Comparative Study of Fruits’ Post Harvest Losses and the SocioEconomic Level of Fruits’ Marketers in Osogbo Metropolis of Osun State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study was carried out to compare the relationship between Fruits’ post harvest losses and the socioeconomic level of fruits’ marketers in Osogbo metropolis of Osun state. Simple random sampling was then used to select sixty (60) fruit marketers, fifteen each from the four selected communities to constitute sample for the study. Primary data were collected from the fruit marketers using a structured interview schedule. Data from the study was analyzed using descriptive analysis. Most of the fruit marketers are females, middle aged, married women, with no formal education. 27.0% of the respondents earn between ₦300,000₦434,000 per annum from fruit marketing; the result revealed that 38.3% of the fruit marketers incur losses of between ₦600- ₦6,500 per annum.There is a significant relationship between the socio-economic characteristics and the level of post-harvest losses incurred in fruit marketing in the study area. This study recommended that Fruit marketers should be encouraged to join various cooperative societies for easy accessibility to credit facilities and education on better marketing strategies.