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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.