The Effect of Pricing Strategies on the Marketing of Agricultural Products in Enugu State (a Case Study of Udi L. Govt. Council)
Chapter One
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The major objectives of this study is to evaluate the marketing of rice (agricultural produce) in Enugu State.
This work wants to pay particular attention.
Discover the problem (s) Inherent in rice marketing.
Evaluate the possible means of reducing or removing entirely the activities of middlemen to remove the problem of heading.
Evaluate the possible means or best strategy to be used in making the product (rice) available in the Urban town and cities thereby eliminating the problem of price variations.
Appreciate the channel of information flow, which will help bridge the communication gab which exist in the rice market in state.
To recommend based on the finding possible ways of achieving the problem effecting rice marketing (pricing and strategies in Enugu State).
CHAPTER TWO
In an attempt to study the distribution and pricing strategies of rice, one would want to do a rice work to be able to review the entire system with a view to updating the pricing system so as to help improve the organizational as well as making efforts. It is well known that to be able to analyse and carry out a good study, one need to take a look at the work done by some other people on the said issue, but it should be borne in mind that much has not been written on this particular topic, therefore, the literature was based on the general distribution and pricing strategies. The literature fell under the following headings as seen below.
LITERATURE REVIEW
To erotically review the present pricing system of rice is pertinent to have a cursory look at the concepts, price and pricing system before delivery into what the relevant books, magazines and authorities has said about the subject.
Pricing involves decision on discount allowance payment period, credit terms etc. In economic theory, price, value, and utility are related concepts. Utility is the attribute of an item that makes it capable of want satisfaction while value is the quantitative measure of the worth of a product to attract other product in exchange. Economic theory states that price is determined by the interaction of demand and supply cost being the main ingredient of supply and price the main ingredient of demand work together and continually adjust to each other.
Ebue, Adirika, and Nnolim define pricing as a monetary expenssion of value, therefore price as an ultimate expression of need/want satisfying potential of an item of product or service has cultural sociological, psychological and economic implications in marketing. In this broad sense also a price for a product exist when the marketers perception of a products potential for need/want satisfaction co-indices with that of the consumer. This pricing is an important element of the marketing mix and in a non-regulated conditions services as very efficiency means of resources allocation in an economy.
In pricing one of the most basic marketing variables in the product which stands for the tangible offer in the market including product featured servicing polices etc.
Pricing is the amount of money the consumer to pay for the product. Also, place/distribution stand for the various activities of the company (rice producer) undertakes to make the product accessible and available to target consumer.
Promotion on its own stand for th various activities of the company undertake to the communicates of products merit and persuade target customers to buy them.
In this, the rice producer do not engage in promotional activities because of nature of their products.
Among all the marketing mix variables mentioned above, emphasis should be layed on the distribution and pricing of the products.
THE DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM IN NIGERIA
Distribution is as old as the need of man. Exchange activities were brought about by man’s need which cannot be possible unless the want satisfies of those needs are placed within our reach.
In the same vain, this need for placing the want satisfies where they are wanted came as a result of certain people or individuals having surplus to dispose in return for others. To support this view, “a popular theory that distribution developed from early division of labour that resulted in certain families or tribes harming certain goods excessively. They looked for others who had surplus needed goods and proposed to offer some of their goods in return. “ This are was when people sold their surplused through exchange activities known as trade-by-barter.
The distribution sector uptill today, in the Nigeria commercial activities is left untapped more or less by design or ignorance. The reason for this ugly trend or events cannot be divorced from the fact that Nigeria still experience the seller’s market. Little wonder then, Nwogwugwu observed as follows:
The reason for the absence of marketing planing, crops up from the fact that the product for distribution is channeled via established of distribution. The marketing manager simply allocates product on an approved formula. Since demands supply in most cases, there is no marketing problem envisaged in the forcable future.
This is incomplete activities of the situation experienced in developing economics.
