Journal of Agribusiness and Rural Development

MARKETING ANALYSIS OF FRESH TOMATOES IN ABEOKUTA NORTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF OGUN STATE, NIGERIA

Mobolaji Adeboun Osunmakinde — 2024-04-03

The marketing of fresh tomatoes is faced with many challenges mainly due to their high perishability and seasonality. This sometimes results in a lot of wastage and thus a decrease in the profits of the marketers. The study analyzed the marketing of fresh tomatoes in Abeokuta North Local Government Area of Ogun State with the aim of determining how profitable the venture was in the study area. A two-stage sampling technique was used to select 240 tomato marketers for the study. Primary data collected from the respondents with the use of well-structured questionnaires were used for the study. The objectives of the study were achieved using descriptive statistics, gross margin analysis, marketing margin analysis, and multiple regression analysis. The study revealed that the majority (76.7%) of the marketers were female. Most (70.9%) were within the age bracket of 31–50 years and 22.5% of them had no formal education. The cost and return analysis revealed that all of the marketing (100%) costs were variable and 90.4% was the cost of purchase. The total revenue was ₦181,845.35 (about 227 USD) and the marketing margin was 27.03%. The enterprise was profitable, with a gross margin of ₦55,102.45 (about 69 USD), and returns per naira invested were ₦1.43k. Gender, purchase price of tomatoes, transportation costs, marketing experience, and level of education were significant determinants of the quantity of the produce purchased by marketers for sale. The study concluded that fresh tomatoes marketing is a profitable venture in the study area. Therefore, the study suggested, among other things, that the government should construct new access roads and rehabilitate existing ones to make transportation of fresh tomatoes from the farms easier and cheaper for marketers.

SAFEGUARDING SUSTAINABILITY: EXPLORING SAFETY PRACTICE ADHERENCE AMONG URBAN VEGETABLE FARMERS IN GHANA

Amos Mensah — 2024-04-03

Purpose: This research investigates safety practice compliance among urban vegetable farmers in Ghana's Ashanti Region and its implications for the environment, farmers' health, and consumer safety.
Design/methodology/approach: An empirical approach was adopted, utilizing field survey data from 387 urban vegetable farmers in key vegetable-producing communities. The study employed various data analytical techniques, including frequency distributions, Bonferroni multiple comparisons test, and ordered logistic regression.
Findings: The research emphasizes the need for enhanced awareness and education among farmers to ensure safety practice adherence. It reveals a significant positive relationship between farmers' awareness and compliance, underlining the role of informed decision-making and knowledge dissemination. Additionally, higher gross margin values are associated with increased compliance, indicating the motivating influence of profitability in allocating resources for safety measures. Furthermore, farming experience is positively linked to compliance, emphasizing the importance of practical knowledge and expertise.
Practical implications: Based on the findings, the research offers policy recommendations to promote safety practice compliance. These include enhancing farmer education and awareness programs, improving profitability and market access, fostering knowledge-sharing platforms, addressing affordability concerns, and strengthening enforcement and monitoring. Implementing these measures will enhance compliance, safeguarding the well-being of farmers, consumers, and the environment, thereby ensuring the long-term sustainability and growth of Ghana's urban vegetable sector.
Research limitations/implications: While this study focused specifically on urban vegetable farmers, pesticide usage extends beyond vegetable production in Ghana. Future research should incorporate essential crops like maize, cassava, and rice to provide a more comprehensive assessment of pesticide practices and their implications in the broader agricultural context.

COST EFFICIENCY OF CATFISH (CLARIAS GARIEPINUS) PRODUCTION UNDER VARIOUS SYSTEMS IN DELTA STATE, NIGERIA

Osagie Stephen IMADE — 2024-04-03

This study examined the cost efficiency of catfish production under different systems in Delta State, Nigeria. Primary data collected from 360 catfish farmers (comprising 121 concrete pond, 99 earthen pond and 140 plastic/tarpaulin pond systems) provided useful information for the data analysis. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the socioeconomic characteristics of the respondents. The stochastic cost frontier (SCF) approach was employed in analyzing the efficiency indices and their determinants. The results showed that the respondents were male dominated (64.44%), young and active, with the majority below 48 years of age. The majority of the respondents (76.67%) had a form of education that could boost their managerial abilities for catfish production. About 67.50% farmers were working full-time and 38.89% of them adopted the plastic/tarpaulin pond method because of ease of management. The average catfish weight produced was 1.50kg, and the average price per kg of mature catfish sold was NGN ₦ 722.77, with an average cost efficiency of 0.70. The study concludes that catfish production under different production systems is a cost efficient and economically viable venture, with the earthen pond method the most cost efficient (0.72). The study therefore recommends that the causes of inefficiencies should be considered and addressed so as to enhance the efficiency of catfish farmers.

