Desempeño profesional del docente (análisis global)

The salient features of marketing include prices, marketing functions and marketing institutions.

3.4.1 Prices

Prices are very important because they determine the farmer‟s income and its stability.

Besides, they determine the profit of the trader. Agrobased industrialists and the final consumer‟s real income i.e. the quantity of goods and services they are able to buy at a particular level of income. Prices are also used by producers to allocate resources. The rise in the price of and demand for cocoa in the 1980s in the world market led to shift of factors of production such a labour, land etc. from other .products to the production of cocoa in the cocoa producing areas of Nigeria.

3.4.2 Marketing Functions

Amongst the marketing functions features listed above, marketing functions are the main specialized activities performed within the marketing system. The functions are grouped into three different categories as follows:

3.4.3 Exchange Function

This function involves processes that assign monetary value to and transfer of ownership the commodity. It affects the exchange of goods by the seller the money paid by the buyer. The function includes selling and buying. Selling is the act of giving commodity to someone in exchange for money. However, in marketing system, selling goes beyond this simple act. It involves them search for all possible buyers of the goods or services, assigning value to the commodity, promotional activities (viz advertising, occasional reduction of prices etc,) and the search for the best el of distribution of the products.

Buying includes activities such as the search for the sources of supply and the act of giving out money in exchange for the goods purchased. This function enables the seller and consumer to have a fair price and cost for good sold and bought respectively 3.4.4 Physical Functions

This function involves physical handling of the commodity. The function affects the goods in terms of their forms, movements from one place to another and the extension of the product‟s life span from one period to another. The specific functions are:

• Processing • Transportation • Preservation and • Storage

1. Processing is the marketing function which ensures the availability of a particular agricultural product in the forms desired by the consumers, it provides the form utility to the final consumer of the product. Thus, cassava is processed into various forms such as gari, chips, Tapioca, cowpea into bean cake (moimoi, ekuru, akara) and soya beans into soya milk, paste etc.

2. Transportation is a physical function which ensures that goods are available as at when desired. It therefore creates time utility for the consumer. It involves the movement of produce form one place to another ensuring availability of produce at location of needs by the consumer.

3. Storage is a marketing function which ensures that goods are available as at when (desired. It therefore creates time utility for the consumer. In view of the time factor, involved in storage there is need to preserve the produce such that there is little or no, change in the desired quality of the good. Hence, preservation precedes storage.

However, the extent of the preservation is determined by the nature of the commodity to be stored. It is important to note that the performance of these functions varies from one commodity to another within the marketing system. Some commodities are rarely processed. For instance yam is sold in tuber forms while maize is sometimes sold in maize cobs to consumers, after harvesting. Cassava is processed into garri, cassava flour or fufu (paste), transported outside the point of production to market places for sale, fresh tomatoes, and pepper are transported in baskets to market places for sale.

The extent of marketing functions performed on a particular commodity therefore determines the marketing cost, marketing margin, the unit cost of good and the profit.

SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 2

i. List the salient features of marketing. ii. What is exchange function? iii. Enumerate the physical function.

3.4.5 Facilitating Function

The facilitating functions are those that make possible the smooth performance of the exchange and physical functions. These activities are not directly involved in either the exchange of title of the physical handling of products. However, without them the modern marketing system would not be possible. They might aptly be called the grease that makes the wheels of the marketing.

Facilitating is the provision of credit facilities for marketing the commodity. This need arises in view of the fact that fund is tied up in the commodities produced for marketing. There is time lag between production and marketing of the products.

Standardization is the process of credit establishing and maintaining a uniform measurement of a commodity in terms of quality. For standardization to be effective, it needs to be proceeded by grading which is predetermined as per agreed criteria within the marketing system such as type, size, shape, flavour, amount of foreign substances (rodent hair, insect „remnants, stones etc). This function deters adulteration of goods, and ensures good measures and quality.

Provision of marketing information involves gathering, interpreting and dissemination of all the data which tend to facilitate the bylines activities of selling and buying and such as supply and demand, prices, availability of credit facilities etc.

Risk bearing is the assumption of possible losses incurred due to the occurrence of several risks suffered while marketing. The losses include reduction in the market value of goods consequent upon loss of freshness or shrinkage of the good, loss in market value, fire outbreak, and theft, accidental fluctuation in prices occasioned by upsurge of supply, insect attack and unfavorable climatic conditions (cold and heat) which makes the produce prone to fungal attack. The effect of these varies and includes:

i. Reduction of the desirability of the produce by the consumers and

ii. Loss of physical products. These changes observed in the goods reduce prices offered for the commodities and results in reduction of the farmer's or sellers, income.

