Socio-economic and Institutional Determinants of Watermelon Marketing in Enugu State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study analyzed the socio-economic and institutional determinants of watermelon marketing in Enugu state, Nigeria. The specific objectives were to: describe the socio-economic characteristics of watermelon marketers (wholesalers and retailers) and determine the factors influencing the net marketing returns of the marketers. Multistage sampling technique was employed in selecting eight watermelon markets based on the volume of watermelon traded in the markets. Primary data were collected from 160 respondents comprising 96 retailers and 64 wholesalers with the aid of well structured questionnaire. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics and multiple regression model. Results showed that watermelon marketing was dominated by the married (76.25%), literates (97.5%) and females (78.13%) with the mean age and marketing experience of 47 and seven years respectively. The determinants of wholesaler’s net marketing income were product price (0.581) and transportation cost (-2.609), while product price (1.501), educational level (-0.584), storage cost (-0.131), packaging cost (-0.077) and market information (0.057) significantly influenced retailer’s net marketing income. Keywords: Socio-economic, institutional factors, watermelon, marketers, Enugu State