IMPROVING PUBLIC EXTENSION PRACTITIONERS’ TECHNICAL FARM MANAGEMENT KNOWLEDGE AND SERVICE DELIVERY: EVIDENCE FROM SMALL-HOLDER FARMERS IN THULAMELA MUNICIPALITY OF SOUTH AFRICA

David Blay Afful — 2024-04-03

Introduction: Poor-quality extension service delivery motivated the introduction of the Extension Recovery Plan (ERP) in South Africa. The paper assesses the influence of the ERP on field-level, public extension practitioners’ technical farm management knowledge and delivery of farm management information to small-holder farmers in the Thulamela municipality following their qualifications’ upgrade.
Methods: The study used a mixed-methods approach and employed a cross-sectional survey design. Due to logistical challenges, 80 out of 135 targeted farmers were available, and thus purposely selected for this assessment. Descriptive and inferential analytical methods were used.
Findings: The findings showed that extension practitioners’ technical farm management knowledge had improved; furthermore, there was a positive relationship between extension practitioners’ qualifications’ upgrade and the delivery of improved technical farm management information as attested to by respondents.
Conclusions: The findings indicate that the ERP has a positive influence on extension practitioners’ technical farm management knowledge as well as the delivery of improved management knowledge to producers in Thulamela Municipality.

CIRCULAR ECONOMY FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: A FOOD SYSTEM PERSPECTIVE

Cihan Çalıkoğlu — 2024-04-03

Nowadays, people take materials from the earth, generate products from them, and in the end throw them away as waste – this is called a linear economy. However, a circular economy (CE) keeps products, materials, and components in use at their highest value. This study aims to provide an insight on the concept of CE in the context of a food system, focusing on the EU in particular. This is because changing food systems is one of the most effective ways to address climate change, rebuild biodiversity, etc. Currently, Europe is a founder when it comes to CE policy development, as seen in it activating the CE action plan in 2020. The EU’s transition to a CE aims to reduce pressure on natural resources and create sustainable growth and jobs. While the food value chain accounts for significant resources and environmental pressures, roughly 20% of the total food produced is lost or wasted in the EU (European Commission, 2020). Therefore, along with a data review of CE thematic areas and indicators, the main contribution of this study is to analyze and understand insights concerning the environmental impacts of current agri-food economic systems and potential solutions in the food system stages based on the relationship of food and the CE in order to recommend policy recommendations.

ASSESSMENT OF THE ADOPTION AND DETERMINANTS OF FOOD GARDEN INITIATIVE BY PERI-URBAN DWELLERS IN RAY NKONYENI MUNICIPALITY, SOUTH AFRICA

Simiso Lembete — 2024-04-03

Food gardening is gaining popularity in urban areas, primarily to meet food security challenges. Hence, a descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted to determine participation and analyze the factors that determine participation in food gardening in peri-urban areas. A total of 360 respondents were selected using systematic random sampling. Most respondents were females (69.2%), middle-aged (49.1%), with a high school education (55.8%) and high employment (47.8%). The results also revealed that gardening was prevalent (72.5%) in the study area. The majority of respondents used garden produce for their own consumption. The binary logistic regression model indicated that marital status, education, household members, access to land and agricultural experience are significant determinants of food gardening. In the light of these findings, support in the form of agricultural information and resources is recommended to improve the impact of food gardening. Furthermore, to promote food gardening in peri-urban areas, it is crucial to target marital status, education, household members, access to land and agricultural experience. Further studies on seasonal production patterns and the actual contribution of the garden produce to household food consumption should be explored.

ASSESSMENT OF NGOKETUNJIA RICE VALUE CHAIN ACTORS’ PERFORMANCE IN CAMEROON

Gaston Gwemelang Ngochembo — 2024-04-03

Cameroon is a net rice importer, and actors’ performance along the rice value chain is yet to be well understood, even though they are presumed to integrate functions along the chain. The aim of the study was to investigate the financial performance of actors in the rice value chain in Ngoketunjia division in Cameroon. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to identify and collect data from 800 actors using a structured questionnaire. The cost-return technique was employed to analyse the financial benefit of actors in the chain. The results showed that the cost of production, milling, wholesaling and retailing per kilogram was FCFA 122.38 (US$ 0.20), for farmers, millers, FCFA 240.79 (US$0.39), wholesalers, FCFA 336.50 (US$0.55), and FCFA 358.90 (US$059) for retailers. The profit per kilogram was FCFA 27.63 (US$0.05) for farmers, FCFA 79.21 (US$0.13) for millers, wholesalers was FCFA 13.50 (US$0.02) for wholesalers, and FCFA 11.10 (US$0.018) for retailers. Farmers and millers had higher gross margins (22.03% and 28.21%) than wholesalers and retailers (5.74% and 4.14%, respectively). The benefit-cost ratio analysis revealed that the rice value chain is profitable to all actors, with benefit-cost values of 1.23, 1.33, 1.04 and 1.03 for farmers, millers, wholesalers and retailers, respectively. Overall, farmers and millers had greater benefit from their activities in the rice value chain in Cameroon and may need less attention in the chain development as compared to wholesalers and retailers with less benefit.

