The Structure and Conduct of Guinea Fowl (Numida Meleagris) Egg Marketing in Katsina State, Nigeria

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1 Scientia Agriculturae EISSN: X / PISSN: DOI: /PSCP.SA Sci. Agri. 18 (3), 2017: 7077 PSCI Publications The Structure and Conduct of Guinea Fowl (Numida Meleagris) Egg Marketing in Katsina State, Nigeria Abubakar Aminu 1, Aminu Suleiman 2, M. M. Ahmad 3, Aishatu Shettima 4 1. Department Of Agricultural Biotechnology National Biotechnology Development Agency, Umaru Musa Yar adua Express Way, Lugbe, Abuja, Fct Pmb 5118 Wuse 2. Department Of Agricultural Economics, Bayero University, Kano, Nigeria 3. Department Of Agricultural Economics, Bayero University, Kano, Nigeria 4. Department Of Agricultural Biotechnology National Biotechnology Development Agency, Umaru Musa Yar adua Express Way, Lugbe, Abuja, Fct Pmb 5118 Wuse Paper Information Received: 11 February, 2017 Accepted: 17 April, 2017 Published: 20 June, 2017 Key words: Guinea fowl, eggs, structure, conduct, marketing A B S T R A C T The study was conducted in Katsina State to analyze the structure of Guinea fowl egg marketing. Multistage sampling was used to purposively select six (6) local government areas of the state due to the intensity of Guinea fowl egg marketing the area and also stratification and random selection of the 15 respondents across the strata of rural assembler, wholesalers and retailer was done respectively. The result revealed that majority of the respondents was males with average age of 39 years and marketing experience of 1115 years. Also the result indicated that 90.7% of the traders source the eggs within Katsina state; also revealed was that 980 eggs at N 16/egg, 4541 eggs at N 18/egg and 1273 eggs at N 19/egg were the average quantities and prices of the commodity traded by rural assemblers, wholesalers and retailers respectively during the peak supply period. The result shown that N 215, N 1490 and N 360 were the average marketing cost incurred by the rural assemblers, wholesalers and retailers respectively. The result further revealed ginicoefficient of for the market concentration. The study concluded that the venture was dominated by males traders with 1115 years marketing experience and low participation to market associations; the venture is unrestricted market with free circulation of information; high inequality among the traders and decline in supply of the commodity during the offpeak season period. The study recommended operating sound market associations by the traders; adaptive research to break the seasonality in supply of the commodity and stakeholders intervention in providing market infrastructure to enhance the product longevity 2017 PSCI Publisher All rights reserved. Introduction Background to the Study Guinea fowls are medium sized gallinaceous birds from any of the genera Agelastes, Numida, Guttera and Acryllium. It is derived from the helmented guinea fowl (Numida meleagris), (Bustwart et al., 2001). In the wild, guinea fowl commence egg production at 912 month of age (Ayorinde and Okaeme, 1984) and 1220 eggs are laid by each reproductive female per breeding season (Long, 1980; Ayorinde, 1991). Under domestication, it has been possible to increase production between eggs per breeding season (Ayorinde, 1991). The over 50 million semidomesticated guinea fowls in Nigeria constitute about 25% of the entire domestic poultry population in Nigeria and making it a variable source of animal protein which is socially acceptable to many Nigerians who find the eggs and meat more palatable than the soft and somewhat over tender Agric chicken (NAERLS, 2004). Guinea fowl eggs commends premium market prices because of the gammy flavour and has better storage ability than chicken eggs; the egg shell does not crack easily due to it thickness and the egg believed to enhance virility and sexual potency (NAERLS, 2004). Guinea fowl eggs compete favorably with the eggs of domestic fowls in shell quality and internal quality characteristics (Ayorinde, 1989; 1991). Ayeni (1980) reported that guinea fowls eggs can be stored for as long as three months at room

2 temperature or for 18 days at temperature of c and relative humidity of 55% to 60% without lowering the taste or acceptability. Objectives The broad objective of the study was to analyze the structure and Conduct of Guinea fowl egg marketing in Katsina State. The specific objectives were to: Describe the socioeconomic characteristics of guinea fowl egg marketers; Determine the structure of guinea fowl eggs marketing in the study area; Methodology The Study Area The study was conducted in Katsina State. The state covers an area of 23,938 sq. km. and is located between latitudes N and N and longitudes E and E. The state shares border with Niger Republic to the north, Jigawa and Kano States to the east, Kaduna State to the south and Zamfara State to the west. This shows a trade link between Katsina State and Niger Republic and also a trade link between Katsina State