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Abstract            Volume:4  Issue-11  Year-2016         Original Research Articles


Online ISSN : 2347 - 3215
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An Assessment of the Performance of Some Vegetable Markets and End Users in the Upper East Region of Ghana
A.D. Ninfaa1*, D. Oppong-Sekyere1, A-R.S. Salifu1, B.B. Yintii1 and F.L. Manamzor2
1Department of Ecological Agriculture, Bolgatanga Polytechnic, P.O Box 767, Bolgatanga-Ghana
2Department of Marketing, Bolgatanga Polytechnic, P.O.Box 767, Bolgatanga-Ghana
 
*Corresponding author
Abstract:

A study was undertaken in some selected districts in the Upper East Region of Ghana to assess aggregators and end users of vegetable in the region. Districts were selected based on their history of vegetable production. The Bawku municipality, Binduri district, Bolgatanga municipality, Bawku west and the Kassina Nankana west district qualified for selection. A purposive sampling method was used to select respondents for the study, and these were interviewed using a check list of questions, comprising both open and close-ended questions, to gather information. The main aim of the research was to identify and assess the potentials of aggregators and end users of vegetables in the region. Hotels/ guesthouses, restaurants/chop bars and institutions (schools) were the selected end users for vegetables. These end users were categorized into ‘very large’, ‘large’ and ‘medium’, based on the number of guests/customers served food in a day. A total of fifty (50) aggregators, ten (10) from each district were selected and interviewed based on the volume of vegetables aggregated and sold, where their produce were sold, their prospective buyers, methods/facilities of storage, mode of transporting aggregated produce to the end user or storage point, the various challenges and relationships with the producer and end user regarding contracts. Data obtained from the checklist was analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Scientists (SPSS version 17.0) and Microsoft Excel, and summarized into percentages and means. Tomatoes, Fresh okra, onion, Dry okra, cabbage, carrot, chilli pepper and sweet pepper were the commonly aggregated and consumed vegetables in the Upper East Region. Tomatoes and fresh Okra were the most aggregated and consumed vegetable by end users per an annual average of 27,090 kg, followed by onion (26,418 kg). Fresh tomatoes were the most consumed vegetable in the ‘very large’ category of end users, with annual consumption of 1,560kg for guest house/Hotel and 8,736kg for the restaurants/chop bars category. The restaurants/chop bars consumed the highest in terms of fresh tomatoes with a yearly consumption of 8,736kg. The tricycle, popularly called ‘Motor king’ in the study area was the most patronized (30%) means of transporting aggregated vegetables to aggregation centers or end users. There is a higher prospect for vegetable business in the Upper East Region of Ghana, with the capacity of adequate supply across all regions of the country, in particular and the export market, in general.  Actors in the value chain have to grapple with the constraints of finance and storage facilities.

Keywords: Aggregators, consumption,end users,storage, transportation, vegetable.
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How to cite this article:

Ninfaa, A.D., D. Oppong-Sekyere, A-R.S. Salifu, B.B. Yintii and Manamzor, F.L. 2016. An Assessment of the Performance of Some Vegetable Markets and End Users in the Upper East Region of Ghana.Int.J.Curr.Res.Aca.Rev. 4(11): 87-98
doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.20546/ijcrar.2016.411.013
Copyright: This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.