Problems of Agricultural Marketing
Agricultural Marketing remains the most reliable business avenue through which farm produce from the farmers or the manufacturers of agro products reaches the final consumers.
Since farming in Nigeria is done in rural areas scattered all over the country, the produce from this farm must be assembled at a point or place for sale or processing.
The method of transferring this farm produce from the location of creation to the retail terminal is known as agricultural marketing.
One will imagine life in the trade-by-barter area where there is no organized marketing of processed agricultural produce, where the farmers or manufacturers of farm produce exchange their goods for goods.
Agricultural marketing has become one of the most essential aspects of agricultural development across the country.
Marketing in Agriculture has provided a good background for the decision-making process, adequate incentives for farmers, even distribution of resources, diffusion of information and technologies, and linked agro-industries with other non-agricultural industries in the country.
The importance of agricultural marketing in the advancement of agriculture in Nigeria has not been profitable due to some problems of agricultural marketing that have hindered agricultural development.
Some of the problems of agricultural marketing that have affected agricultural development in Nigeria are stated below:
Scattered Source of Supply
The diffuse source of supply of farm produce resulting from small farm holdings in Nigeria is another problem of agricultural marketing.
The system of farm holding or land tenure in Nigeria does not enable farmers to have access to large pieces of land for large-scale farming, hence the reason for scattered farms across all the villages in the country.
These disorganized pieces of land make it hard to assemble farm produce from the area of production to the assembly point.
These fragmented lands operated by most farmers result in an inadequate supply of farm commodities to the market, coupled with the fact that the produce from small pieces of land only meets for family consumption.
Inadequate Transportation Network
The assembling of agricultural produce from the production point to the point of sales may not be successful without good transportation facilities.
Inadequate transportation facilities remain one of the major problems of agricultural marketing in Nigeria. Most rural communities in Nigeria do not have a good road network for the transportation of agricultural produce to market which affects the distribution of goods and services.
Since most of these roads are not motor-able, the available vehicles that plier the road make transportation very costly.
Most agricultural produce wast away in many communities across the sea, and the unavailability of boats to convey this produce from those areas for sale.
The inability to convey these produce also affects the quantities and qualities of farm produce supplied to the market.
Inadequate transportation facilities to move agricultural produce from the production point to the market may delay agricultural produce from reaching the market, which may lead to an increase in the price of farm produce and a low supply of produce.
Inadequate Processing Facilities
Most markets in Nigeria do not have processing facilities for processing fresh and fragile produce that are not sold. Most agricultural produce are not consumable in their raw forms until they are processed before they can be consumed or taking the market for sale.
The processing industries that are needed to process these produce are very expensive to establish, and many farmers and traders do not have the resources.
In the Nigerian market, most farm produce deteriorates because of insufficient processing facilities to turn perishable produce into products that can be marketable and durable.
The presence of processing facilities in the market will make farm products accessible throughout the season and reduce importation.
Most traders in the market are forced to sell their fresh produce at a low price for fear of spoilage. These form the problems of agricultural marketing in Nigeria.
Inadequate Storages Facilities
The storage facilities for preserving agricultural produce in the market from deteriorating till they are needed are vital in marketing because no wise traders or farmers will sell farm produce at a low price.
Farm commodities that have not been sold need to be preserved until they are needed. Fresh farm products are usually bulky with a lot of water which makes them easily perishable, therefore they need to be stored to be available throughout the season or year.
Storage facilities that are suitable for preserving farm produce include barns, silos, cribs, and so on, and most traders in the market do not have such storage facilities for storing farm produce that is not sold in the market.
Even the storage facilities available to the farmers or traders are not appropriate for storing farm produce which reduces the quality of farm produce, increases pest and disease infestation, and discourages the large purchase of farm produce from farmers.
Different Weighing Devices
Markets in Nigeria do not have uniform measuring devices for measuring farm produce which constitutes a challenge to agricultural marketing.
In the market, there are different measuring devices for one agricultural product across the country. Some of the weighting devices used in Nigerian markets include Weighing bridges, weighing scales, gallons, mudu, paint rubber, and so on.
Many aggregators of farm commodities often buy agricultural produce from farmers using mud, paint rubber, and kilograms only to sell to the manufacturer or processor using a weighing bridge. Others will also buy in kilograms and sell in liters, these variation in measuring patterns of agricultural products contributes the problems of agricultural marketing in Nigeria.
Inadequate Financing
Money or capital is necessary for buying agricultural commodities to expand the farming business beyond the small-scale level.
