CHAPTER ONE

1.0       INTRODUCTION

This project present an overview of marketing perishable products in Nigeria and their relative improvement which much on our economy and much emphasis laid on Odeda local government Area of Ogun State .

The Importance of perishable product in the Economic sector become clearer when one realized its sustained contribution to the to the gross domestic product and its supply for both domestic and industrial uses in the yester-years, before oil boom the contribution of perishable product had not be dropped over the years. This had not been only because product had been mainly small holding or wild groves with very few large Estates but also According to EWUOLA (1996) Production has also declined due to the following.

• Rural-Urban migration which made people to quit agriculture;
• Discovery of petroleum which made the country to payless attention to agriculture sector
• Increasing age of some of perishable and hence harvesting problem and yield declines of product.

Agriculture food commodities can generate be classified into the following group;

• Fruits e.g orange, mango, pineapple.
• Vegetables e.g tomato, pepper, onions.
• Roots and tubers e.g cocoyam, yam, cassava.
• Diary product and fresh food eg. meat, fish and poultry products are usually grouped according to AKHUEMONKAN (1988),fruits, root and tubers, vegetables, dairy product and fresh foods meat, fishes and poultry are usually grouped together as “PERISHABLE”

They are referred to as perishable because the commodities easily deteriorate especially under poor storage conditions as they contain high water content ranging from above 5%, due to the high water content of these commodities. It is often difficult and even expensive to dry and store as dry products. This is the more reason why the commodities are often sold at cheaper rate than other industrial product of similar nutritive value. When effort is made to dry it so as to improve its storage length it offer different from the fresh ones and often less acceptable in the market.

There is however exception to this and such includes fish and meat since perishable has to enhance the market demand for directed mainly for industrial. A favorable marketing system for perishable product can only be achieved by removing many of the constraints affecting the supply to customers, such constraints are identify by Olaoluwa (1990) they include:

• Lack of credit facilities to marketers and producers
• By providing adequate social overhead

Infrastruction Standard Measure  to let the country regain her pre-oil boom-era status of exporter of canning perishable product that boost the economy of which will improve the standard of living of both the producers and marketers.

1.1       BACKGROUND TO STUDY

Brief Marketing Perishable Product

Nigeria is endowed with human and material resources as well as good climate condition that have been helping our farmers in produce part of the food consume.

The neglect of agricultural sector which has made Nigeria an agrarian country and a major food importer since the last two decades and the desire to raise the standard of living of Nigeria have now thrown a considerable burden on the existing resources for food product domestically. This realize such socio-economics and technological revolution in Nigeria .some of these measures include the following:

• The establishment of the Nigeria agricultural and co-operative bank 1973
• Establishment of river basin authority to provide supplement for irrigation among other things
• The introduction of special agricultural project in conjuction with World Bank such as Gusua and Gombe agricultural project in the northern Nigeria specifically to produce food crops
• The green revolution programme which was follow-up to the operation feed the nation (OFN) programme 1976
• The introduction to Agricultural Development Programme (ADP) which also led some states to establish tractor living unit such as the Agro service co-operation of Ogun State.

It is now located in Osiele in 1970(s) Odeda market was also establish in 1940(s) factors that influence the market are availability of commodities to be sold and brought easily. It must be located where people will have access to the place either by car or trekking because their village is not too far to each other and it is easy for them to bring their goods into the new situation market most especially from products like yam, tomatoes, vegetables etc.