Abstract

The study was carried out to ascertain effects of agribusiness functions and experience on small scale maize agribusiness operators’ net income in Wukari, Taraba State, Nigeria. A purposive sampling was used to select four area-markets namely Rafin-Kada, Gindin-Doruwa, Bantaji and Kente markets, where maize agribusiness owners predominantly carry out production and marketing of maize grain. Fifteen small scale maize agribusiness operators were randomly selected from each of the four areas, making a total of 60 operators as representative sample. Interview method and questionnaire was used to illicit response from respondents. Regression results reveal processing, packaging, in addition to sales volume have positive significant influence on operators’ net income, while grading, storage, and transportation functions had positive experience had negative insignificant effect. Model summary shows R-square as 0.969, and adjusted R-square is 0.939 yielding an average R-square of 0.954, implying that 95.4% of the variations in the net incomes of the maize entrepreneurs were explained by the exogenous variables. Results of ANOVA reveal a significant model with P = 0.000, and F*Cal 97.78>F*tab 1.77. Null hypothesis (H0: b = 0) is rejected and the alternative hypothesis (HA: b ≠ 0) accepted since not all the exogenous variables have zero effects. Despite regulating grading, storage, transportation, and financing functions to improve production and sales volume; processing, packaging and sales functions are recommended major criteria for incentive provision by stakeholders given their overriding effects on net income cum shelf life improvement. The study concludes that maize agribusiness is profitable in the study area.

Key words:  Analyses, maize agribusiness, net income, agribusiness functions, experience.