Socio Economic Determinants of Fruits Marketing in Oyo State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study assessed small scale fruits marketing in Lagelu Local Government Area, Oyo State Nigeria. Primary data was collected from seventy (70) small scale fruits marketers with well-structured questionnaires. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics such as frequency, mean, percentage, Gross margin and inferential statistics. The result revealed that 75.7% of the marketers were female; 78.6% are married with mean age of 43 years and mean household size of 5.5 persons, 34.3% had access to credit through personal savings, majority (47.1%) had primary education. Majority of the fruits assessed were seasonal except banana and pawpaw which are all year round available. The Gross Margin was ₦1,341,400.00k and Benefit Cost Ratio of 1.23. The Multiple regression revealed that age was significant (β=114.099, p<0.05), household size (β=785.549, p<0.01), marital status (β=1364.520, p<0.05), educational level (β= -1008.510, p<0.10), access to credit (β= -1145.089, p<0.10) and capital (β= 0.219, p<0.01), R² was 0.86. Problems associated with fruits marketing among others are lack of organized market (91.4%), inadequate storage facilities (78.6%), inadequate transportation, poor road networks (97.1%). It was concluded that marketers age, household size, marital status, educational level, access to credit and capital were the major factors to fruits marketing gross margin.

Keywords:  Agribusiness, Fruits, Gross margin, Nigeria, Marketing, Small scale