Iyabo Bosede Adeoye

By Iyabo Bosede Adeoye

Vegetables are important for maintenance of good health; their production and marketing are veritable sources of employment and livelihood. To promote vegetables’ contribution to the above, there is a need for sustainable and efficient production process. The paper reviewed production, socioeconomic factors, and constraint affecting efficiency of production of three important vegetables (tomato, pepper, and onion). The review showed that socioeconomic factors found to increase technical efficiency in vegetable production were educational level, extension contact, and household size. Influence of farmer age on technical efficiency was inconclusive due to varied opinions. Increase in farm size, quantity of seed, amount of fertilizer, and agrochemical were found to have positive influence on output. Majority of the literature reviewed opined that increase in quantity of labour raises productivity; however, it must be utilized efficiently. The mean technical efficiency of the vegetables varied from the southern to the northern part of the country. The cross cutting constraints in vegetables production are pest and diseases, inadequate storage facilities, and high cost of improved inputs. The study recommends increase awareness and sensitization on optimum levels of resource use for increased productivity and appropriate intervention to constraints in the value chain.

Part of the book: Agricultural Economics

By Iyabo Bosede Adeoye

Cucumber is an important vegetable due to its numerous health benefits. There are a number of empirical studies on the economics of production of the commodity, but there is insufficient information on marketing of the commodity. The study was therefore carried out to examine market performance, structure and constraints in cucumber marketing. Primary data was collected from 70 randomly selected actors in the supply chain (54 Retailers and 16 wholesalers). Data collected was analyzed using descriptive statistics, net marketing margin, efficiency and Gini coefficient. Findings revealed that most of the retailers (70.4%) and wholesalers (81.3%) were male. Most of the retailers were within 31–40 years whereas majority of the wholesalers were within 41–50 years and all the marketers had secondary level of education (47.2%). Cucumber marketing was profitable at the wholesale and retail level both at the peak and lean season of cucumber production. Retailers sell an average of 159.8 kg and 83.8 kg weekly in the peak and lean season. Whereas wholesalers sell an average of 1,000 kg and 870 kg weekly in the peak and lean season respectively. Net margin at retail level was higher in the lean season (68.8/kg) compared to the peak season (46.6/kg). Similarly, at wholesale level, net marketing margin at the lean season was 17.5/kg and was higher than 6.3/kg obtained during the peak season. Marketing efficiency was greater than one for the wholesalers and retailers in both seasons. Gini coefficient of retailer was 0.32 and 0.36 for the peak and lean season indicating that the market was competitive. There was inequality in the wholesale market as indicated by the gini coefficient result. The most important constraint to cucumber marketing was perishability of the produce and price fluctuation. The study recommends improved sensitization on adequate post-harvest handling practices and storage to reduce the levels and consequences of the perishable nature of the commodity.

Part of the book: Cucumber Economic Values and Its Cultivation and Breeding