Utilization and Marketing of Bamboo (Bambusa Vulgaris) in Ado- Ekiti Local Government Area of Ekiti State, Nigeria

The study was carried out to determine the utilization and marketing gross margin of Bambusa vulgaris, while examining the constraints militating against its marketing. This is with a view to determining its economic values in Ekiti State, Nigeria, and providing baseline information for increased profit generation. Data were collected through the administration of a semi-structured questionnaire and interviews of 45 marketers of bamboo selected using the snowball sampling technique in the study area. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Gross Margin (GM). The majority (37.8%) of the marketers were between 41 and 50 years, while the least percentage of 6.7% were above 70 years of age. For gender, 95.6% of the respondents involved in the bamboo marketing were male, while the percentage of females was 4.4%. The highest percentage (57.8%) of respondents had secondary school education, followed by primary school education, with 28.9%, and the least was tertiary education with 13.3%. Skills acquisition is through informal training, with 100%. Bamboo was mostly utilized for building construction (scaffolding, pillar support, decking, roofing, frame for doors and windows) with 100%, followed by yam staking with 46.7%, and the least utilization was for ladders with 33.3%. Marketing channel revealed five stages of marketers, from the farmers to the final consumers, while the categories of bamboo marketers are grouped into middlemen, wholesalers, and retailers. Non-availability ranked highest with 100% as the factor influencing bamboo price in the study area, followed by demand with 88.9%, while the least was cost of production with 22.2%. The Average Gross Margin per annum for each marketer was N613,604.89. It was thereby suggested that there is a need to engage in massive plantation of bamboo to ensure its availability all year round. Furthermore, there is a need for a central market for bamboo to reduce the involvement of middlemen at all stages and increase its profitability.