THE ROLE OF GINGER PRODUCTION IN THE RURAL ECONOMY OF J ABA AND KACHIA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREAS OF KADUNA STATE
THE ROLE OF GINGER PRODUCTION IN THE RURAL ECONOMY OF J ABA AND KACHIA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREAS OF KADUNA STATE
No Thumbnail Available
Date
1993-03
Authors
NOAH, WENDOCK, BETHOLI
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
This study is on the role of ginger production in the r u r a l economy
of Jaba and Kachia Local Government Areas of Kaduna S t a t e . It t r i e s to
examine the processes of production and marketing of ginger in r e l a t i on
to i t s r o l e on the producers' income and people of the immediate
surrounding.
After t r a c i n g the processes of production and marketing of the crop
from producers through intermediaries to the exporters and/or consumers,
the study uses i n f e r e n t i a l methods to analyse the r o l e of the crop in
the economy of the people.
I t demonstrated t h a t income is highly dependent on the f i e l d s of
p e o p l e ' s investment. And that c e r t a i n forces, it would seem, combined
to prevent the farmers from making meaningful p r o f i t from the gradual
p r i c e increase for the crop. A working hypothesis was b a s i c a l ly
formulated to t e s t the v a l i d i t y of these a s s e r t i o n s . The main question
being 'Who is a c t u a l l y benefiting from the present high p r i c e s of ginger
i n p a r t i c u l a r and a g r i c u l t u r a l p r i c e s in g e n e r a l ? '.
The empirical r e s u l t of the study shows t h a t ginger production in
the study area has been increasing quite remarkably. The study a l so
shows that there has been f l u c t u a t i o n in the p r i c e s of the crop, but
the amplitude of f l u c t u a t i o n being more during season of scarcity and
l e s s during season of h a r v e s t . Thus, orderly marketing through
procurement, buffer stocking, and public d i s t r i b u t i o n , deserve serious
consideration. The study a l s o shows t h a t although the p r i c e s received
for the ginger produced have increased over the years, where farming
operations are costed, p r i c e s paid by the farmers for farm i n p u t s have
increased much more.
Moreover, the marketing intermediaries make excess profit at the
expense of the producers. As a result, ginger farmers within the study
area were actually not benefiting from the recent high prices for the
crop. The contribution of ginger to the income of the producers could
only be seen from the fact that most of its farming operations were
carried out at those times the farmers were less engaged in the farming
operations of other crops. The unfavourable price parities, if continued
for long, may prove as a disincentive for the producer - discouraging
further increase in ginger production.
Description
A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL,
AHMADU BELLO UNIVERSITY, ZARIA IN PARTIAL
FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE
OF MASTER OF SCIENCE (M.SC.) IN
RURAL DEVELOPMENT
DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY
AHMADU BELLO UNIVERSITY
ZARIA
MARCH, 1993
Keywords
ROLE,, GINGER,, PRODUCTION,, RURAL,, ECONOMY,, JABA AND KACHIA, LOCAL,, GOVERNMENT,, AREAS,, KADUNA STATE.