ANALYSIS OF INFORMATION UTILIZATION AMONG COWPEA MARKETERS IN JALINGO LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF TARABA STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

The study analyzed information utilization among cowpea marketers in Jalingo Local Government Area of Taraba State, Nigeria. A purposive sampling technique was used to select Five (5) out of 10 wards in the study area. A sample size of 64 marketers was randomly selected in the selected wards. Primary data were collected through the use of structured questionnaire and analyzed using descriptive statistics (frequency, percentage and mean) and inferential statistics (Cobb Douglas regression). The result obtained showed that 68.75% of the cowpea marketers were males, while 48.44% were between the ages of 36 and 45 years. It also reveals that 46.87% had non-formal education while 40.63% had household size of between 6 and 10 persons, 77.69% were married and 54.69% and had income ranges from N101,000 – N150,000. The result obtained showed that the sources of information from friends constitute 50% (mean of 2.56) of the respondents while for the extent of information utilization among the respondents the findings reveal that the information highly utilized by cowpea marketers include price (x = 2.63), available market (2.56) and transportation (x = 2.53). Lastly, all the variables were significant at P≤0.05 level except household size (X₄). It was recommended that, adequate relevant market information should be provided to enable them increase their production so as to earn more profit. Government and the marketers should collaborate together to ensure availability of transportation network so as to improve marketing efficiency.