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
In this work, we studied Enugu state as whole. The reason behind our studying the entire state is to collect a broad information that will cover the variations involved in the pricing and distribution in the different areas of our study.
The areas covered in Enugu state zones are Abakaliki, Enugu and Nsukka zones. This spread was considered necessary because though some of the zones are more of production concentration than others, the reverse is the case when considering marketing and consumption of rice Example of this is the fact that Abakaliki and Ugboka in Enugu zone and Adani in Nsukka zone have high production, concentration for rice, Enugu and Nsukka happen to have higher consumption concentration.
It is based on the above that we have in this work chossen to study the entire state to find out the variation (s) in pricing and distribution.
SOURCE OF DATA
The data for this study were collected through primary survey of major marketing areas and also from published data. The primary and secondary data were collected as discussed below.
PRIMARY SOURCE
All the primary data were collected through oral interviews, observation and questionnaires oral interviews were considered and all interviews question were framed based on problems and objective of the study while administering the questionnaires, visits were paid to distributors in the open markets local producers, some government distributive agencies. These questionnaires were distributed to consumers, distributors and processors of rice alike.
SECONDARY SOURCE
For the purpose of this research information were also souput for and gathered from secondary sources. These information were collected from journals publication of Enugu State Ministry of Agriculture and Food Production Division, Enugu. Grains inspection, Area office, Abakaliki.
CHAPTER FOUR
PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA
I shall now present the information or responses gotten from the respondents through the administering of questionnaires. The data being presented and analysed here were collected mainly by the use of the three types of questionnaires administered. These include:
Wholesaler/retailer,
Consumer and
Producer/processor/miller.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, RECOMMENDATION AND CONCLUSION.
This chapter presents a summary of the findings.
A conclusion of the researcher made. Recommendation are then made in the light of these fgindings.
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
The marketing activities of rice distributors are still far below the expectation for the consumers.
Lack of information within rice market lead to price variations.
There is a general characteristic of seasonal variation in rice supply in contrast to its demand and this leads to ride spread disparities in prices.
That apart from rice, not less than 70% of the other grains traded and consumed in Enugu State comes from outside states especailly from the northern States.
That rice producers/processors/millers and even distributors do apart from those who undertake actual processing and distribution do not advertise their produce. It was also discovered that out of rice producers/processors/millers/distributors, only the privately owned enter prices undertake promotional advertise.
The rice market generally is not organized and this disorganization hinders the flow of information with the rice market.
Rice production and marketing has always been a minor attention by government except in times of general scarcity.
Government does not undertake enough and appropriate regulation of the activities of these middlemen to ensure the satisfaction of the consumers, she is only interested in the collection of tenses and other fees from the distributors.
It was also found that apart from normal transportation and storage cost, tenses paid by trader to governments of the producing areas amount to a substantial portion of the total cost.
The rice distribution system is such complex that most of the times it is very difficult to say who is a retailer or wholesaler.
Haggling and market forces (demand and supply) are the major determinants of prices at all level of rice marketing in Enugu State, ranging from farm gate level to that of ultimate level.
The producer/processors/millers/distributors have various and associations that take care of their welfare.
Producer/processors/millers, mostly sell their produce (rice) through the wholesalers retailers, and atoms they sell direct they sell directly to the consumers but it is not substantial
Most of the consumes of rice buy from the retails and wholesalers
Majority of the consumers of rice prefer the foreign for reasons of quality.
The people involved in the marketing of rice ranging from the producers / processors) nulls / distributions are mostly people who did not have formal education or who had their first school leaving certificate
And finally, the people involved in the rice marketing most at time do not have or make use of adequate standard measures in selling rice.
CONCLUSION
Generally, research are conducted with a view of finding out better and new method of improvement in all field is of human endeavor. This study concerned , However played by rice distributors in Enugu State.
