Agricultural marketing is the study of all the processes, organizations, and laws that help farmers obtain farm inputs and move their produce from the farm to the customer. Between the agricultural and non-agricultural sectors, the agricultural marketing system acts as a bridge. It involves setting up marketing strategies for agricultural goods and inputs, figuring out the demand for farm inputs and raw materials, and managing the supply of agricultural raw materials to processing businesses.
A key element to the success of agricultural enterprises is marketing. Farmers may enhance profitability, expand sales, and reach out to more customers with the help of good agricultural marketing. Knowing your target market is the first step in marketing food goods effectively. You may learn a lot about a consumer before you start talking with them by researching the target market.
Making the most of such research is essential for a successful agriculture marketing and sales operation, as is using it to interpret what consumers need. The information acquired can be used to develop successful marketing strategies that target the proper audience. One strategy that might add value and distinguish a new agribusiness is organic production and marketing.
At farmers’ markets, events, and roadside booths, many farmers opt to sell their goods directly to consumers. Direct marketing offers a greater level of freedom and control than wholesale sales.
Agricultural marketing ensures the coordination and flow of agricultural products through various channels to the hands of the final customers in the metropolitan areas, remote regions, and outside the shores of Nigeria. The majority of agricultural output occurs in the rural sections of the country. Aside from helping agricultural products expand throughout the nation and abroad, agricultural marketing has additional advantages that will be covered in this essay.
Agriculture Marketing in Nigeria: Its Importance
1. A Better Life
The effectiveness of development initiatives meant to enhance the quality of life for everyone depends on the marketing system. Therefore, the development of efficient food and agricultural marketing must receive special emphasis in any economic development strategy intended to reduce agricultural poverty, slash consumer food prices, boost foreign exchange revenues, or reduce economic waste.
2. A huge source of employment
The marketing system employs millions of workers in a wide range of activities including packing, transportation, storage, and processing. People who work in the marketing system include commission agents, brokers, traders, retailers, weighers, baggage handlers, packagers, and regulatory staff. In addition, a lot of people supply goods and services through the marketing system.
Transportation, packaging, storage, and processing are just a few of the activities that fall under the umbrella of agricultural marketing. By executing their respective tasks, those involved in various operations in the agriculture marketing system are able to make money. Additionally, the agricultural marketing system provides work for traders, retailers, middlemen, weighmen, and drivers. The agricultural marketing system also employs a number of additional people that provide the commodities and services that are required at any time during the marketing process.
3. Agro-bases business can grow even more
When agricultural marketing is effective, it helps the nation’s agro-based sectors expand. Industries that depend on raw commodities like cotton, wheat, oilseeds, and cocoa are guaranteed of supply with an effective agricultural marketing system. Because of this, agricultural marketing aids in the development of new agro-based companies.
Among the industries that use agricultural products as raw materials are those that manufacture beverages, soap, tires, paper, textiles, and canned fruits, to name a few. The contribution that agricultural marketing makes to the expansion of agro-based sectors in Nigeria directly boosts the country’s economy’s overall growth.
4. Agriculture is responsible for huge foreign exchange
Nigeria makes foreign currency through selling its agricultural products to other countries. Some of the high-grossing agricultural goods that give Nigeria a significant amount of foreign currency are sesame seeds, cocoa, soybeans, and cashew nuts. In actuality, agricultural exports rank as Nigeria’s top source of foreign currency after crude oil.
5. Broadens the market for agricultural products
The expansion of the market for agricultural products in Nigeria is significantly aided by agricultural marketing. Nigeria has a huge demand for agricultural products from industry, urban centers, rural areas, and places outside the country’s borders. A well-organized and effective agricultural marketing system ensures that agricultural products get to far-off places where there is a demand.
The demand for agricultural products increases as the market gets bigger. As a result, the farmer can be certain of higher income because expanding markets suggest constant demand for his goods.
