Market survey on Telfaria occidentails (Ugu) in Ibadan, Oyo state, Nigeria.

This study focused on the factors affecting production and marketing of Telfaria in Ibadan, Oyo state, Nigeria. Data were obtained from Ojo market,in Ibadan with the aid of well structured questionnaires as well as personal interviews. Purposive sampling technique was adopted. Data were analysed using descriptive inferential statistics and marketing margin analysis. Results revealed that women were more in the production and marketing of ‘Ugu’ than men, they were advanced in age and educated. Majority of the respondents operated at low scale due to inadequate access to land and credit facilities. Two types of ‘Ugu’ were identified namely, the Igbo ‘Ugu’ and the Yoruba ‘Ugu’. The marketing margin for ‘Ugu’ was N384.65 per kilogramme. The major constraints identified were high perishable nature of ‘Ugu’ pods as well as lack of storage facility for its vines. There is the need for intervention in the area of improving the shelf life of the ‘Ugu’ pods as well as the provision of adequate storage facilities to minimize post-harvest losses.