The roles of rice producers / processor nuliers, were also briefly highlighted as they constitute an importance aspect of the agriculture marketing functions furthermore, an assessment of the performance of grain distributors on relation to the marketing concepts was manner. The view of the above, it can therefore be concluded from the study that the rice distribution system is somewhat complex. The complexity of thus system arises from the fact that there us little or no cleaving defined role on the pat of distributors. A situation whereby a single individual acts as wholesales and retailer and the same time handling if even response to consumer’s satisfaction. Should the marketing concept be adopted the distributors are they reminded that marketing is a dynamic determinants of the directors of then marketing efforts to be adopted. The consumers is not just the king but a
“ Dictating king” Unfortunately, the consumers reverse is the case in our society.
It is the above problems and others that has led t the recognition by the F. A. O. during the third F. A. O. regional conference reports “ the need to developed better marketing channels both by improving existing private and comparative system or through government sponsor marketing organization was widely acclaimed as an important factor in encouraging increase commercial production.
RECOMMENDATIONS
The identification of a firm’s institutions problem is a good step in the right direction toward soloing such problem. Nonetheless, the process is known.
Based on the problems identified by the research affecting rice marketing in Enugu State and right Nigeria as a whole the researcher makes the following recommendations.
That standard measures be introduced and frequency supervised by the authorities concerned.
Government through its organs such as the Enugu State grains reserve and marketing (Enugu State marketing and the technical committee on Agricultural production (TCAP), should assume the role of buyers of last resort. This way the rice and other grain farmers in general, would be sure of some money income at the end of the faring season, also it will help at establishing prices and has tensing decision making.
These programs are still in paper and should not be allowed to gather dust.
To ensure price stability, price control board should be established. However establishment of such board is not just enough. The government should make sure this board do not fix prices that are inconsistent with the farm gate prices.
Government should also assist in building silos for the producers and rice storage, falling this, government should encourage indigenes or indigenous companies with 100% Local equity participation to build sill or rice store in local government areas by giving them capital allowance, accelerated depreciation, especially silo development, low interest rate and other creative.
More Federal made should constructed old ones, maintained and transportation modes defined to provide linkages with rice production areas. This will make for easy erection to the consumption areas in the State and outside States.
Since pre ponderance of the producers/millers processors and distributor, received no formal education, efforts should be made to enlighten them especially in the use of fertilizers.
Young hopeful production/distributions should be encouraged to attend schools of Agriculture. Curriculum developers in the ministry of Education should emphasis much on primary and secondary pupil studying Agricultural cinches.
Improved grains (rice), fertilizer, nidimentary mechanical unplanted, earth moving and faring machinery should be made available to the small scale farmers through the auspices of the local government areas to boast rice production.
Simple and complex machines should be designed to help small and large-scale producers. Government should cult held in building new rice mills as well as revamping and revitalizing old ones in each of the zones.
Producers / millers / processors, should be encouraged to form producers co –operative societies, this will arrest the prospect of rice fluctuation. It can also help the producers, distributions and even the consumers by providing useful within the producers or distributors co- operation would look against boarding and also help balance supply and demand in a particular market and thus avoid gut and simple with its corresponding fluctuation in price.
Government should establish distributive agencies tat will leave an exempting life by way of their performance so that those individual distributors, who have neither the knowledge of the marketing concept or adopt, it emulate them so that this concept when widely adopted will help to providing ti consumers the required marketing activities instead of being myopic in their activities. And also establish a visible information system to determinate information to Vance glade of agricultural productions.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
- BUCKLIN LOUIS .P. Theory of Distribution Channel Structure: (Bakery institute of Business and Economic Research University of california, 1966).
- EZIAKU LEVI, CHUKWURA Commerce for Certificate Year: (Enugu, Nigeria, Fourth Dimension Publishing Co. Ltd, 1980).
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- KLOLS RICHARD L & DOWNEY W.O. Marketing of Agricu-Ltural Produce: Macmillian, new York, 1972.
- NWOKOYE .N. Modern Marketing: (ABIC Books and Equipment: Ltd. 1990).