and neighboring states. Katsina state is a great place to do farming and agricultural business. Topographic feature, climatic factors and soil characteristics result in agroecological environment suited for production of wide variety of crops and rearing of livestock (KTARDA, 2009). Katsina State is made up of 34 local government areas with a population of 5,792,578 as at 2006 (NPC, 2006). Sampling procedure and Data Analysis Multistage sampling technique was adopted in conducting the survey. Agricultural zone (I) was selected based on intensity in guinea fowl egg marketing. The second stage involved purposive selection of six (6) local government areas due to intensity of guinea fowl egg marketing. Mai adua, Jibia, Charanci, Mashi, Daura and Dutsi local government areas were selected. The third stage involved stratification and purposive selection of one market from each of the selected local government areas, based on volume of trade and number of market participants. Stratification was (2) major border market, (2) major nonborder market and (2) minor nonborder market. The fourth stage involved stratified random sampling of respondents. Proportionate numbers of the respondents were randomly selected from each stratum namely wholesalers, retailers and rural assemblers. Primary data was collected and analyzed using descriptive statistics and Ginicoefficient to achieve the research objective. Result And Discussions Socioeconomic Characteristics of the Respondents Gender of the marketers It enables us to ascertain gender involvement and role play in guinea fowl egg marketing. The study revealed that both male and female were involved in guinea fowl egg trading with male having the majority (92.6%) while female constitute 7.4% of the respondents sampled. The female traders (7.4%) were all retailers. The poor presence of females in guinea fowl egg marketing in the study area especially for wholesale and assembling could be linked to the enormous challenges involved in sourcing and marketing activities of the commodity and it could be also due to sociocultural and religious factors playing crucial role in the livelihood of people in the study area. Egg wholesale and assembling were exclusively dominated by male traders which implied that there is barrier of entry into the market. This inline with the finding of Najamuddeen (2012) in the analysis of egg marketing in some selected local governments of Katsina State that only 12% of the respondents were females. Age of the respondents Age play an important role in decision making. Age among other things has implication on decision making on farm and may indicate the future scope for changes in agriculture. Young aged farmers perform better in production than older ones (Igben, 1988). This study showed that the average age of the respondents was 39 years. Majority of the actors in the industry are at their active age and this signifies high prospect for continuity in the industry. The study revealed that these traders also engaged in other income generating activities hence the need to manage both their egg marketing and other enterprises. This in turn requires more energy and time which they are capable of doing so. The finding agrees with that of FAO (1992) which revealed that chicken egg producer as economically productive and hence are considered to be very active and may therefore accept and adopt poultry production innovations faster as well as invest more in chicken egg production. Also it affirmed to the finding of Afolabi (2007), in his study of egg marketing in SouthWestern Nigeria that marketing of eggs in the area is dominated by people aged between 2645 years (60.5%). 71

3 Marketing experience Marketing experience is the number of years that the traders spent in guinea fowl egg business. The longer the experience in the business, the better the expected performance in guinea fowl eggs trading. The result indicated that majority of the respondents (37.4%) are having experience of 1115 years in guinea fowl egg trading and this may be due to the age composition of the respondents who were having average age of 39 years. This affirmed with findings of Mohammed et. al. (2011) in the evaluation of egg marketing in Kuje area council that majority of the respondents (50%) were having experience above 11 years. This implies that the traders would easily comprehend market situation, make necessary changes and adjustment when need arises in performing marketing functions to enhance their profitability. Membership of association The result revealed that 49.3% of the traders were having membership of the association and this comprises 81.1%, 51.1% and 15.6% of wholesalers, retailers and rural assemblers respectively. The result also revealed that 19.3% of the members benefited from the association for construction of market stalls, 13.3% benefited for support when they were in problem and 16.6% benefited for other amenities like mosque and tap water provided by the association. This implies low participation of