Abstract:
The key to increasing
agricultural output in developing countries
is improving the productivity of farmers,
which cannot be achieved without markets
that would effectively bind the increasingly
specialized activities of thousands of widely
dispersed producers into an integrated
national economy. Although, there is a high
potential for rural farmers to derive
livelihood from market-oriented agriculture
and improve their standard of living, but
what are those factors determining farmers’
market participation. Thus, this study
investigates the determinants of market
participation among maize farmers in
Ogbomoso zone of Oyo state, Nigeria. A
simple random sampling technique was
used in the selection of respondents and a
well-structured questionnaire was used to
gather information on socio-economic
attributes and market participation among
maize farmers in Ogbomoso, Oyo State.
Eighty questionnaire were administered, but
79 retrieved were subjected to analysis.
Data were analysed using descriptive
statistics and probit regression. The results
show that majority of the farmers were male
(70.9%), married (67.1%) and had a
minimum of secondary education (74.7%)
and above. Also, 70% had direct access and
planted improved maize seed and 58% sold
maize produced in the urban market. Probit
model result shows that gender, age, marital
status, household size, farming experience,
educational level and membership of
association/group are the major
determinants influencing market
participation in the study area. The study
recommends that government should
encourage formation of associations/groups,
where farmers can get information about
market situations and formulate policies on adult literacy programme to encourage
farmers to participate more in market.
