Determinants of farmer participation in direct marketing channels: A case study for cassava in the Oyo State of Nigeria

Emmanuel Donkor,Stephen Onakuse,Ignacio De Los Rios-Carmenado,Joe Bogue

doi:10.5424/sjar/2018162-12076

Emmanuel Donkor, Stephen Onakuse + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.5424/sjar/2018162-12076

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Abstract

Improving rural farmers’ access to direct agricultural markets is required to ensure sustainable supply of food. Rural farmers in the developing world account for the largest share of food supply including cassava. Globally, cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) is recognised as an important source of valuable semi-processed industrial raw materials such as ethanol, high-quality cassava flour and starch. However, there is less empirical research on rural farmers’ participation in direct marketing channels in the cassava sector. This study focused on analysing the determinants of farmer participation in direct marketing channels using the case of the cassava sector in the Oyo State of Nigeria. The Bivariate Tobit model was applied in the empirical analysis, based on a primary dataset generated from 400 rural cassava farmers from the Oyo State of Nigeria. The result showed that, in general, farmers sold a higher percentage of their cassava output to processors. The Bivariate Tobit results showed that human capital, physical capital, social capital, and market conditions had significant effects on farmers’ decisions on whether to sell their cassava output directly to processors or middlemen. On the contrary, natural and financial capitals did not significantly affect farmers’ marketing channel decision. The study recommends that policy instruments should target improving road networks in rural areas, enhancing farmers’ access to market information, and increasing membership of farmer association to ensure an active participation of farmers in the direct marketing channels.

Highlights

Agriculture continues to play an important role in promoting economic development and enhancing the rural economy by providing numerous employment opportunities to many people in rural communities in sub-Sahara African (SSA) countries (Barrett, 2008)
This study focused on analysing the determinants of farmer participation in direct marketing channels using the case of the cassava sector in the Oyo State of Nigeria
It was observed that 68.5% of farmers who traded with processors engaged in an off-farm activity whereas, in the case of middlemen, 61.5% participated in an off-farm activity

Summary

Introduction

Agriculture continues to play an important role in promoting economic development and enhancing the rural economy by providing numerous employment opportunities to many people in rural communities in sub-Sahara African (SSA) countries (Barrett, 2008). The agricultural sector contributes to improving food and nutrition security in SSA countries through the supply of food commodities (Tadesse & Shively, 2013). Improved access to direct markets, notably periurban and urban markets is a necessary prerequisite to ensure a sustainable supply of food commodities. In many SSA countries, the marketing of agricultural commodities remains a challenge for most smallholder producers (Umberger et al, 2015). The producers of cassava tubers have limited marketing options They participate in Emmanuel Donkor, Stephen Onakuse, Joe Bogue and Ignacio De Los Rios-Carmenado the agricultural output markets by either selling their cassava tubers directly to processors, who add value to the tubers by processing them into traditional food products such as gari and lafun, or depend on middlemen to perform their marketing function for them (Donkor et al, 2017)

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