Conceptualizing Roots and Tubers Market Expansion and Inclusion through Marketing Extension Services

A good proportion of the food produced for human consumption across Nigeria is lost because of lack of structured markets, inadequate post-harvest management, inadequate storage in households and on farms, and limited processing capacity. Moreover, linkage between farmers’ group and credit institutions are poor. This is because effort to increase production is not linked with marketing. With perishable crops like roots and tubers, storage, packaging, transport and handling technologies are inadequate hence, considerable amount of produce are wasted. Root and tuber crop farmers live mostly in the rural areas and most often do not have access to information regarding prices in urban areas/markets. However, marketing extension is the market ward orientation of agriculture through extension which includes agriculture and economics as the perfect blend for reaching at the door steps of farming community with the help of appropriate technology using key principles which include resource-based, consistency with business principles, commodity development approach, based on the value chain framework, and bottom-up and participatory. Thus, this book argues that in order to expand the market and help farmers improve their competitiveness within a market chain or business model process, extension must simultaneously focus on farmer organization and on improving the management skills of existing structures. It is expected that when the intervention (marketing extension) is properly implemented by the programmeme implementers (FMoA, ADPs, Extension worker), on the roots and tuber value chain actors (farmers, processors, and marketers), there will be an intermediate outcome (increased market awareness, access to market reliable market information and increased market participation). The intermediate outcome will further lead to the final outcome which are demand driven production, easy and fast means of disposal, (market access), reduced post-harvest losses, increased income, and increased food security). Therefore, it is determined that agricultural extension is no longer limited to agricultural production alone but also encompasses additional tasks like marketing of agricultural and rural products, consultants, advisors, and facilitators of farmer learning.