Agricultural marketing plays a vital role in economic development and livelihood of people in developing countries. Marketing of agricultural products which provide income to most farmers and marketers in Nigeria has been characterised with a lot of deficiencies which have constrained sustainable development and economic growth. This study, therefore, analysed carrot and cucumber marketing including constraints to their effective marketing in Enugu State, Nigeria. Data collected, primarily, were analysed using descriptive statistics, marketing margin and Likert type rating technique. The result shows that vegetable marketing was dominated by females (65%) who were still in their economically active age and did not belong to a cooperative society. Half of them perform a retail marketing function, 30% perform both retail and wholesale functions while 20% perform wholesale function. Vegetable marketing contributed to marketers’ income by providing N25,667.7 (USD 66.93) per month on average. The marketing margins were 26.30% and 20.18% for cucumber and carrot, respectively. The high cost of shop rent, high transportation cost, low capital, price fluctuation, poor credit facilities and a low supply of vegetables due to seasonal variation were the major constraints faced by vegetable marketers. Vegetable marketers, therefore, need support by providing affordable credit facilities and building of modern market stalls by the government. This would give them a conducive and hygienic environment. Also, vegetable marketers should form a cooperative society where they can pool resources and get financial assistance. This would lead to efficient marketing of the product.

Honey marketing is an important off-farm economic activity for women's livelihood and sustenance. Despite this, there is scant information in the literature about the economic performance of women honey marketers. Therefore, this study investigates the economic performance of women marketers, its drivers, and its challenges. Data collected from 120 women honey marketers were analysed using descriptive statistics, gross profit, net profit, benefit-cost ratio, return on capital invested, operating ratio, marketing margin, and multiple regression. We found that honey marketing was a profitable venture, as indicated by the high gross profit (USD 262.08), net income (USD 257.03), marketing margin (56%), benefit-cost ratio (1.72), and return on capital invested (0.72) per 58.14 litres sold. Honey marketing also had a low operating ratio of 0.57. Thus, women honey marketers performed economically well. The significant factors that enhanced the profitability of honey marketing were education, experience in honey marketing, credit, and the quantity purchased. While age, purchasing costs, and transportation costs reduced honey marketing profitability. Inadequate capital and credit, price fluctuations, a poor road network, high transportation costs, adulteration, and poor marketing information were the major severe constraints faced in honey marketing. These call for the provision of credit, training, and education to honey marketers by the government to enhance the profitability of the enterprise.

Neglected and underutilized crops can play a vital role in achieving food security as humans concentrate on consuming a few food crops which have increased in price over time. Understanding the profitability of these crops can enhance farmers’ decisions to grow them. Therefore, this study investigated cocoyam production profitability, factors responsible for its profitability, and the constraints faced in cocoyam production in Cross River State, Nigeria. Data collected primarily with the use of questionnaires were analysed with descriptive statistics, cost and return analysis, multiple regression and the Likert rating scale. The results revealed that the majority of cocoyam farmers were male, married, in their economically active age and operated on a small scale. Cocoyam production was a profitable venture as the farmers had a gross margin of N175, 822.45 (USD 428.04) per hectare of cultivated land with an operating ratio of 0.24 and a return on capital invested of 3.17. The factors that influenced the profitability of cocoyam production were education, household size, farm size, farm output, cooperative membership, access to credit and annual income. The major constraints faced in cocoyam production were inadequate access to credit, poor government support, high cost of inputs and poor storage facilities. To enhance cocoyam profitability, the study recommends the provision of farm inputs and financial support to inform of credit or grants to the farmers. This would not only increase their profit but also enhance the decision to increase production which will increase food availability and, in turn, reduce the problem of food insecurity.

Aim: The study estimated the technical, allocative and economic efficiency indices and further examined the factors influencing technical efficiency for the sampled Grasscutter farms in Osun State. Study Design: The study made use of only primary data obtained from sampled Grasscutter farmers in the three agricultural zones of the State. Place and Duration of Study: The study was carried out in Osun State, Nigeria during 2017/2018 farming season. Methodology: Twenty four respondents, each, were randomly selected from the list of Grasscutter farmers obtained from Osun State Agricultural Development Project (ADP). Data collected was analyzed using the stochastic frontier model and Tobit regression model. The overall technical efficiency was estimated with no effort of decomposing it into pure and scale efficiencies. Results: The results showed that the range of efficiency indices varies greatly with minimum of 0.742, 0.263 and 0.168 and maximum of 1.0 for technical, allocative and economic efficiencies, respectively. The mean efficiencies which indicate the average potential therein in Grasscutter production in the study area were 0.96, 0.63 and 0.83 for technical, allocative and economic efficiency, respectively. Only one, out of the seventy two grasscutter farmers involved in the analysis was found to be technically, allocatively and economically efficient. Many sampled grasscutter farmers employed the ‘wrong’ input mix, given input prices, so that, on average, costs were (37%) higher than the cost minimizing level. However, farms have the potential to reduce their physical input, on average, by (4%) and still produce the same level of output. Conclusion: There was a great potential to improve the output of grasscutter farms and save cost, if variable inputs were adjusted to the optimal level along the short-run isoquant. Education and farming experience significantly influenced technical, allocative and economic efficiencies, respectively, while inefficiency results, in large part, from allocative rather than technical inefficiency.

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