Advertising involves activities that deal with publicizing of goods and services for sale or increase sales. It therefore keeps the product constantly in the minds of the consumers thus creates effective demand.

The market intelligence function is the job of collecting, interpreting, and disseminating large variety of data necessary to the smooth operation of the marketing processes. Efficient marketing cannot operate in an information vacuum. An effective pricing mechanism is dependent on well-informed buyers and sellers. Successful decisions on much to pay for commodities or what kind of pricing policy to use in their sales requires that a large amount of market knowledge be assembled for study.

Adequate storage programs, an efficient transportation services, and an adequate standardization all depend to a considerable extent on good information.

Much of the market research that is carried to evaluate the possible alternative marketing channels that may be used, the different ways of performing other functions, and the market potentialities for new products may be performed by those who specialize in its performance. On the other hand, everyone in the marketing structure who buys and sells products evaluates available market data and therefore performs this function to some degree.

SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 3

Enumerate the facilitating functions of marketing 4.0 CONCLUSION

This Unit has fully explained that marketing involves more than buying and selling and it is the-inter-personal forces of demand and supply irrespective of where the market is located. Marketing bridges the gap between productions and consumption.

5.0 SUMMARY

Agricultural marketing is the performance of all business activities involved in the movement of agricultural commodities from the point of production to the consumers yard. The salient features of marketing include prices marketing functions and marketing institutions.

ANSWER TO SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 1

i Agricultural marketing is the performance of all business activities involved in the movement of agricultural commodities from the point production to consumers yard.

ii. The need for agricultural marketing arises with production of excess over and above consumption. This relates to the concept of marketable surplus defined as the proportion of the total output that is available for sale after satisfying the need of producer‟s consumption, seeds for next seasons planting, gift and other needs.

iii. Marketing is the interaction of the impersonal forces of supply and demand irrespective of the physical location of the sellers or buyer. Market place refers to a specific physical location where the supplier (seller) and the buyer meet of the exchange of the commodity for money with essential factor, is the contact between seller an: buyer which could even be affected by any means of communication.

ANSWER TO SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 2 This salient feature of the marketing includes:

1. Price 2. Marketing Functions 3. Marketing Institutions

1. Exchange functions are those activities involves in the transfer of title to goods.

They represent the point at which the study of price determination enters into the study of marketing. These functions are never performed in our economy without a Judgment of value usually expressed at least partially as a price, being place on the goods. Both the buying and the selling functions have not their primary objectives the negotiation of favourable terms of exchange.

2. The physical functions are those activities that involve handling, movement and physical change of the actual commodity itself. They are involved in solving the problems of when, what and where in marketing.

3. The facilities functions are those that make possible the smooth performance of the exchange and physical functions. These activities are not directly involved in either the exchange of title or the physical handling of products. However without them the modem marketing system would not be possible. They might aptly be called the grease that lubricants the wheels of marketing efficiency. The functions include:

a. Standardization b. Financing c. Risk Bearing d. Market intelligence 6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGMENT

1. List the salient features of marketing.

2. Discuss the characteristic of agricultural marketing in Nigeria under the following headings. a. Marketing place. b. Scale of Operation.

7.0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READINGS

Adeleye, A.D. (2011) Introduction to General Agriculture I, NOUN, Lagos Adeleye, A.D. (2011) General Agriculture II, NOUN, Lagos

Aweto, R.A. (1996). Agricultural Cooperatives.

Bashir, M.M (2014). Agricultural Cooperative. Alico computer and AHY Federal Cooperative, Kaduna.

Kohls, R.L. and Uhl. N.J. (1972). Marketing of Agricultural Products.

Onafowokan, O.O (2013). Cooperative and Microfinance Revolution. Soma Prints Limited, Lagos.

Otokiti, S.O (2004). World Business and Business. Pumark Nigeria Limited, Lagos.

Umebali, E.E (2001). Management of Informal Sector Investment Rural Resources and Farm Business. Computer Edge Publishers, Enugu.

Umebali, E.E (2014). Readings in Cooperative Economic and Management.

Computer Edge Publishers, Enugu.

UNIT 19 CHARACTERISTICS OF AGRICULTURAL MARKETING IN