Factors influencing soybeans producers’ choice of marketing channels in the Saboba district of Northern region, Ghana

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Date
OCTOBER, 2015
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Abstract
The study focused on factors influencing the choice of marketing channels by soybeans farmers in the Saboba District of the Northern Region. Two hundred and forty (240) soybeans farmers and ten (10) agents of the marketing channels were randomly selected for the study. The study specifically looked at the marketing channels that are available in the study area, the distribution of farmers among the marketing channels, services provided by the marketing channels, challenges faced by farmers in trying to access the marketing channel, and the influence of economic and non-economic factors on the producers’ choice of marketing channels. It was revealed that there are four marketing channels in the study area; these include the direct sales to the NGOs, sedentary wholesalers, itinerant wholesalers, and the microprocessors. These marketing channels offer different services, which affect the marketing costs and the incomes received by farmers in diverse ways. The most patronized market in the study area is the direct sale to the NGOs, followed by the itinerant wholesalers, sedentary wholesalers, and micro-processors being the least patronized. Farmers who sell their soybeans directly to the NGOs enjoy production and marketing services such as; agronomic training, ploughing, transport, pre-finance, production credit support, linking farmers to input suppliers, purchase by grades, and purchase by weight. The itinerant wholesalers, sedentary wholesalers and microprocessors provide production and marketing services such as; production credit support, prompt payment, cash payment, and negotiated price. Benefits such as higher price, assured market and input supplies are enjoyed by farmers who sell directly to the NGOs. Proximity to the buyers is the benefit farmers who market through the itinerant wholesalers, sedentary wholesalers and microprocessors enjoy. Factors such as delays in payment, delays in buying, inadequate information, low demand, low price, inability to meet grades, not purchasing by weights are the constraints faced by farmers in marketing of their soybeans. Multinomial logit model was used to analyze the influence of the economic and non-economic factors on the producers’ choice of marketing channels. It was revealed that factors such as; age, mode of payment, speed of payment and price of soybeans influence farmers decision to sell directly to the NGOs relative to the sedentary wholesalers. The cooperative membership of farmers, household size and marital status were found to have influence on the farmers’ decision to the sedentary wholesalers relative to the direct sale to the NGOs. The marital status of the farmer, cooperative membership, experience, and contractual agreement were found to have influence farmers choice of itinerant wholesalers relative to the direct sale to the NGOs. The speed of payment, mode of payment, and age of the farmer have a influence on the farmers choice of direct sale to the NGOs relative to the itinerant wholesalers.
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Thesis submitted to the School of Graduate Studies, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of Master of Philosophy in Agricultural Economics,
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