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Abstract

The study examined Garri processing and marketing amidst COVID-19 lockdown in Ohaukwu local Government Area, Ebonyi State, Nigeria, and specific objectives are to describe the socioeconomic characteristics of the respondents, identify the precautionary measures employed by the processors for Garri processing in the mid of COVID 19, identify the marketing strategy used for marketing Garri in the mid of COVID 19, analyze the cost and returns of Garri processing and marketing before and during COVID-19 lockdown, and to identify the lockdown related constraints to processing and marketing of Garri in the study area. Sixty respondents were selected through multistage sampling procedure. Frequency distribution, percentages, and gross margin analysis were used for data analysis. The results revealed that majority of the Garri marketers/processors were females that are still in their economically active age group, 100% of the respondents were aware of the outbreak of COVID-19 and observed the following precautionary measures during processing; wearing of face mask during peeling (18.3%), maintaining physical distancing among laborers during processing (18.3%), wearing face mask during packaging (18.3%), maintaining high hygiene at processing site (18.3%), and people other than laborers are not allowed to the processing site (18.3%). The rate of return on investment of 30% indicates that the respondents earn 30% profit for every cost associated with Garri processing. The benefit cost ratio of 1.30 which implies that for every ₦1 invested in processing cassava to Garri, a return of ₦1.30 and a profit of ₦0.30 were realized and majority of the farmers depends on their personal savings as capital making their income very low. Majority were wholesalers and most of them sold in market stall during the outbreak of COVID-19. The respondents made more profit during the lockdown because of inflation in prices of staple food. Therefore, processing cassava to Garri is a profitable and viable business and the following were observed as constraints that militated against the marketing and processing of Garri amid COVID-19 lockdown, low demand/patronage (96.7%), border closure (100.0%), social distance order increased processing cost (41.7%), scarcity of laborers because of social distance order (50.0%), lack of access market (25.0%), absence of buyers from the neighboring states (100.0%), increased transport cost (96.7%), and low price (50.0%). It is recommended that Garri marketers and processors should be encouraged to form and participate in cooperatives, SMEDAN should organize periodic training for Garri marketers, government agencies should assist in educating the cassava processing farmers through effective and efficient extension agents.