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European Journal of Applied Sciences – Vol. 9, No. 4
Publication Date: August 25, 2021
DOI:10.14738/aivp.94.10789. Ocholi, A. A. S. G. (2021). Analysis of Structure and Efficiency of Fresh Tomato Retail Marketing in Benue State Nigeria. European
Journal of Applied Sciences, 9(4). 245-257.
Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom
Analysis of Structure and Efficiency of Fresh Tomato Retail
Marketing in Benue State Nigeria
Ocholi, A. Agada S. G.
Department of Agribusiness, Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi.
ABSTRACT
Efficient tomato marketing depends on how the market is organized in-terms of
interrelationship between buyers and sellers. The study investigated the structure
and efficiency of fresh tomato retail marketing in the study area. Purposive,
Multistage and Simple random sampling method was employed to select 50 fresh
tomato retailers in the study area. Primary data were collected using structured
questionnaire administered on respondents. Data collected were analyzed using
Descriptive Statistics, Marketing Efficiency, Gini Coefficientand Gross Margin. The
study revealed that the majority (56%) of the respondent were male while (44%)
were female. 46% were married with a mean age of 38 years and a mean income of
N50404. The result further showed marketing efficiency of 19.30 indicating that the
product was efficient in the study area. The Gini Coefficient was 0.63 which implies
that there was competition among tomato retailers in the study area. Despite the
intrinsic characteristics of fresh tomato fruits, its sale was profitable judging by the
mean Gross Margin of 10, 654.8. Transportation and storage facilities constituted
the greatest challenge faced by tomato retailers in the study area. Based on the
finding of the studies it was recommended that the retailers should form
cooperatives to promote bulk purchase which will in turn reduce transportation
charges as well as enable them to achieve the benefits from economies of scale.
Key words: Tomato, Marketing Efficiency, Market, Structure.
INTRODUCTION
(Lycopersicon esculenta) is cultivated in both Tropical and subtropical regions of the world.
Vegetable crops including tomatoes are widely cultivated by small scale farmers in most states
of Nigeria. (Adeolu and Taiwo 2009; Giroh et al 2010). Global production of fruits and
vegetables tripled from 396 million MT in 1961 to 1.34 billion in 2003 (International Institute
of Tropical Agriculture 2005) and Nigeria ranked 16th on the Global Production Scale,
accounting for 10.79% of Africa’s and 12% of total world production of tomatoes (Weinberger
and Humpkin 2007). Despite this production figure, Nigeria is unable to meet its growing
domestic requirements fortomoato. Between 2009 and 2010, Nigeria imported a total of
105,000 metric tons of tomato paste valued at over 16 billion naira to bridge the deficit gap
between supply and demand in the country (Food and Agriculture Organization 2006). Kalu
(2013) attributed this situation to socio-economic constraints surrounding the key actors in
the value chain, institutional weakness and declining agricultural research. Tomato production
is a major source of income for majority of households in Nigeria. It is grown for its edible fruit
which can be eaten raw in salad, cooked and made into puree in canning industries (Achoja and
Okoh 2013). Tomato is used as condiments for stew which is a regular feature of African meals.
Hence it is an important ingredient in the confectionary industry. In Nigeria, tomato is very
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European Journal of Applied Sciences (EJAS) Vol. 9, Issue 4, August-2021
Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom
important in the diet of both rural and urban dwellers. Tomato contains protein, edible oil,
vitamin, A, B, C and mineral which is useful in human body (Igere and Akinbolu 1994).
Population growth and development has led to increase in demand and marketing activities for
tomato which is a source of livelihood (i.e it creates employment and generates income) to
sizeable number of households in Nigeria.
Obasi and Emenam (2014) asserted that marketing usually begins at the farm when the farmer
harvests his products. The products when harvested cannot get to the consumer; because the
consumer is likely to be located some distance from the place of consumption. Storage is
required to adjust supply to meet demand and the product when it has been harvested is rarely
in a form acceptable to consumers, hence it must be sorted, cleaned and processed in various
ways and must be presented to consumers in convenient quality and quantities for
sale.(Asogwa and Okwoche 2012). These activities are carried out by intermediaries or
middlemen in the marketing process. The production and marketing system of tomato consist
of a myriad of relationships and arrangement which are based on structure – conduct
relationship paradigms at each market level that is from producers to the consumers. In order
to ensure stable supply of tomato throughout the year, the market structure should first be
considered in addition to examining how they are produced and disposed. The need for market
structure analysis in Agricultural marketing has been emphasized by (Clodus and Mueller,
1967, Obasi and Emenem, 2018).
