ABSTRACT

The general objective of the study is to analyse the socio- economic determinants of commercialization among small holder farmers in Abia state, Nigeria. The specific objectives of  the study are to: (i) describe the socio-economic characteristics of the respondents; (ii) examine the level of commercialization among the farmers (iii) estimate the determinants of commercialization among the small holder farmers in the study area; and (iv) make recommendations based on the findings. Multi-stage sampling technique was adopted for this study. First, two local government areas were selected from each of the three agricultural zones. From these local government areas, three communities were chosen. Finally, a random selection of twenty farmers were selected each from the three communities, bringing a total of one hundred and eighty (180) farmers I respondents. Primary source of data was used for the study. This was actualized with questionnaire administered to the already selected respondents. Enumerator who had already been trained assisted in the distribution and collection of data. Objective (i) was analyzed with descriptive statistics such as frequencies, percentages, etc. objective (ii) employed household commercialization index (HCI), while objective (iii) was realized using multiple regression. The coefficient of household size, income, farming experience, farm size, distance to market, membership of society and access to credits, were all significant at various probability levels and with different signs in influencing commercialization in the study area. It is therefore recommended that markets should be created where none exist. Support to facilities in storage, business management capacity building, packing and processing should be provided. Furthermore, interlocked transaction institutional arrangement model is recommended