marketers in associations, despite the benefit they stand to gain by actively participating in these associations. Structure of guinea fowl egg market Sources and supply of egg Source of egg refers to the market traders patronage when sourcing the eggs. The result on table 3 revealed that majority of traders (58.9%) purchased the eggs from minor markets, 26.3% of the respondents from major nonboarder markets and 14% from major boarder markets. Minor markets are markets which handle less than 100,000 pieces of guinea eggs per market day and these markets witness participation of rural assemblers, wholesalers and retailers but rural assemblers dominated the markets. Supply from neighboring villages and home steads found its flow into the minor markets. Also the result shows that 90.7% of the traders source guinea fowl eggs within Katsina State and the least (5.2%) flow from Niger Republic to boarder markets in Katsina State. The result also indicated that 75.2% of the traders procured the commodity weekly and 24.8% procure it daily. About 74% of the aforementioned traders were rural assemblers. This may be because the markets in the study area operate on weekly basis. The result further shows that 55.6% of the respondents reported July/August as peak supply season while 41.9% reported August as peak supply season. This inline with finding of Abubakar (2005) on semen characteristic and fertility of three strains of guinea fowls and distribution in Bauchi state which stated that the productivity of guinea fowls is highest in August followed by July, September, and June while month of May had the lowest egg production. It reaffirms the influence of climatic factors on guinea fowl egg production. Volume and Value of Eggs Supplied by Trader per Market Day Rural assemblers This group of middlemen undertakes the initial task of assembling produce from farm or local rural markets. They may be farmers who collect the produce of other cultivators. They may be landlords, village shop keepers, wholesale merchants, processors, cooperatives or government procurement agencies (Olukosi et al., 2007). Guinea fowl egg assembler, assemble eggs from villages, home steads and village rural markets for supply into the main markets. The volume and value of eggs traded by rural assemblers differed with supply season. The result showed that the assemblers traded average quantity of 980 eggs at average price of N 16/egg during peak supply period per market day. Also the result indicated that the assemblers traded average quantity of 420 eggs at average price of N 14/egg during offpeak supply season per market day. This implies seasonality in supply of the commodity which is the nature of most agricultural products and it further shows that the commodity is not following the law of demand and supply in terms of price which may be due to deterioration of egg quality especially for shell hardness which usually result in high lost to the traders in offpeak supply period. Wholesalers Wholesaler plays a central role in a marketing system. He takes the product from farmer or rural assembler and sells to retailers, to other wholesalers in the domestic and foreign markets, to processors and manufacturers (Olukosi et al.,2007). Wholesaler needs a lot of capital to be able to have large assortment. Guinea fowl egg wholesalers usually purchased large volume of eggs from rural assemblers and sell it to retailers or other wholesalers in the same market or move it to other market in another location. The result revealed that the wholesalers supplied average quantity of 4541 eggs at average price of N18/egg in a market day during peak supply period. It also indicated that average quantity of 1740 eggs at average price of N 16/egg was supplied in a market day by wholesalers during offpeak supply season. This may be because of decline in the supply during offpeak supply due to seasonality in supply of the guinea fowl egg and it further implies inadequate storage facility for making the commodity available during offpeak season. 72

4 Retailer The main function of the retailer is to obtain supplies and display them for sale in forms, at time and places convenient for the consumers (Olukosi et al., 2007). Usually retailers buy from one or more wholesaler at times on credit and serve consumers who buy in small quantity. The result indicated that the retailers supplied average quantity of 1273 eggs during peak supply season at average price of N 19/egg and also the result indicated that 552 eggs were the average supply at average price of N 18/egg during offpeak supply season in a market day. This may be due decline in the quantity supplied to wholesale which inherited from rural assemblers and producers due to seasonality in production and inadequate infrastructure for storage to ensure supply in offpeak supply season. This also signifies lack of availability and accessibility of the commodity to the consumers especially during offpeak supply season. Sources of Initial Capital and Capital need