Analysis of Factors Affecting Decisions to Participate and Levels of Participation by Gender among Heads of Households in Minituber Yam Marketing in Abia State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study was carried out in Abia State using multistage random sampling technique in the selection of 158 wholesaler heads of households used for the study. This comprised 84 male wholesaler heads of households and 74 female wholesaler heads of households. Structured questionnaire administered to the 158 respondents were used to collect cross-sectional data on factors influencing the market participation decisions by wholesalers in minituber yam marketing in the study area. Results of the two-step Hechman regression used in this study indicated that male wholesaler heads of households participated relatively more than female wholesaler heads of households in terms of the level of participation (quantity of minituber yam sold) in the study area. Among the male wholesaler heads of households, the (OLS) linear regression result (Heckit step 2) indicated that the goodness of fit of the model measured by the Wald chi-square χ² (12) of 15.05 was significant at 5.0 percent probability level. Comparatively among the female wholesaler heads of households the (OLS) linear regression result (Heckit step 2) indicated that the goodness of fit of the model measured by the Wald chi-square χ² (12) of 3.70e+07 was significant at 1.0 percent probability. Among the wholesaler heads of households, decrease in negative effects of socio economic factors on market participation as well as increase in positive effects of socio-economic factors on market participation significantly increased the decision to sell minituber yam and the level of participation in minituber yam marketing in the study area. These results called for public policy for increased gender access to good roads and railways and adequacies of transport, credit, education, cooperative society membership and minituber yam, in order to significantly increase the decision to participate in selling minituber yam and the level of participation by marketers in the supply of minituer yam from the minituber yam producer to the seed yam producer in the study area.

Keywords: Market participation, wholesaler heads of households, probability of market participation, level of market participation and minituber yam marketing