Unravelling the Drivers of Plantain Marketing in Enugu State, Nigeria

Abstract

Plantain marketing offers great profit-making, yet it is unclear if this has translated to more profits, making it imperative to examine the drivers of plantain marketing. Primary data collected with a structured questionnaire in the purposive 2-staged random sampling were analyzed using net marketing income, marketing margin, marketing efficiency and multiple linear regression models. Plantain marketing was mainly done by married educated women, averaging 40 years of age, belonging to households averaging 6 persons. Net monthly profit of $63.51 (₦26,050.38), average marketing margin of 30.84% and marketing efficiency of 35.06% were returned. Suggesting plantain marketing is profitable and viable but largely inefficient. The cost of plantain and marketing experience were positively significant (p≤0.05). Plantain marketing faced constraints like the seasonality of plantain, inadequate finance, price fluctuations, high transportation costs, bulkiness, spoilage/breakage and high plantain costs. Plantain marketers should form/join cooperatives to obtain low-interest loans, mitigate marketing costs and enjoy economies of scale.