Source of initial capital refers to how the trader secures the fund he/she to start guinea fowl egg marketing. The result revealed that 63.7% of the respondents use their own personal savings as source of initial capital and this respectively comprises 69.9%, 67.8% and 53.3% of retailers, rural assemblers and wholesalers sampled. None of the trader benefited from bank loans and this revelation corresponds with findings of Maikasuwa and Jabo (2011) that banks do not lend to backyard poultry farmers. The result also revealed that majority of the respondent (51.9%) needed between 10,00050,000 naira to run their business successfully which accounted for 77.8%, 73.3% and 4.4% of retailers, rural assemblers and wholesalers sampled respectively. The least (5.2%) needed between 101,000150,000 naira to run their business successfully represented 11.1% of wholesalers and 2.2% rural assemblers and retailers each. This implies that majority of guinea fowl egg traders are small scale marketers. Ayozie (2011) stated that any business or enterprise below the upper limit of N 250,000 whose annual turnover exceed that of a cottage industry is a small scale industry. Tax, cost of Transport and wages paid to market assistant The result on table 6 revealed that wholesaler incurred average tax of 20 naira per market day and retailer incurred 10 naira while rural assembler did not incur any due to tax. This implies that tax is collected from traders occupying space in the market which rural assemblers do not. Transportation is the physical movement of farm products from one location to another and it also added utility of place to commodity (Olukosi, et al., 2007). The result indicated that the average transportation cost incurred by the traders per market day was N210, N977 and N 167 respectively for rural assemblers, wholesalers and retailers. This implies that transportation cost is directly related to quantity of commodity and distance covered when moving the commodity as shown that wholesalers incurred highest transport fare and followed by rural assemblers. Also the result indicated that wholesalers and retailers incur cost in paying market assistants, wholesalers incurred average cost of N 361 per market day while retailers N138 naira. This implies that egg wholesaling as marketing institution is generating income beyond the active egg trader. Packaging refers to the placing of commodities into containers that protect them from damaging during journey (Aminu, 2009). The main objective of packaging is to put products in containers to ease handling, for effective storage and to protect them from damages while in transit (Olukosi et al., 2007).The result indicated that wholesalers incurred highest cost of packaging at N 132 as average cost per market day followed by retailers N 45 and rural assembler N 5. This may be because some of the traders sell the commodity unpacked or incurred negligible expenses and also implies unstandardized practices of market services. Number of Firms Involved in Guinea fowl Egg Marketing According to Olukosi et al. (2007), market structure tends to consider whether the number of firms producing a product is large; are of equal sizes or dominated by a small group. It is also concerned with whether entry for new firms is easy or difficult and whether the purchases for the products are in a competitive state or not. It equally relates to the degree of market knowledge that is available to the participants. Guinea fowl egg marketing in Katsina State is characterized by many participants who performed different functions in the movement of the commodity from producers to final consumers. The market participants are rural assemblers, wholesalers and retailers, the chain of supply in which these participants operate is presented. The result revealed that 100% of sampled rural assemblers sourced the eggs from producers and majority of the wholesaler (96.7%) sourced the eggs from rural assemblers while 2.2% from producers and 1.1% from other wholesalers. Also the result revealed that majority of the retailers (76.7%) got supply from wholesalers while (23.3%) had supply from rural assemblers. This may be because the producers are living in remote areas of the state. This implies that guinea fowl eggs supply is like that of other agricultural products in the area which usually flow from producers in the rural areas and ends to consumers in urban areas. Conditions for Entry and Exit of Guinea fowl Egg Market Entry and exit to market refers to the ability of a firm to enter or leave a market (Olukosi et al., 2007). Guinea fowl egg marketing in the area has no apparent restriction and exit, thus, connection and capital are significant to market 73

