Factors Affecting the Efficiency of Maize Marketing in Vandeikya Local Government Area of Benue State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study aimed at assessing the socio-economic factors affecting the efficiency of maize marketing in Benue State, with a view to determining the implications for food security in Nigeria. Two hundred maize marketers were selected from Vandeikya Local Area (LGA) of Benue State with the aid of stratified random sampling technique. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the socio-economic attributes of the marketers, and a logit regression model for the analysis of the factors that affect the efficiency of maize marketing. The study revealed that the markets were gender balanced, 52% of the respondents being male and 48% female; and that 28% were retailers, while 18.5 and 17% were wholesalers and assemblers respectively. Results also showed that 83.5% attributed the problems of marketing to transportation and 74.5% to inadequate marketing facilities. The regression analysis showed that the age of the marketers (-1.479), educational profile (-2.064), regulatory bodies (1.810), length of market channels (3.811) and the marketing cost (-3.629) significantly affected maize marketing in Vandeikya Local Government Area. The study concluded that establishment of market regulatory bodies, construction of feeder roads and provision of market facilities would enhance the efficiency of maize marketing in Vandeikya LGA.

Keywords: Maize marketing, price efficient, operationally defective, Nigeria