Constraints to Effective Participation of Small Holder Male and Female Cassava Farmers in Formal Market in Imo State, Nigeria.
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CONSTRAINTS TO EFFECTIVE PARTICIPATION OF SMALL HOLDER MALE AND FEMALE CASSAVA FARMERS IN FORMAL MARKET IN IMO STATE, NIGERIA.
AMANZE, PEACE CHIMARAUCHE
AND
ORGI, MICHAL CHIKWENDU
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE EDUCATION
ALVAN IKOKU FEDERAL COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, OWERRI IMO STATE
Ucheamanze6@gmail.com
08037806908
Abstract
Due to the incidence of insecurity in Nigeria, most cassava producers should participate more in the formal market which is adjudged to be safer, profitable and reliable in marketing of farm produce than informal marketing. The paper therefore examines the constraints faced by smallholder cassava producers in formal market participation in Imo State. The data were collected by the use of multi-stage random sampling procedure. The data were collected from 120 smallholder cassava farmers who participated actively in formal market (60 males and 60 females) in two agricultural zones of Imo State. Data were analyzed using simple descriptive statistics (Means and percentages) and regression models. The results show that most of the male and female cassava producers were relatively young but not in their active age. Majority of the respondents were married couples with an average family size of 6 persons and above. The male farmers had many years of experience and large farm size than their female counterparts. The female farmers were more educated than their male counterparts. The regression showed the significant variables that influenced the cassava producers’ participation in the formal market as age, household size, years of experience, cooperative membership and gender. Twelve problems were identified as major constraints to the market participation of the male respondents, while 14 constraints were the major problems affecting the female producers. Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended that government and private organizations should encourage young people and women who are smallholder cassava producers through the provision of access to input and land facilities, good road, improved production technologies to reduce drudgery and enable them to participate more in the formal market to improve income and food security in the study area.
Key words: Constraints, cassava farmers, gender, Imo state