5 participation. The result presented in table 13 indicated that majority of the traders (63.7%) used their personal savings to start the business which may be because they engaged in other agricultural business and farming as their secondary occupation. Market Knowledge This refers to the information available to buyers and sellers which enable them to take decisions in market environment in which they operate (Olukosi et al., 2007). Information concerning prices, demand and supply circulate freely and rapidly among the actors operating in the marketing system. The result shown that majority of the respondent (96.3%) obtained information from other traders while (11.1%) who were all wholesalers obtained the information from traders association. This may be because most of the time information obtained is reliable and guide the traders in decision making and also implies that wholesalers control flow of information in the marketing system. Market Concentration Higher Gini coefficient means higher level of concentration and consequently, high inefficiency in the market structure (Afolabi, 2007). The result of guinea fowl egg market concentration is presented in table 7. The result of Gini Coefficient computed for guinea fowl egg trading in the study area revealed the coefficient of which express high level of inequality among the respondents; there is high level of inequality of income distribution among the traders. This implies high concentration and consequently high inefficiency in the market structure and also the market falls within the realm of imperfectly competitive market. Ekunwe and Alufohai (2009) conducted a research on the economics of poultry egg marketing in Benin City, Edo State and the estimated Gini coefficient of was found. This indicated a level of inequality in revenue distribution among the respondent. Similarly, Afolabi (2007) conducted a study on the evaluation of poultry egg marketing in South Western Nigeria, Gini coefficient of was obtained in the study and indicated a high level of inequality in sales revenue of respondents and hence high level of concentration. The value implies high inefficiency in the market structure. Imoudu and Afolabi (2002) posited that the market structure for agricultural products in Nigeria is not perfectly competitive due to the collusive tendencies of sellers by forming associations for particular products Price Determination The study examined how price was determined in sale of guinea fowl egg. The result is presented in Table 8. Price determination of the commodity refers to the way the traders arrived at the operating price for egg sale. Olukosi et al. (2007) described pricing as function of buying and selling; as an agreement on the price, a transfer of title and ownership, provision of time and place of delivery as well as method of payment. The result revealed that majority of the traders (69.2%) determined the price by demand for and supply of the guinea fowl egg and the least (1.5%) determined by market association. This implies that egg price is strongly driven by interaction of supply and demand over time and is inline with the finding of Najamuddeen (2012) in analysis of egg marketing in some Local Governments of Katsina State that 52% of the respondents allow market forces to determine price of eggs. Table 1: Socioeconomic characteristics of respondents: gender, age, marital and education status Variable Rural Assemblers Wholesalers Retailers Gender Male 77.8(70) 92.6(250) Female 22.2(20) 7.4(20) Average Age(Yrs) (21) 18.9(17) 27.8(25) 23.3(63) (12) 12.2(11) 20.0(18) 15.2(41) (11) 12.2(11) 11.1(10) 11.9(32) (21) 17.8(16) 21.1(19) 20.7(56) (25) 38.9(35) 20.0(18) 28.9(78) Major Occupation Egg Trading 55.6(50) 76.7(69) 50.0(45) 44.8(121) Trading of Other Agricultural 10.0(9) 13.3(12) 27.8(25) 32.2(87) Commodities Trading of Non Agricultural 1.1(1) 1.1(1) 2.2(2) 1.5(4) Commodities Farming 32.2(29) 8.9(8) 20.0(18) 20.1(57) Civil Servant 1.1(1) 0.4(1) *Numbers in parenthesis are frequencies and numbers outside parenthesis are percentages. Source: Field Survey,

6 Table 2: Socioeconomic characteristics of respondents: major occupation, marketing experience and membership of association Variable Rural Assemblers Wholesalers Retailers Marketing Experience (Years) Above 15 Membership of Association Member Not member 11.1(10) 26.6(24) 44.4(40) 17.7(16) 7.7(7) 28.9(26) 33.3(30) 30.0(27) 15.5(14) 41.1(37) 34.4(31) 8.9(8) 11.5(31) 32.2(87) 37.4(101) 18.9(51) 15.6(14) 84.4(76) 81.1(73) 18.9(17) 51.1(46) 48.9(44) 49.3(133) 50.7(137) *Numbers in parenthesis are frequencies and numbers outside parenthesis are percentages. Source: Field Survey, 201 Table 3: Sources and supply of guinea fowl eggs Variable Rural Assemblers Wholesalers Retailers Source of egg in the area Major Border market 15.6(14) 28.9(26) 14.8(40) Major NonBorder Market 36.7(33) 42.2(38) 26.3(71) Minor Market Source of Egg to trader Katsina State Neighboring State Niger Republic Frequency of Egg Supply Daily Weekly Peak supply period July July/August August 83.3(75) 12.2(11) 4.4(4) 74.4(67) 25.6(23) 47.8(43) 88.9(80) 3.3(3) 7.8(7) 28.9(26) 58.9(159) 90.7(24) 5.2(14) 4.1(11) 24.8(67) 75.2(20) 1.1(1) 43.3(39) 55.6(50) 2.2(2) 45(41) 52.6(47) 4.4(4) 77.8(70) 17.8(16) 2.6(7) 55.6(150) 41.9(113) *Numbers in parenthesis are frequencies and numbers outside parenthesis are percentages. Source: Field Survey, 2012 Table 4: Average Quantity and price of eggs supplied in a market day during peak season Class of Traders Number Average Quantity Supplied Average Price (N) Rural Assembler Wholesaler Retailer Source: Field Survey, 2012 Table 5: Volume and price of eggs supplied in a market day during offpeak season Class of Traders Number Average Quantity Supplied Average Price in Purchased (N) Rural Assembler Wholesaler Retailer Source: Field Survey, 2012 Table 6: Distribution of respondents based on expenses due to tax, transportation, market assistant and packaging Average Cost Items/Services Rural Assemblers Wholesalers Retailers Tax Transport Assistants Packaging Source: Field Survey,

