Assessment of Women Local Cucumber (Ngulli) Marketers in Maiduguri, Borno State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study assessed local Cucumber (Ngulli) marketing among women in Maiduguri, Borno State, Nigeria. The specific objectives of the study were to describe the socio-economic characteristics of the women cucumber marketers, estimate the marketing margins, examine their marketing channels and constraints faced in marketing in the study area. Two stage sampling was used to select 50 respondents from the study area. Descriptive statistical tools and marketing margin analysis were the analytical tools used for the study. The results of the study revealed that all the respondents were retailers handling less than a bag of cucumber, majority (74%) within the age range of 21-40, married (80%) with Qur’anic education (76%) and had income between ₦20,000-₦50,000 (60%). The respondents bought cucumber directly from the farm gate (50%) and sell directly to consumers (90%). The results for the marketing margin revealed a margin of 25.03%. The major constraints faced were lack of financial support, seasonal scarcity of cucumber and high purchase price. The study recommends that the marketers should form cooperatives or associations in order to enjoy economies of scale such as in transportation, access to credit and bulk purchase. Also, Financial support specifically for the women marketers by the government, NGO’s and financial institutions would go a long way in increasing their scale, returns and would ease some of the problems encountered in marketing.