As the bulk of agricultural production takes place in the rural parts of the country, agricultural marketing ensures the coordination and movement of agricultural products through various channels to the hands of the ultimate consumers in the urban areas, far-out regions, and outside the shores of Nigeria. Asides from aiding the spread of agricultural products across and beyond the country, agricultural marketing has other benefits which will be addressed in this article. Read on to find out the importance of agricultural marketing in Nigeria.
The importance of agricultural marketing in Nigeria will be discussed below:
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Creates Opportunities for Employment
Agricultural marketing encompasses various activities such as transportation, packaging, storage, and processing. The people involved in these activities in the agricultural marketing system get to earn income performing their respective duties. Also, traders, retailers, middlemen, weighmen, and drivers find employment in the agricultural marketing system. Additionally, several others who render services of supplying goods and services which are needed at any point of the marketing process also find employment in the agricultural marketing system. Therefore, agricultural marketing accounts for hundreds of thousands, if not millions of direct and indirect employment in Nigeria.
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Contributes to the Growth of Agro-based Industries
When agricultural marketing is efficient, it contributes to the growth of agro-based industries in the country. With an efficient agricultural marketing system, industries that depend on raw materials such as cotton, wheat, oilseeds, and cocoa, are assured of supply. Hence, agricultural marketing contributes to the growth of new agro-based industries. The industries that rely on raw materials from agriculture may engage in beverage production, soap production, tyre production, paper production, textile production, and canned fruits production, to name a few. This role of agricultural marketing in the growth of agro-based industries in Nigeria directly stimulates the overall development of the Nigerian economy.
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Source of Foreign Exchange
Through the marketing of agricultural products to other parts of the world, Nigeria earns foreign exchange. Sesame seed, cocoa, soya beans, and cashew nuts are some of the high-grossing agricultural products that contribute a substantial amount of foreign exchange to Nigeria. In fact, after crude oil, agricultural exports account for the highest source of foreign exchange in Nigeria.
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Broadens Agricultural Products Market
Agricultural marketing plays an important role in broadening the market for agricultural products in Nigeria. The demand for agricultural products in Nigeria is enormous, ranging from industries, urban centres, remote areas, as well as outside the stores of the country. With a well-knot and efficient agricultural marketing system, agricultural products are assured to reach areas far out – where there is a demand. As the market widens, so does the demand for agricultural produce. To this end, the farmer can be assured of increased income as the widening markets imply continuous demands for his products.
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Offers Farmers Insight into Products in Demand
When farmers have a working and efficient marketing system, they can get insight into the agricultural products in high demand. With this knowledge, the farmers can focus on the production of these agricultural products to meet consumers’ demands. As they produce these agricultural products for supply through the various marketing channels to points of high demand, they thereby earn more, and the expectations of consumers are also met. Hence, it’s a win-win situation for the farmer, the marketing team, and the consumer.
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Increases the Income of Farmers
When farmers sell their marketable surplus, they earn income. As the bulk of farming activities happen in the rural areas, the farmer may not make a reasonable income due to the low purchasing power of people in the rural areas. But, with an efficient marketing system at their disposal, farmers have the potential for increased earnings due to a larger demand base with higher purchasing power than those at the rural level. With improved earnings as a result of agricultural marketing, the farmer can invest some of his profit into acquiring modern farm inputs which will further increase productivity and production. And, increased productivity and production will further improve his income. The ripple effect of the farmers’ improved income is felt in their households, communities and the Nigerian economy at large.
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Facilitates the Adoption of New Techniques
For some time, Nigeria’s exported agricultural commodities had witnessed poor acceptance on the global scene for several reasons. For example, in 2018, the Director-General of NAFDAC stated that over 76% of Nigeria’s exported agricultural commodities were rejected by the European Union for falling short of international global food safety standards. This rejection stimulated the adoption of several measures to quell the challenge. The Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Services (NAQS), for instance, had to put risk management measures in place to ensure Nigeria’s agro-commodities exports conform to global best practices. In extension, Nigerian farmers who export agricultural commodities are compelled to adopt new techniques to ensure they adhere to international global food safety standards.
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Ensures Year-round Availability of Seasonal Produce
Agricultural marketing ensures the availability of seasonal agricultural products throughout the year, without outrageous variation in price during off-seasons.
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Ensures Provision of Agricultural Products at Demand Centres
The majority of farmers in Nigeria are in rural areas. But, the majority of the population in Nigeria is in the urban centres. It is through efficient agricultural marketing that the marketable surplus of the farmer in the rural areas reaches the urban centres.
The importance of agricultural marketing in Nigeria cannot be overemphasized, yet, there are some shortcomings that should be paid attention to, to achieve greater dividends from marketing agricultural products. Some of the challenges faced in agricultural marketing in Nigeria include the following but are not limited to, lack of adequate storage facilities, poor preservation techniques, gridlocks at seaports, bad roads, and insecurity in some parts of the country.
As agricultural marketing is an important multiplier of agricultural development in the country, measures must be put in place to close the gap mentioned in the paragraph above. If these challenges are addressed, the potential of agriculture in the development of the economy will be maximized.