Benefit Cost Analysis of Ugu (Telfaria occidentalis Hook.F.) Marketing in Bauchi, Nigeria

The study examined the economic analysis of “Ugu’’ marketing in Bauchi metropolis. The study was done by purposively selected four markets based on their popularity and availability of ‘’Ugu’’. A simple random technique was used in selecting the respondents and data was collected through the use of structured questionnaires and were analyzed using descriptive statistics and gross margin analysis. The result revealed that the purchasing cost for “ugu” was 22,000 per head (bunch) and after incurring other cost components the BCR was 1.14 kobo indicating that the business was a profitable venture with a return per naira invested as 0.14 kobo. The result also revealed that most of the marketers were women (64.28%) with majority of them within the active age of 31-39 with a mean age 41.2 years. The majority (66.10%) of the marketers are married with (55.40%) having household size 1-5 persons. The marketers had one form of education or the other with majority (69.64%) having secondary education and 60.71% having marketing experience of 6-10 years. The major constraints encountered by the marketers were perishability and insufficient capital which accounted for 57.14% and 32.16% respectively. Therefore our technology incubation centers should work on a better means of preserving our vegetable. The government and financial institutions should devise means of extending soft loans to the marketers so as to improve their marketing activities.