Food Security and Post-Harvest Losses In Fruit Marketing In Lagos Metropolis, Nigeria

Post harvest loss has been a bane to food security in Nigeria. Although increased crop yield has been found to be feasible. Post harvest losses especially in fruits such as citrus, banana and pineapple are enormous, the marketing system of these fruits places about 75% of the burden of these losses on the fruit marketers. This study evaluated post harvest losses in fruit marketing in Lagos metropolis of Nigeria. Multi stage sampling technique was used to select one hundred and twenty (120) fruit marketers as the sample for the study. Data were collected from the respondents with structured interview schedule. The findings revealed that majority (72%) of the marketers are between the ages of 30 and 49 years with the highest concentration found in the range of 30-39 years. The mean age is 41.66 years. About 50% of the marketers are married 69% of the fruit marketers were female, while 31% are male. Also, 72% of the respondents had primary education, while, 49% of the fruit marketers have a marketing experience of about 10-19 years. The mean annual income and transportation cost of the fruit marketers were ₦481500 and ₦13045.83 respectively. Multiple regression analysis results showed that years of formal education, marketing experience, annual income, transportation cost and average cost of fruits were the significant determinants of post harvest losses in fruits marketing. The results of the study indicated that there is high level of post harvest losses among the fruits marketers. Keyword: food, security, Harvest, Fruit, Marketing, Lagos