World Aquaculture Magazine - March 2021

62 MARCH 2021 • WORLD AQUACULTURE • WWW.WA S .ORG et al . (2015) reported a market efficiency of 133 percent. Fish marketing among respondents was operationally efficient. Barriers and Constraints to Fish Marketing in Ekiti State The major problem of fish marketers in the study area is that there is no mechanism to obtain loans to fund operation or expansion of their business (Table 2). Most are unable to cope with the high interest rates charged by most commercial banks and are unable to present sufficient collateral required to obtain a bank loan (Mafimisebi et al . 2010). Cooperatives or market associations are only able to provide minimal financing, considering the number of applicants and the small amount of money available. Most marketers make use of personal savings, grants, donor agency funding programs and money from family and friends. Personal savings was the most reliable and ready source of funds for fish marketers in the study area, consistent with the findings of Nsikan et al . (2015) and Nwabunike (2015). The majority of respondents (63 percent) indicated that there were barriers preventing people from participating in fish marketing (Table 3). The market structure does not encourage easy entry of fish marketers because barriers to entry include capital and the high cost of a license, high taxes, age, sex, location and group ties. Capital was the major barrier of entry among fish marketers, as it is in Adamawa State (Madugu and Edward 2011). In addition, 40 percent of respondents faced the risk of buyers who buy on credit and refused to pay. Most marketers pay staff or hired labor to carry out their marketing functions, increasing the cost of fish marketing (Table 2), perhaps related to the small household size of marketers in the study area. Problems faced by fish marketers were ranked according to their severity, analyzed by Likert scale, with a mean score of >3.50 considered to be a serious constraint affecting fish marketing in Ekiti State. There were 17 constraints considered serious by this analysis (Table 6). Conclusion The conduct and structure of fish marketing influenced the marketing system in Ekiti State. Fish markets are representative of an imperfect (oligopolistic) market but fish marketing was profitable and efficient. It is essential that fish marketers improve their market structure and market conduct to ensure efficiency of market performance. Recommendations • Fish marketers should be organized into effective cooperative societies and fish marketing associations where many benefits and privileges can be extended to them and to improve the financial and intellectual bases to expand their business. • A means of educating fish marketers should be provided by fish associations for better conduct in the industry. Effective extension education is necessary at regular intervals of the functional activities in fish marketing for overall efficiency. • Improvement of infrastructure such as electricity and roads has become critical to the survival of agriculture and fisheries. • Access to loans from different financial institutions with a very low interest rate (soft loans), should be made available to individuals and cooperative groups. TABLE 5. Performance analysis of fish marketing by producers, wholesalers, and retailers in Ekiti State. N Total revenue Gross profit Net profit Gross profit Net profit Marketing Marketing Operational N ( ₦ ) ( ₦ ) ( ₦ ) margin margin margin efficiency efficiency Producer 30 3,248,433 856,393 644,227 0.26 0.20 0.35 1.36 1.25 Wholesaler 15 9,920,080 1,734,156 1,172,817 0.17 0.12 0.25 1.21 1.13 Retailer 60 1,742,635 507,735 393,845 0.29 0.23 0.38 1.41 1.29 Gr o s s p r o f i t ma r g i n = Gr o s s p r o f i t / To t a l r e v e nu e , Ne t p r o f i t ma r g i n = Ne t p r o f i t / To t a l r e v e nu e , Ma r k e t i n g ma r g i n = To t a l r e v e nu e – To t a l c o s t s / To t a l c o s t s , Ma r k e t i n g e f f i c i e n c y = To t a l r e v e nu e / To t a l v a r i ab l e c o s t s , Op e ra t i o na l e f f i c i e n c y = To t a l r e v e nu e / To t a l c o s t s . TABLE 6. Ranking of constraints according to severity. • Poor access to capital • No government assistance • Cost of fish from the producer is high • Customers complain that the price of fish is high • Inconsistent and high cost of transportation • High interest rate on loan • Erratic supply of electricity • Inconsistent/inadequate government policy • Lack of storage facilities or holding tanks • Unreliable or untimely supply of fish from producers • Small size/inadequate supply of fish from producers/ source • Inaccessibility of road to the market/poor transportation network • The cost of processing fish is high • Unorganized market • High perishability of fish • Poverty of the consumer The major problem of fish marketers in the study area is that there is no mechanism to obtain loans to fund operation or expansion of their business. Most are unable to cope with the high interest rates charged by most commercial banks and are unable to present sufficient collateral required to obtain a bank loan.