DIGITILIZATION IN AGRICULTURAL COOPERATIVES: A PERSPECTIVE FROM MEMBERS IN RICE VALUE CHAIN OF ANAMBRA STATE, NIGERIA

Chijioke Uchechukwu Uneze — 2024-04-03

Agriculture is a sector crucial to the growth of the Nigerian economy. In the past few years, its contribution to gross domestic product (gdp) has averaged at about 25 percent. Smallholders pool their resources in collective action to form agricultural cooperatives in order to increase farm productivity and income. These cooperatives account significantly for the development of the agriculture sector. Digitalization, on the other hand, has gained currency as a transformative strategy for agriculture. This study aimed to examine in broad terms the perspectives of digitalization in the rice value chain created by members of cooperative societies in Anambra State. A total of 180 members of cooperative societies across the four agricultural zones of the state who participate in the rice value chain were selected for the study using a multistage sampling technique. A structured and validated questionnaire was used to elicit information from the respondents. The data were consequently analyzed using descriptive statistics (frequency, percentage & ranking) and inferential statistics (chi-square & cramer’s v). The study identified rudimentary digital tools and that technologies enabled members to use mobile phones for the purposes of financial services, input delivery, market access and weather prediction. However, technologies requiring high-level skills for their implementation were obviously lacking among these cooperators. Also, the ways in which individual, institutional and technological factors limit adoption of these technologies were empirically identified. However, members generally welcomed the use and application of digital tools to improve their value chain activities. There was the perception among members that though digitalization was necessary, its unguarded use in the processes of cooperatives could erode their participation in the governance of the cooperative, thereby compromising the principle of democratic member control. The study identified an urgent need for a strong digital infrastructure backbone, encouraging the formation of agricultural digital solution cooperatives, digital literacy programs support from companies providing special skill agricultural digitalization solutions, and instituting government grants to support the high cost of investments required for digitalization.

DETERMINANTS OF MARKET CHOICE AMONG AGRICULTURAL COOPERATIVES IN SOUTH AFRICA

Collin Yobe — 2024-04-03

The potential of agricultural cooperatives to foster socioeconomic development is a critical issue in developing countries. This study examines the factors that influence market choice among South African agricultural cooperatives. Data for 381 agricultural cooperatives were collected from the Cooperative Data Analysis System, drawn from the original database of 3,197 cases from 2017. Cases with missing observations were omitted. A multivariate approach utilising principal component analysis and K-means clustering was employed to identify the typologies of market choices. Multinomial logistic regression was then applied to determine the factors influencing agricultural cooperatives’ choice of market typologies. The study reveals that the financial and social efficiency of agricultural cooperatives, the age of the institution, the square of the age of the institution, ownership of livestock, cooperative size, and credit access all influence market typology selection. Training programs such as those in financial management, corporate governance, accounting and bookkeeping, management committees, and the number of managers in cooperatives also impact cooperatives’ market choice. The findings of this study should facilitate the design of policies that cater to cooperatives encountering diverse market choices. By influencing the choices of agricultural cooperatives, stakeholders can contribute to more meaningful cooperative involvement in markets.

REFLECTIVE SKETCHES: THE BIODYNAMIC IMPULSE (DR RUDOLF STEINER) IN CENTRAL EUROPE

Paweł Bietkowski — 2024-04-03

The year 2024 marks the 100th anniversary of the historic lecture entitled the ‘Agriculture Course’ given by Dr Rudolf Steiner in Koberwitz. This was the beginning of the biodynamic agriculture movement and was the inspiration for the development of organic farming. The concept was a negation of the theory of Justus von Liebig, the ‘father of fertilisers’, which developed rapidly after the First World War. In this way, Steiner strongly opposed the use of an industrial path in agriculture, standing against it to a natural path, a biological path using the phenomenon of biodiversity in the agricultural environment for salutogenesis, and a dynamic path based on the rhythms of nature and the calendar describing natural phenomena in nature. On Polish soil, Senator Stanisław Karłowski made a great contribution to the field of biodynamics. An economist and banker by education, he was also an excellent practising farmer, who implemented and successfully applied the principles of biodynamic farming on his estate in Szelejewo covering over 1700 ha. He developed this idea further, let it grow for the future, and it is therefore consistent with what Dr Rudolf Steiner assumed. Unfortunately, the outbreak of the Second World War put a tragic end to his activities. However, the concept of the organic farm initiated at the Szelejewo estate has been reborn today within the Stanislaw Karłowski Foundation as the ‘Juchowo Rural Project’. Today, the Foundation promotes agricultural culture based on the principles of biodynamic agriculture and the teachings of Dr Rudolf Steiner throughout Central and Eastern Europe.