Analysis of consumer preferences for cowpea varieties in Osun State was carried out with a view to identifying attributes that determine price variation among cowpea varieties and the effect on consumer’s willingness to pay for those varieties. A multistage sampling technique was used to randomly select 240 respondents for the study, comprising 180 cowpea consumers and 60 retailers. Primary data were collected on cowpea varieties, their attributes and the consumer’s willingness to pay for cowpea varieties using well structured questionnaire. Data collected were analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The results showed that out of thirteen varieties found in the area, only nine varieties of cowpea were common in the market. The quality of each variety differs which explained variation in their price. In terms of preference the Oloyin variety is preferred most by 78% of consumers. Weevil resistance had the highest rank among the cowpea attributes. Oloyin had the highest WTP followed by Milk and Drum with ₦303, ₦237 and ₦213 per kg, respectively. Hedonic pricing methods provide a statistical estimate of premiums and discounts for cowpea attributes. Results indicated that weevil resistance was the most important attribute to consumer. Cowpeas with weevil damage tolerance, brown colour, large grain size and short cooking time commanded price premium for almost all the varieties. The consumer discounted prices for insect damage, small size, white colour, smooth skin and grain colour mixed together. The study concludes on the need for breeders and research institutes to incorporate these cowpea attributes that attracted price premium into their cowpea breeding programmes.

Though smallholder goat enterprise has been a major source of livelihood in most African communities for ages, yet little efforts exist to explore its full potential through commercialization. While much has been done to improve agricultural production in the small-scale sector, little is known and documented about the current state of goat production and marketing in most parts of Nigeria. Using proportionate sampling, data were collected from 160 smallholder goat producers and 220 consumers making a total of 380 respondents for the study. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics, budgetary analyses, multiple regression and Likert Scale Technique. The study showed that smallholder goat enterprise was female-dominated with majority aged between 51 -60 years. The average cost, average revenue and gross margin per production season were ₦12,471.78, ₦16,755.51 and ₦4,904.61, respectively. The farmers realized ₦430.20, ₦450.80, ₦252.00 and ₦363.50 on a kilogram of buck, doe, male and female kids, respectively. Smallholder goat enterprise was profitable in the study area because the Benefit-Cost Ratio (BCR) showed that every ₦100 invested per goat yielded ₦34.00 more and above the money invested. The multiple regression model analysis showed that management practice (P < 0.01), gender (P < 0.1), age of cost of medication (P < 0.01) and flock size (P < 0.05) significantly influence the profitability of smallholder goat production in the study area. The result of Likert's scale indicated that 66.8 % of the consumers preferred goat meat to other meats because of its availability (56.8 %) and taste (22.3 %). Therefore, it is recommended that efforts should be put into commercializing goat enterprise in the tropics using the intensive system.

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This study investigated the determinants of adoption of improved processing technology among the catfish producer-processors in South Western Nigeria. Ninety (90) catfish producers were selected randomly and total enumeration of 75 catfish producer-processors using the improved catfish processing technology were used. Data were collected using a well-structured and pretested questionnaire and analyzed using descriptive statistics, marketing margin and logit regression. The results showed sex distribution of the catfish producers and producer-processors were dominated by male, 75.6% and 76.0% respectively with the male producerprocessors more prone to using the improved technology than their female counterparts. Majority of the producers-processors (93.3%) were using the charcoal powered improved catfish processing technology. The mean ages of the producers and producers-processors were 44.6±13.4 and 35.8±11.3 years, respectively. An analysis of the factors influencing the adoption of the improved catfish processing technology showed that access to credit, membership in association and awareness significantly predicted the probability of the producers adopting the improved processing technology in South Western, Nigeria. Credit facilities should be made available to the catfish producers in order to expand their catfish farm and also for them to be able to acquire the improved catfish processing technology.

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