Marketing Of Agricultural Produce And Importance

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Hi, welcome to this blog on the topic: Marketing of agricultural produce.

Table of content

  1. State the meaning and importance of agricultural marketing
  2. list the various marketing agents and channels
  3. State the merit and demerit of various agent and channels.
  4. List the functions performed by marketing agents.
  5. Mention and list the types of crops that are commonly exported to other nations.
  6. Rules that guide exportation of crops
  7. Importance of export to agricultural development

Meaning of Agricultural Marketing

Agricultural marketing are the activities involved in the flow of goods and services from the producers (farmers) to the final consumers. In other words, agricultural marketing involves all the activities required to move Farm produce from the producers (farmers) to the final consumers.

Marketing Of Agricultural Produce also includes the selling of Farm input to farmers or purchasing of Farm input. e.g, seeds, fertilizers and disposal of agricultural produce to the final consumers or users.

Importance of Agricultural Marketing

  1. Marketing helps to make products available throughout the year
  2. It creates employment opportunities for many people.
  3. It locates where there are surpluses of produce and brings them to where there are shortages.
  4. It helps in price determination
  5. Export of agricultural products provide foreign exchange (income) to the nation.
  6. It enables producers to know the taste of the consumers.
  7. It ensures good research into products preferred by consumers.
  8. It helps in the provision of infrastructure such as roads, electricity and pipe-borne water.

Meaning of Marketing Agent or Channels

Marketing channels is the sequence of intermediaries and markets through which produce move from the producer to the consumers passes in the market system, starting from the producer till it gets to the final consumers. This marketing channels are:

  1. The local markets
  2. co-operative societies
  3. Middlemen
  4. Commissioned agents
  5. Exporters
  6. Producers
  7. Consumers
  8. Processors
  9. Marketing boards

Stages of Agricultural Marketing

The stages involved in the marketing of agricultural produce includes:

  1. Farm level processing
  2. Grading or sorting
  3. Packaging
  4. Storage or warehousing
  5. Transportation
  6. Advertisement
  7. Merchandising
  8. Assemblage

How agricultural marketing can be encouraged

Marketing may be encouraged through the provision of:

  1. Good roads
  2. Capital of finance
  3. Standard units of measurement
  4. Adequate market infrastructures
  5. Storage facilities
  6. Market research
  7. Good government policies

Agents of Agricultural Marketing

Agents of marketing include all the people and other bodies which are directly or indirectly involved in the marketing of Farm produce. These agents are:

  1. Marketing commodity/boards
  2. Producers/farmers
  3. Co-operative societies
  4. Wholesalers/distributors
  5. Individual/private middlemen
  6. Retailers.

Problems of Agricultural Marketing

Problems associated with the marketing of Farm produce are:

  1. Inadequate transportation system
  2. Small scale production
  3. Inadequate market infrastructure
  4. Perishability of produce
  5. Inadequate storage facilities
  6. Poor financing
  7. Poor price of produce
  8. Problem of middlemen
  9. Difficulty in assembling products
  10. Inadequate processing facilities.
  11. Lack of uniform measures
  12. Poor quality produce
  13. Inadequate research
  14. Inadequate information

Marketing Functions

Marketing functions refers to those specialized activities that you as a marketer must perform in order to achieve your set marketing objectives.

The ten functions of marketing are:

  1. Researching
  2. Buying
  3. Product development and management
  4. Production
  5. Promotion
  6. Standardization and grading
  7. Pricing
  8. Distribution
  9. Risk bearing
  10. Financing
  11. After sales service.

Marketing of Export Crops

Major crops that can be exported in Nigeria are:

  1. Cocoa
  2. Cotton
  3. Rubber
  4. Palm oil
  5. Groundnut
  6. Palm Kernels
  7. Sesame seeds
  8. Cashew nuts
  9. Cassava
  10. Gum Arabic
  11. Sorghum

Guidelines for Exporting Crops in Nigeria

The export of crops in Nigeria involves stages from the local farmer and finally to the export companies involved in agricultural exports to foreign countries.

Here are some of the guidelines;

  1. Commodity farmers: This is the first stage of agricultural marketing. The Farmer cultivate the agricultural commodities.
  2. Local buying agents (LBAs): LBAs go into the interior and villages to buy Farm products from different farmers at the same gate and commodity markets are sell to the commodity merchants
  3. The commodity merchants: the commodity merchant reside in cities and towns. The buy commodity from various LBAs.
  4. The exporters: The exporters which could be individual, co-operative or companies buy commodities from merchants.
  5. Foreign partners: Business relation are now established between the exporter and the foreign partners who need the commodities.

Importance of Export to Agricultural Development

Let’s take a look at the importance of export to agricultural development below:

  1. Foreign exchange earning
  2. Wealth creation for farmers
  3. Generation of employment
  4. Provision of raw materials for Industries
  5. Provision of market for industrial goods
  6. Diversification of the economy
  7. Provision of finished products
  8. Bilateral relations

Revision Questions

  1. What is agricultural marketing?
  2. List six importance of agricultural marketing in Nigeria
  3. State six problems associated with agricultural marketing.
  4. List four agents of marketing
  5. Mention five stages involved in marketing agricultural produce.
  6. (a) Explain the term marketing channel (b) discuss in detail marketing functions.
  7. Mention five crops that can be exported in Nigeria (b) mention two guidelines for exporting agricultural produce.
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