believe that once they are achieved, the research problem
will be showed. Consequently the research sets out to achieve the following
goals:
1. To evaluate the
cassava processing and marketing options for sustainable agricultural
development in Nigeria and Enugu state in particular.
2. To examine the
extent to which cassava processing and marketing has impacted on economic
growth of Enugu state.
3. To evaluate the
problems associated with cassava production and marketing in Enugu state Udi
local Government Area in particular.
4. To examine the
role of cassava processing and marketing in Agricultural development in Enugu
state.
1.4
RESEARCH QUESTION
The following
research questions served as road-maps that directed this research work:
1. Is cassava
processing and marketing the only option for sustainable development in Nigeria
and Enugu state in particular?
2. To what extent has
cassava processing and marking impacted on the economic growth of Enugu state
and Nigeria at large?
3. Is there any
problem associated with cassava production and marketing in Enugu state Udi
local Government Area in particular.
4. Does cassava
processing and marking have any role to play in Agricultural development of
Enugu state?
1.5
RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS
From the research
questions, the following hypotheses were formulated:
H0: Cassava
processing and marketing is the only option for sustainable development in
Nigeria and Enugu state in particular.
H1: Cassava
processing and marketing are not the only option for sustainable agricultural
development in Nigeria and Enugu state in particular.
H0: Cassava
processing and marking has a significant impact on the economic growth of Enugu
state and Nigeria at large.
H1: Cassava
processing and marking has no impact on the economic growth of Enugu state and
Nigeria at large.
H0: There are
problems associated with cassava production and marketing in Enugu state Udi
local Government Area in particular.
H1: There are no
problems associated with cassava production and marketing in Enugu state Udi
local Government Area in particular.
Ho: Cassava
processing and marketing have a significant role to play in Agricultural development
of Enugu state.
H1: Cassava
processing and marketing have no role to play in Agricultural development of
Enugu state.
1.6
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
It is important to
point out that during the completion of this project, it will be of immense
significance to the following
RESEARCHERS:
Other researchers on this topic or similar topic will find this work helpful as
it will form a base of review of related literature and also a stepping-shine
for future researchers.
ECONOMY:
This work will help to improve the national output and thereby increase the
national income. This is because of improvement in the efficiency and
effectiveness of the operations as well as the overall success of the state,
which will be achieved through adequate processing and marketing.
LAW
MAKERS: The law makers will implement policies that will
enhance the processing and marketing of cassava in Nigeria, The standard of
corporations will be increased as a result of the knowledge acquired from this
research work.
1.7
SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The study is on
“Cassava processing and marketing Option for sustainable Agricultural
development”. The researcher will restrict her work to Udi Local Government
Area of Enugu state.
Any other reference
to materials, place, items, activities, periods is just for purpose of clarity
and vivid understanding of the topic and not within the scope.
1.8
LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
The following
constraints faced the researcher and limited his efforts in elaborating the research
work.
FINANCE:
The researcher is a full time student and has been discouraged from traveling
to or visiting all Udi Local Government Area and its Environs to collect data
for her study due to lack of fund, she has therefore chosen very few households
because of proximity and ease of contact to the community.
TIME:
there is a limited time for this project work. It would have been desired for a
longer time to exhaust the topic and extend the coverage but it is not
possible.
PRESSURE
OF ACADEMIC WORK: The researcher have been hindered by
pressure of academic work from achieving the extensive research this work
should have deserved.
1.9
DEFINITION OF TERMS
Cassava: The starchy
root of a tropican American tree used
As food.
Processing: A series
of action in to be done in other to achieve an end
Marketing: This means
to advertise or promote something in
Other for the
consumers to benefit from.
Agriculture: This is
the science or practice of farming i.e.
Cultivating of the
soil or rearing of animals.
Sustainable: