MARKETING OF SORGHUM IN NORTHERN NIGERIA

Abstract

The marketing system of sorghum becomes increasingly important as the crop emerges as a valuable raw material for the brewery, food and livestock feed industry in Nigeria.  This study was conducted in three states (Kano, Kanuda and Katsina) of northern Nigeria to examine the flow of sorgum grains from the producers to industries and the potentials for increased productivity.  Marketing information was obtained from three categories of respondents through a single visit interview using a combination of oral interview and a well-structured questionnaire.  The data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics, flow chart and econometric modeling to estimate sorghum supply function.  The analysis showed that  about 5% of the total sorghum marketed was channeled to industries as raw material.  It was also observed that beverages and baby food industries utilized more sorghum than the livestock feed industries.  There was a high concentration of grain merchants in the marketing system of sorghum to industries thus reducing the profit margin to farmers.  The result of the supply model suggests that sorghum farmers are price responsive, thus the potential for area expansion to meet the increasing industrial demand would therefore require policy measures to create price incentives and improvement in the distribution linkages.