Analysis of Socio – Economic Characteristics of Rice Consumer’s in Adamawa State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study analyzed socio – economic characteristics of rice consumers in Adamawa State Nigeria. The population of the study involved all the households in Adamawa State. However, the research used a sample size of 128 House Hold Heads (HHHs) for the work.  Primary data was generated from the respondents through a well-structured questionnaire, but only 120 questionnaires were retrieved and successfully analyzed to accomplish the study.  Descriptive statistics, frequencies and percentages were used to describe the socio-economic characteristics of rice consumers in the state. The result revealed that, majority (62.5%) of the respondents are males, majority (39.1%) aged between 31-40 years and majority (87.5%) were married, majority (50.83%) attended post- secondary education, majority (37.5%) had 6-10 members in their household and majority (41.7%) are engaged in business as major source of livelihood. It also showed that majority (40%) earned at least N50, 000 monthly. Similarly, majority (62.5%) spent N20, 000 monthly on rice. It also revealed that most of the respondents consumed rice on daily basis and purchased up to 25kg per month. The paper reveals that, rice consumers in the area were younger, married, had moderate family size, they are literate, and majority belong to business class and earning moderate income. The study therefore concludes that rice consumption is promising in the area evident from the consumer’s income and monthly expenditure on rice. Despite the great demand potential for rice in the area, it is recommended that, sensitization campaigns on improve patronage of home grown and processed rice will go a long way in increasing the demand for domestic rice.