Analysis of marketing performance of onion (Allium cepa) among participants in Kaduna and Katsina States, Nigeria

The study analyzed the marketing of onion in Kaduna and Katsina States, Nigeria. A survey of 100 onion farmers and 200 traders in these two states was conducted in 2022. Four villages and four markets were purposively selected. Random sampling was used to select respondents using structured questionnaire alongside oral interview. The analytical tools used were descriptive statistics, marketing margin and multiple regression. Majority of the traders (71%) had marketing experience between 5 to 25 years. Analysis on marketing margin shows that the producer’s share in the price that the final consumer pays was 56%, the wholesaler receives 14% and the retailer gets 30%, while the total marketing margin in the complete distribution chain was 43%. Analysis on the effect of marketing costs on marketing margin using multiple regression reveals that commission paid to agents was significant at 1% for regional wholesalers and 5% for inter-regional wholesalers. Transportation cost had positive coefficients significant at 10% for regional wholesalers and 5% for inter-regional wholesalers. At the level of retailers, the commission and transport charges have insignificant effect and where they exhibited significant effect, they have negative t-values. The loading/un-loading cost, revenue charges and storage cost had insignificant coefficients and negative t-values. The study recommends provision of simple drying machine for processing onion into durable products, provision of efficient transport system, onion exportation to create competition, market access to reduce glut and enlightenment of market participants on joining cooperative societies for solving many of the marketing problems.