7 Quantity of Eggs Sold/Week Number of Traders Table 7: Gini Coefficiennt for Market concentration Percentage Cumulative Value Percentage of of Traders (X) Percentage of sales (%) Weekly Sales (N) Cumulative Percentage (Y) Gini coefficient Source: Field Survey, 2012 Table 8: Distribution of respondents based on price determination in egg trading Variable Rural Assemblers Wholesalers Retailers Price Determination Bargain with supplier Demand & Supply Fixed by association 26.7(24) 50.0(45) 23.3(21) 27.8(25) 68.9(62) 3.3(3) 33.3(30) 65.5(59) 1.1(1) 29.3(79) 69.2(187) 1.5(4) Source: Field Survey, 2012 *Numbers in parenthesis are frequencies and numbers outside parenthesis are percentages Conclusion And Recommendations From the above findings, the study concluded that, majority of the traders are adults, having experience of 1115 years and source guinea fowl eggs from and sell within Katsina State. There is low participation of the traders to the market associations. The only barrier to market is amount capital but there is free circulation of information and also high inequality exists among the traders. Over 50% of egg supply by traders reduces during offpeak supply season and as well as the price due to low quality of the egg shell. Based on the above conclusion the following recommendations were made: The traders should form and operate sound market associations which will allow them capacity building opportunities and other empowerment support from relevant stakeholders. Adaptive research should be carried out by relevant research institute to break the seasonal production of guinea fowl eggs and improve its quality during the offpeak supply period to ensure steady supply. Stakeholders (NGOs and Government) should intervene in the provision of market infrastructure such as storage facilities to enhance longevity of the product quality. References Abubakar SM Semen Characteristics and Fertility of Three Strains of Guinea Fowls (Numida meleagris) and Their Distribution in Bauchi State. Un Publish M. Sc. Thesis, Postgraduate School, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi, Nigeria. pp Afolabi JA Evaluation of Poultry Egg Marketing in SouthWestern Nigeria. International Journal of Poultry Science Vol. 6 (5): pp362366, ISSN Aminu A Framework for Agricultural Market Analysis: Theories and Applications. Ahmadu Bello University Press Limited, Zaria. pp7475. Ayeni JSO.1980.The Biology and Utilization of the Helmet Guinea Fowl (Numida meleagris) in Nigeria. A Ph.D. Thesis, University of Ibadan, Nigeria. Cited in Abubakar S. M. (2005). Semen Characteristics and Fertility of Three Strains of Guinea Fowls (Numida meleagris) and Their Distribution in Bauchi State. An UnPublished M.Sc. Thesis, Postgraduate School, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi, Nigeria. pp 23 Ayorinde K L Effect of Semen Dosage and Insemination Frequency on the Fertility of Local Guinea Fowl in Nigeria. Journal of Tropical Agriculture (Trindad).Vol 66: pp Ayorinde KL, Okaeme Cited in Abubakar, S. M Semen Characteristics and Fertility of Three Strains of Guinea Fowls (Numida meleagris) and Their Distribution in Bauchi State. Un Publish M. Sc. Thesis, Postgraduate School, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi, Nigeria. pp Ayorinde KL Guinea Fowl (Numida mealeagris) as a Protein Supplement in Nigeria. World s Poultry Science Journal, vol 47: pp Ayozie DO The Role of Small Scale Industry in National Development in Nigeria. Universal Journal of Management and Social Sciences. 1(1):2441 Bustwart JSR, Kalla DJU, Dafur BS Effect of Variety and Season on Semen Characteristics and Estimate of some Genetic Parameters in Helmented Guinea fowl (Numida mealeagris galata). Bulletin Animal Production Africa. 49: Ekunwe PA, Alufohai GO Economics of Poultry Egg Marketing in Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria. International Journal of Poultry Science, 8 (2): , 2009 ISSN Retrieved from (22/12/2012). Food and Agriculture Organization. (1992). FAO Production Year Book, Vol. 45, FAO, Rome. Igben M S The Nigerian Farmer and Agricultural Institution: An Assessment of Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research (NISER), Ibadan, Nigeria. P 12. XY 76

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