These buyers or farmers have no access to credit facilities from financial institutions because of a lack of security for loans.
Some buyers of agricultural commodities even buy products on credits only to pay the farmers after they have sold the products, which discourages the farmers from producing large quantities of goods for the market.
Even the money for transporting their commodities from the markets to their warehouse is not even available, this makes buyers of goods borrow money with high-interest rates from financial houses.
Due to the market situation, repaying the money borrowed from the proceeds becomes very hard, which results in the buyers having a fallout with financial houses.
Poor Marketing System
Poor marketing systems hinder effective agricultural marketing in Nigeria. The marketing system in this country is not organized so the produce harvested is sold to organized bodies or even bought immediately after production.
Farmers have to wait for four to five days before the “marketing day” when they can sell off their farm produce. Organized bodies like the Commodity Marketing Board and Nigeria Commodity and Export Commission which are responsible for buying these farm produce from farmers are not available.
Adulteration of Products
The unavailability of genuine products in the market to meet the demand of consumers of agricultural produce results in the adulteration of produce and counterfeit products in the market.
Many agricultural commodities are adulterated by rodents’ feces and stones, which affect their market values and lead to low pricing.
Even manufacturers and processors of agricultural commodities produce substandard products because of the scarcity and high cost of raw materials.
Instability of Price
The instability of Prices of agricultural commodities is one of the problems of agricultural marketing in Nigeria.
The price of commodities varies from one place to another coupled with fluctuating market pricing of agricultural produce which affects agricultural marketing.
This fluctuating price makes buyers of farms’ produce run at a loss and makes farmers produce less for marketing.
Inadequate Market Research
This is another factor contributing to the problems of agricultural marketing in Nigeria. Most farmers in Nigeria are reluctant to conduct marketing surveys or research to identify viable markets to sell their produce.
Traders and Farmers in this country do not research where and when to sell their produce to enable them to make some profit.
Inadequate Information about Production and Marketing
Information is necessary for effective production and marketing of agricultural commodities. Unfortunately, the markets in Nigeria do not have statistics about the marketing ecosystem, which is necessary to help farmers and traders analyze information to help them make better decisions about the sales of agricultural produce.
Information relating to production and marketing can be used for different operations in the market such as pricing, packaging, advertising, and so on.
Inconsistence Revenue Collection
Revenue collection in Nigeria is grossly Inconsistent which hinders agricultural marketing in Nigeria. The buyers of farm commodities are subjected to the payment of revenue from the points of loading to offloading, they are made to pay revenue to law enforcement agents every two to three kilometers, and some state authors as revenue collectors even at the market before offloading.
Farmers and traders are made to pay another set of revenue in the market, even if they have the receipt of the previous payment.
Activities of Middlemen
The activities of middlemen are also one of the problems of agricultural marketing in Nigeria. Middlemen control the Nigeria marketing system.
They are actively involved, right from production to the end users of agricultural produce. Middlemen usually assist or finance the farming of certain agricultural produce, and after harvesting this produce or when they have reached marketable or table size, the middlemen will buy the produce at their determined price which may not be obtainable to the current market price of the commodity, remove the amount of capital invested, and share the profit with the farmers which profit the middlemen more than the farmer.
These middlemen often buy products from the farmers at a cheaper price and sell them at a higher price. This may discourage the farmer from further production of agricultural produce thereby contributing to problems of agricultural marketing in Nigeria
Perishability of Farm Produce
All the farm produce in Nigeria is very fragile, and these perishabilities of agricultural produce constitute another problem of agricultural marketing in Nigeria.
These fragile farm produce are easily prone to pest and disease attacks. Fresh farm produce is usually bulky therefore carrying this farm produce from the point of production to market for sale proves to be very difficult.
Before these fragile farm produce are conveyed from the farm gate to the market they may have been destroyed or infested by pests and diseases.
Problem of Insecurity
In recent times, the movement of buyers of agricultural commodities from one state to another in search of farm produce has been reduced, if not completely stopped.
The activities of Boko haram, unknown gunmen, and the problem of separatists have constituted a problem for agricultural marketing in Nigeria.
Many farmers have left their ancestral home and many agricultural farm produce have been burnt down by the activities of these non-state authors.
Farmers cannot convey their farm produce to the market nor can middlemen who usually visit farmers in their market or farm gate to purchase their produce do that because of the possible fear of attack.
Moreover, many markets have been closed down or burnt down which disconnects these farmers from the normal market channel the resultant effect is a loss of farm produce, a shortage of farm produce in the market, and an increase in the cost of farm input.