CONSTRAINTS TO MARKETING FISH AND FISH PRODUCT BY FARMERS IN (A CASES STUDY OF AFIKPO NORTH L. G. A OF EBONYI STATE NIGERIA)
ABSTRACT
This study investigates the challenges that farmers face when marketing fish and fish products in Afikpo North LGA, Ebonyi state. Fish marketing has been observed to be a profitable venture in Afikpo north l. g. an of Ebonyi state urban.
However, fish are sold in a variety of forms, including fresh, smoked, and dried fish. Marketers face numerous challenges, which the researcher has attempted to address, as evidenced by the majority of respondents.
To collect the necessary data, the researcher used both primary and secondary data collection methods. The questionnaire data was presented in tables and analyzed using a simple percentage. The findings also revealed that price and poor infrastructure are barriers to successful fish marketing in Afikpo north l. g. an of Ebonyi state.
According to the study, fish marketers should form a co-operative society in order to obtain loans from financial institutions and expand their marketing activities. Government and private organizations should support fish marketers by establishing an organized market and promoting free trade within the study area.
CHAPTER ONE
1.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Marketing is very important in a market economy. The importance of marketing as a motivator for fish production and productivity cannot be overstated. According to Chikwenwu (2005:12), agricultural commodity marketing in Nigeria involves a variety of markets or exchange points.
The number of exchange points is determined by the nature of the production and consumption points. If the marketing process is efficient, it will go a long way toward providing enough food to the populace via the market mechanism. I. Lawal (2004:12).
The influence of market mechanisms on price determines the amount of food that people can afford to eat to a large extent. The ability of the market to create time, place form, and possession utility is used to assess the effect of the marketing process.
Since rapid preservation and transportation became available in the nineteenth to twenty-first centuries, fish such as poor socioeconomic environment such as access road, developed market, school for children, etc, poor storage facilities and fish spoilage, effect on cost-returns of fish marketers, constraints of fish marketing such as transportation, epileptic power supply in the cold room, high cost of fish, poverty, financial and processing problems According to N.
Idega (2004:34), hunger and malnutrition continue to be among the most devastating problems confronting the world’s poor and needy. Approximately 80 to 90 million people must be fed each year, and the most reliable source of protein for many is fish; however, millions of people who rely on fish face daily food shortages and Dittoh (1985). With Nigeria’s population growing, there is a corresponding increase in demand for fish consumption.
As a result, a suitable agricultural system is required to meet the increasing demand for food while also maximizing the utilization of the available limited resources with minimal waste. Integrated fish farming is a diverse and coordinated method of farming that focuses on fish as well as other farm products.
Despite its abundance of human and natural resources, Nigeria, according to Akinleye (2004:12), relies heavily on imports to meet its fish consumption needs. With over 20,500 species, fish are one of the most diverse groups of animals known to man.
Indeed, for many Nigerians living along the coast, creeks, and rivers, fish is one of their primary sources of protein, which is required for healthy human growth Downey (1972:65). As a result of the shortfall, the animal per capital consumption rate is 7.5 kg, as opposed to the 13 kg recommended by the Food and Agriculture Organization. Fishing has existed since the dawn of time.
It is well-known throughout the world. Nine of the federation’s 36 states are located on the coast and have access to the Atlantic Ocean. T. Kow (2002:12). Natural markets can theoretically be established anywhere under this scenario. Fish is marketed by passing through various market participants and exchanging pounds before reaching the final consumer.
Whole sellers and retailers are examples of market intermediaries. Both are critical components of the marketing system. Furthermore, because of the inconvenient nature of the fish distribution channel, the local fish seller faces the problem of profit maximization. Akanni (2007:12).
As a result, activities in this sector are primarily dominated by private sector presence, with little or no government mobilization. As a result, any attempt to improve a country’s marketing system must begin with an accurate analysis of the problem.
Because of its balanced amino acid configuration, digestibility, and low cholesterol level, fish is one of the best protein food sources. To that end, there has been an increase in demand for fish. As a result, 384000 tons of fish were consumed in Nigeria in 1981, with 296000 tons produced locally and the remainder imported (Olukosi et al., 2007:53). (FAO, 1989).
Fish also contribute 6-8 percent of the agricultural sector’s total GDP contribution (FAO, 1989). Many Nigerians find work in the fishery sub-sector, including those involved in direct fish processing and marketing. Mr. Amos (1998). It is critical to evaluate fish marketing systems because they show how the various market participants are organized to move the commodity from the producer to the ultimate consumer.
Fish is not typically marketed from the fisherman to the consumer. There are several intermediaries between producers (fishermen) and consumers (Adegeye, I. (1993:232). As a result, the price of fish fluctuates as it passes through middlemen, and by the time it reaches the final consumer, it has risen significantly.
Because proper fish marketing ensures that fish is available to all and sundry, an assessment of fish marketing is required to determine the viability and effectiveness of the fish marketing system. The performance of all business activities involved in the flow of fish from the point of production (fisherman or fish farmer) to the final consumer could be regarded as marketing of fish. Olukosi and colleagues (2007:76).
