Perceived Effect of Postharvest and Value Addition Technologies on Cocoa Farmers’ Productivity in Akwa Ibom State

Abstract

The study assessed the perceived effect of cocoa postharvest and value addition technologies in enhancing rural farmers' productivity in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. Multistage sampling procedure was employed in the selection of 114 respondents. Data were generated using structured questionnaire and analysed using frequencies and mean. Results reveal that proper harvesting (95.61%), pod breaking (97.37%), fermentation (96.49%), drying (96.49%), sorting as well as grading (93.86%), packaging and storage of cocoa beans (92.98%) were the technologies available to the farmers. They were not trained on how to make chocolate, cocoa powder and cocoa butter. There was high extent of use of harvesting, pod breaking and drying packages and low extent of use of fermentation and grading packages. The perceived effect of these technologies on the cocoa farmers' productivity included reduction in quantity of waste ( =3.73) improvement in quality of cocoa beans ( =3.58) increased income ( =3.09) increase in shelf life of produce, among others. Accessing and using these technologies were faced with such challenges as high cost of machines (100%), lack of technical knowhow (95.61%) and preference of manual processing (92.11%). The study concluded that postharvest and value addition technologies enhance farmers' productivity. It is recommended that postharvest processes be mechanized, cost of machines for further processing and value addition to cocoa beans be subsidized and trainings on value addition be enhanced.

Causes Of Cassava Post-Harvest Losses Among Farmers In Imo State, Nigeria

“…This implies that with better economic advantage especially in the area of cassava processing techniques, more farmers would be involved, post-harvest losses reduced and the quality of cassava products improved through value addition. This tallies with the work of Maduka et. al.…”

“…The causes of post-harvest losses differ by country. Excess supply, early harvesting, improper processing and storage infrastructure, insufficient market system, excessively high standards for the weight, shape, and visual appeal of farm produce and a lack of expertise about effective post-harvest management are among the factors that contribute to post-harvest losses especially in developing countries like Nigeria (Maduka et al, 2019).…”