Marketing structure essentially relates to the degree of competition in the market, that is
whether the number of firms producing a product is large or small, whether the firms are equal
in size or a small group predominates, whether entry of new firms is easy or not and whether
the buyers of the product are few or many. Structure also relates to degree of market
information that is available to participants. (Ocholi et. al,2020).
Tomato marketing is poorly developed in Nigeria. It is characterized mainly by the problem of
seasonality and perishability amongst others. Worst still, in the past, the government paid more
attention to production with little attention to the marketing of vegetables such as tomato,
pepper, onions, garden eggs, okra and leafy vegetables despite the fact that they need spatial
marketing facilities (Idachaba 2000). Consequently, losses of 40-50 percent occur for many
vegetables mainly due to spoilage, inadequate transportation, sorting, improper packaging and
handling and lack of storage facilities. Also, another problem with tomato marketing is in the
area of standard weights and measurements, these leave the consumer to their luck and
haggling abilities in securing a good deal.
The high perishability nature of fresh tomato discourages many farmers from going into large
scale production and prevents growers from increasing their scale of production. This has
resulted into low productivity in processing industries and high prices of both fresh and
processed tomato products (Egbeadumah, 2008). Therefore, in order to ensure that farmers
and marketing agents get a high return on their capital investments, they have to overcome
these problems.
A number of studies have been carried out on profitability, structure, efficiency, and
performance of tomato marketing and other agricultural products both at national and
international planes. For instance Emian (2011) evaluated marketing efficiency of tomato in
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Ocholi, A. A. S. G. (2021). Analysis of Structure and Efficiency of Fresh Tomato Retail Marketing in Benue State Nigeria. European Journal of Applied
Sciences, 9(4). 245-257.
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/aivp.94.10789
Khartoum state, Sudan, Haruna, Sanni Danwanka and Adejoh (2012) worked on economic
analysis of fresh tomato markets in Bauchi state, Nigeria. The marketing of tomato in Benue
State has not received adequate attention concerning research especially with the nature of
competition and marketing efficiency.
While drawing from the experiences of these authors, effort will be made to examine the
structure and efficiency of fresh tomato retail marketing in Benue state The specific objectives
are to
• Describe the socio-economic characteristics of tomato retail marketers in the study area.
• Analyze the structure of tomato retail market
• Determine the marketing efficiency of tomato retail marketers in study area
• Identify the problems affecting tomato retail marketing in the study area
METHODOLOGY
The Study Area
The area of this study is Benue State of Nigeria. Benue state was created in 1976 and is located
in the middle belt region of Nigeria with the capital at Makurdi. Benue state lie approximately
between latitudes 6030′N and 8010′N of the equator and longitudes 6035′E and 8010′E of the
Greenwich meridian, [Benue State Agricultural and Rural Development Authority, (BNARDA),
2005]. Benue state is considered as one of the hottest States in Nigeria with an average
minimum and maximum temperature of 210C and 380C respectively. It is in the southern guinea
savannah ecological zone, which has a typical climate with the clearly marked seasons of dry
season (late October to March) and wet season (April to early October).
The main annual rainfall in the state is 15000mm.The important feature of the state is the river
in which the state derived its name from. The state share boundaries with five States,
Nassarawa to the North, Taraba to the East, Cross -River to the Southeast, Enugu to the
Southwest and Kogi to the west. The southern part of the state is also bounded with republic of
Cameroun. Benue State has a land mass of about 33,955km with 23 local government areas.
Geographically and agriculturally, Benue State is divided into three zones, Zone A (Katsina-Ala,
Ukum, Shango, Vandeikya, Logo,Kwande and Konshisha local government areas) Zone B
(Gboko, Tarka, Buruku, Gwer East , Gwer West, Guma and Makurdi Local government areas),
Zone C (Ado, Agatu, Apa, Otukpo, Ohimini, Okpokwu, Ogbadibo, Obi and Oju local
government areas).
The state has a total population of 5,741,800 people (National Population Commissions 2006).
About 80% of the state population is directly involved in agriculture. The state is also called the
food basket of nation, because the state produces agricultural commodities in large quantities.
These crops among others are cultivated in great quantity and cash crops like; Palm
produce, Cashew, Groundnut, Coffee, Cotton etc. Ginger, being a multi-facet economic crop and
having both domestic and international value, its cultivation and marketing is becoming
popular within the study area, as its production and marketing cuts across gender groups.