摘要
The survey was carried out in Ekiti, Oyo, Ogun, Ondo, and Osun states located in SW Nigeria. The respondents for the study include thirty marketers and thirty producers of African walnut randomly selected within each of the state, making a total of 60 respondents per state and 300 for the five states. Two sets of structured questionnaires were designed, one for each eatergory of the respondents. The questionnaires were designed to solicit information on demographic characteristics of the producers and marketers of African walnut, production and marketing challenges of the walnut, price trend along the marketing chain, and interraction and relationships of the middlemen. The questionnaires were administered through individual and focus group methods. Also, indepth interview of the respondents was conducted to supplement data obtained from the questionnaires. Purposive sampling method was used to select local markets where the walnut were sold for study of the price trend of the walnut for two seasons （from 2007 to 2008）. Marketing of the walnut started with farmers that plant the perennial climber on their farmland, while the marketing intermediaries include the village merchants, wholesalers, and the retailers. Adult male dominated the production sector of African walnut while processing and marketing the nuts were mostly done by the women and children. There is high demand for the walnut as delicacy and snack; although industrial usage is yet to be fully developed. Marketing of the cooked nuts and at retail quantity had the highest profit along the marketing chain. There is need for expansion of the current scale of production of the walnut to meet increasing demand. Provision of appropriate storage facilities to prevent spoilage of the product in rural areas and good rural road network for easy conveyance to urban markets where it is majorly consumed is pertinent for marketing of the walnut.