An efficient marketing system is important in any country, regardless of its condition or stage of development. An effective marketing system will locate surpluses of produce and transport them to areas where there are shortages (Chikwenwu and).
EXPLANATION OF THE PROBLEMS
It is critical to understand that the less familiar a species is, the more likely it will be rejected or it will take a long time to build up demand for it; people’s tastes are formed slowly and strongly influenced by traditional eating habits. When prices rise, less is purchased; when prices fall, more is purchased; and poor people are more likely than rich people to seek out cheaper substitutes.
Thus, in terms of price dynamics, marketing costs, and marketing functions inherent in fish distribution, as well as the efficiency of the marketing system. In terms of marketing efficiency, spatial price behavior is an important indicator of overall market performance.
The constraints of adequate capital required for efficient marketing activities, as well as the problems of economic diversification, which gives equal priority to all real productive sectors.
A common problem in fish marketing in many countries is loss of profit due to fish spoilage; post-harvest losses occur more frequently in the rainy season than in the dry season. As a result, the current development encountered by fish traders includes:
There is a lack of improved technology for managing fish production.
The current harvesting methods are inefficient.
It’s both wasteful and exploitative.
The major constraints facing fish marketing in Nigeria are the lack of adequate fishing, production, and marketing policies, as well as the absence of sentiments, tribalism, and ethnicity. This is reflected in the various pre-harvesting methods of fishery products in Nigeria.
Such methods entail the use of primarily artisanal and, to a lesser extent, commercial materials (trawler system). Infrastructural issues, particularly transportation, impede the development of fish marketing in Nigeria.
THE STUDY’S OBJECTIVES
To investigate the constraints associated with effective fish marketing.
To investigate effective fish marketing strategies.
To assess the economic value of fish in Nigeria.
To determine the effect of fish on the human body.
1.3 QUESTIONS FOR RESEARCH
What are the challenges associated with effective fish marketing?
What are the best fish marketing strategies?
What are the economic benefits of fish in Nigeria?
What are the consequences of eating fish for humans?
1.4 THE STUDY’S IMPORTANCE
The significance of this study in this research is to bring together the various ways and facts as regards subject matter, constraints to marketing fish and fish product by farmers in Afikpo North L. G. A of Ebonyi state Nigeria.
It is anticipated that the findings of this research will be of interest to farmers as well as consumers.
The research will provide them with critical information about the challenges farmers face when marketing fish and fish products in Afikpo North L. G. A, Ebonyi State, Nigeria.
Farmers in Afikpo North L. G. A of Ebonyi state Nigeria can use this study to make amendments or control a number of lapses that may be affecting the effective marketing of fish product by farmers in terms of high price and lack of capital.
It will also highlight the advantages of effective marketing of fish products by farmers in Afikpo North L. G. A of Ebonyi state, Nigeria, in order to raise the farmers’ status.
This research work will also be useful for those who wish to conduct additional research in this area.
1.6 THE STUDY’S OBJECTIVE
This research study is limited to Afikpo North L. G. A in Ebonyi State, Nigeria, where the researcher wants to discover the barriers to farmers marketing fish and fish products.
1.7 THE STUDY’S LIMITATIONS
The research has the following limitations.
The researcher faces some natural and man-made constraints while gathering information and relevant facts, such as:
I Time factor: Because this study is being conducted during the time the researcher is battling in her semester work, she may not have enough time to gather some information and materials needed for the work at hand.
(ii) Inadequate funding: As a student, the researcher is still heavily reliant on the goodwill of his or her parents and sponsors. As a result, the resources available to it for research work are insufficient. As a result, she was unable to access all of the available study materials.
(iii) Materials resource: the researcher finds it difficult to obtain a textbook, journal, or thesis to complete the work due to the researcher’s inability to manage time and finances to complete the task on time.
(iv) Human Element: While this study contains some human elements, it cannot be said to be perfect. It is based on the concept of reasonable assurance, which states that, despite the study’s limitations, the researcher assumes that all information obtained is accurate to the best of her knowledge.
1.8 TERM DEFINITION
Economy: – This is the process of producing, distributing, trading, and consuming limited goods and services by various agents in a specific geographical location.
Fish: – Any member of a paraphyletic group that includes all gill-bearing aquatic craniates animals that lack digitized limbs.
Marketing is the process of communicating the value of a product, service, or brand to customers in order to promote or sell that product, service, or brand.
Mechanism: This is a group of rigid bodies linked together by joints to transmit a desired force or motion.
– Productivity: This is an average measure of production efficiency. It can be expressed as the output to input ratio used in the manufacturing process, i.e. output per unit of input.
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CONSTRAINTS TO MARKETING FISH AND FISH PRODUCT BY FARMERS IN (A CASES STUDY OF AFIKPO NORTH L. G. A OF EBONYI STATE NIGERIA)
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