IMPACT OF ACCESS TO TRADITIONAL MARKET INFORMATION ON HOUSEHOLD COMMERCIALISATION AND FARM INCOME OF SMALLHOLDER COWPEA FARMERS

The study examines the impact of traditional market information on household commercialisation and farm income in Borno State, Nigeria, using the Uses and Gratifications theory (UGT). A multi-stage sampling method was used, which resulted in a sample of 593 cowpea farmers. Primary data were collected using a structured questionnaire. Inferential statistics (T-test, Chi-square, and propensity score matching) were used to analyse the data. The results revealed that access to traditional market information had no significant impact on both the Household Commercialisation Index (HCI) and farm income of cowpea farmers (P ≥ 0.1 and P ≥ 0.1, respectively). However, when further disaggregated, accessing market information from market agents had a positive impact on the Household Commercialisation Index (HCI) (P ≤ 0.1), increasing it by 4.001%, although this did not translate into improved farm income. Using family and friends as a traditional source of market information improved cowpea farmers' income (P ≤ 0.05), by ₦96,446.012, compared to reliance on radio programs and government extension agents, which had a negative impact on farmers' income (P ≤ 0.05 and P ≤ 0.05, respectively) by ₦75,500 and ₦95,700. It is therefore recommended that, since the farmers' limited education makes them heavily reliant on traditional market information, and traders and middlemen are taking advantage of the cowpea farmers' marketing practices, a more decentralised, user-friendly digital approach should be adopted to break the exploitative behaviour of traders and middlemen. This could be achieved through mobile-based voice and image recognition applications, interactive voice messaging systems, digital farmer cooperatives, and the utilisation of existing social networks such as farmer cooperatives and community centres that provide training on the use of market information through digital platforms.