Income and revenue analysis of garden egg leaf (Solanum aubergine) marketing among smallholder farmers in Onitsha and Awka agricultural zones, Anambra state

Abstract

The study examined income and revenue analysis of garden egg leaf (solanum aubergine) marketing among smallholder farmers in Onitsha and Awka agricultural zones, Anambra State, Nigeria. Specifically, it described describe the socioeconomic characteristics, estimate the socioeconomic factors that determine the net marketing income, determines the profitability, the economic efficiency, and examines the constraints to garden egg leaf marketing. A multistage and random sampling procedure was used to select 160 respondents for the study. Data were collected from primary sources and were analyzed using descriptive statistics, enterprise budgeting, multiple regression, and relative importance index. Findings from the result show that the majority of the marketers are within the age limit of 25-35 years (56.25%), presence of female dominance, and a high percentage of marketers who sell both in the market, hawk in the street, events, and offices. Out of 12 independent variables included in the model, age, branding of product, education, household size and mode of delivery statistically and significantly influenced the net marketing income earned by the marketers. Profitability indicators such as net marketing income, return on investment, net return on investment, and coefficient of marketing efficiency of N441, 336.63, 1.3, 0.28, and 77% proved the enterprise profitable. The implication of the net return on investment figure is that the marketers return 28 kobo for every 1 Naira invested in the enterprise. The findings show that the perishable nature of garden egg leaf, inadequate price control, and hazards associated with hawking were perceived as the most serious constraints. Underage children should be encouraged to desist from street hawking especially during school hours also there is a need to address the activities of middlemen by relevant stakeholders to combat the price fluctuation in the marketing of garden egg leaves.