Problems and Prospects of Pineapple Production in Enugu State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study identified problems and prospects of pineapple production in Enugu State of Nigeria. Purposive sampling technique was used to select eighty (80) pineapple farmers from two agricultural zones. Data were analyzed using percentage and mean score. Results showed that greater proportion of the farmers was male (56.2%), had no formal education (47.5%) and had their farm located far from their residence (68.8%) while many of the farmers cultivated improved pineapple variety (43.8%) and a greater proportion (55.0%) sourced planting materials from their farms. All the respondents (100%) harvested their produce manually. Respondents indicated that the major potentials of the area for pineapple production included: availability of fertile land for pineapple production (x̅=2.78), ready market for the sale of the crop produce (x̅=2.72), a good source of income (x̅=2.62), and good health through consumption among farmers/inhabitants (x̅=2.78). The major constraints of pineapple production identified by the respondents were poor access road for transportation of produce (x̅=2.56), and lack of technical knowledge on the use of improved technology (x̅=2.56). It was concluded that pineapple had good prospects for production in the area. However, issues of infrastructure and technical knowledge should be tackled in order to harness those potentials.

Key words: pineapple production in Enugu State