Impact of Cocoa Buying Agents on Cocoa Production and Marketing in Oyo State, Nigeria

Abstract

Department of Forest Resources Management, Osun State University, Ejigbo Campus, Osun Since the dissolution of the Cocoa Marketing Board, the liberalized cocoa marketing system has been associated with weak regulation, price distortions, and inefficiencies in cocoa distribution. Despite the important role of cocoa buying agents in providing market access, credit, inputs, and production support to farmers, their contribution to cocoa production has received limited empirical attention. Therefore, this study examined the influence of cocoa buying agents on cocoa production in Oyo State, Nigeria. Primary data was used for this study. A Multi-stage random sampling procedure was used to select the respondents. The first stage was the purposive selection of Ido Local Government Area (LGA). The second stage was the random selection of Ido and Omi-Adio communities. The third stage was the random selection of 105 cocoa buying agents. After discarding questionnaires with incomplete data, ninety-four agents’ information was used for analysis. Data were analysed using descriptive analysis and budgetary analysis. The mean age of the agents was 40.8 ± 10.9 years, 84.1% were male and married, while 54.3% had secondary education. The Majority (94%) of the buying agents bought cocoa from the farmers directly, while 84% of the agents bought beans that are well dried but not sorted, and 57.5% of the agents ferment their cocoa properly. The buying agents assist the farmers in boosting their production by providing inputs for them, giving them loans, and organising training for them. The average variable cost of Cocoa Buying Agents was N1,273,974.46 per agent per year, the average total revenue was N1,378,290.43, while the average gross margin was N104,315.96. Cocoa buying agents should strengthen post-harvest support through improved drying, sorting, and quality control practices, while enhancing cost efficiency to improve profitability. In addition, access to credit and input supply should be expanded to support farmers' productivity and strengthen the cocoa value chain in Oyo State, Nigeria.