6. Gives insight to farmers about which products are in demand
Farmers can learn more about the agricultural products that are in high demand when they have a functional and effective marketing system. With this information, producers may concentrate on producing these agricultural goods to satisfy customer demand.
They make more money and meet consumer expectations when they manufacture these agricultural items to provide through the various marketing channels to locations with high demand. Therefore, the farmer, the marketing team, and the customer all benefit.
7. Increases farmers income
An effective marketing system guarantees higher levels of income for farmers by reducing the number of middlemen or restricting the commission on marketing services and the malpractices they utilize in the marketing of farm products. An efficient system makes certain that farmers receive higher prices for their agricultural products and encourages them to spend their surpluses to purchase contemporary inputs that will increase productivity and output.
The surplus sold by farmers and their income rise as a result. If a producer does not have a convenient market outlet where he can sell his excess produce, he will not be motivated to create more. Offering sufficient incentives for increased output is therefore essential, and this can only be done by streamlining the marketing system.
Farmers make money when they sell their marketable excess. Due to the limited purchasing power of residents in rural areas, where the majority of farming activities take place, the farmer may not earn a respectable wage. However, farmers have the potential for enhanced revenues due to a wider demand base with better purchasing power than those at the rural level and an effective marketing system at their disposal.
A farmer can use some of his profit to buy cutting-edge farm inputs that will boost productivity and output thanks to improved revenues as a consequence of agricultural marketing. Increased output and productivity will also raise his income. The improved income of the farmers has a knock-on effect on their households, communities, and the national economy of Nigeria.
8. Helps farmers to adopt new techniques and technology
Because the marketing system makes it easier for farmers to embrace new scientific and technical information, this benefits farmers. Farmers will only make the larger investments required by new technologies if they are confident there will be a market.
For a while, Nigeria’s agricultural exports had encountered poor reception on the international stage for a number of reasons. For instance, the Director-General of NAFDAC reported in 2018 that the European Union had rejected more than 76% of Nigeria’s agricultural exports because they did not meet international requirements for food safety.
This rejection encouraged the adoption of a number of strategies to overcome the obstacle. For instance, to guarantee that Nigeria’s exports of agricultural goods adhere to international best practices, the Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Services (NAQS) has to put risk management mechanisms in place. Additionally, Nigerian farmers who export agricultural products are required to use new methods to verify they follow international guidelines for food safety.
9. Price Signal
With the aid of a successful marketing plan, farmers may schedule their production in accordance with the demands of the economy. This work is done via price signals.
10. Year-long availability of seasonal products
Agricultural marketing makes sure that seasonal agricultural products are available all year long, without drastically changing prices in the off-season.
11. Ensures that Agro-based products are available at demand centres
Nigeria has a large rural population of farmers. However, metropolitan areas in Nigeria are where the majority of the people resides. The marketable surplus of the farmer in the rural areas reaches the urban centers thanks to effective agricultural marketing.
12. Resource management and output optimization
The use of resources and production management are optimized via an efficient agricultural marketing system. The marketable surplus can also be increased by reducing losses brought on by inefficient processing, storage, and transportation, as well as by having an effective marketing strategy. The available supply of contemporary inputs can be effectively dispersed by a well-planned marketing strategy, enabling the agricultural industry to grow more swiftly.
Conclusion
Marketing for agriculture is crucial for boosting economic growth as well as productivity and consumption levels. Its dynamic features are essential for promoting economic progress. It has earned the moniker “the most powerful multiplier of agricultural progress” as a result.
It is impossible to overstate the significance of agricultural marketing in Nigeria, but there are some issues that require attention if we are to maximize the benefits of marketing agricultural products. Nigeria’s agricultural marketing has a number of difficulties, including but not limited to inadequate storage facilities, subpar preservation methods, traffic jams at seaports, poor roads, and instability in some regions.
Author
Abbey Johnson has a Masters degree as an engineer and has over 3 years of teaching and research experience. He is happiest when on a bike and is also interested in electric energy and computer Science.