Efficiency of garri marketing in Kwara State, Nigeria: implication for economic empowerment

Nigeria is the largest producer of cassava in the world. Marketing of garri, a major product from cassava, has potential for economic empowerment in Nigeria. The study analyzed the efficiency of garri marketing in Nigeria based on evidence from Kwara State. Data for the study was collected from 120 respondents and analyzed using budgetary and regression techniques. The results showed that most of the respondents were uneducated women who relied on personal savings to finance their agribusiness. Marketing efficiency was 1.12 indicating efficient marketing system which implies that the enterprise is profitable with huge potential for economic empowerment. Factors influencing profitability of garri enterprise (significantly at P ≤ 0.05) included cooperative participation and experience in garri marketing. Major reported marketing constraint included price fluctuation. In order to further improve profitability, hence the potential of garri enterprise for economic empowerment, this paper recommends increasing respondents’ access to more formal financial intermediaries, especially the cooperatives. Keywords: cassava, marketing efficiency, profitability, Nigeria