Socio-economic determinants of cucumber production amidst covid-19 pandemic in Ikwerre local government area of rivers state Nigeria

Abstract

The study was conceptualized to examine Covid-19 impact on the Socioeconomic determinants of Cucumber farmers in Ikwerre Local government area of Rivers State Nigeria. The specific objectives were to describe the socioeconomic characteristics of cucumber producers and identify the challenges faced by cucumber producers due to covid-19 pandemic. A multistage sampling technique was employed in the selection of location and respondents. The data were collected from 120 smallholder cucumber farmers. The primary instrument used for data collected was structured questionnaire. Data obtained was analyzed by descriptive statistics and analysis of variance (ANOVA). Results indicated that the average age of respondents was 40 years. Slightly more than half (55.83%) of respondents were females. Also majority (77.50%) of the cucumber farmers were married, while 97.50% of
respondents were literate. The results further showed that (55.83%) of respondents were medium sized operators owing average farm sizes of 0.8 ha. Sixty-six percent (65.83%) had a household size of 6- 9 persons with an average of 7 persons. Majority (80.83%) had less than 10 years of experience (average experience of 9 years). The challenges faced by organic cucumber producers through covid-19 pandemic were, insufficient fund, lack of access to market, post- harvest loss, cost of transportation,
drop of price of yield, storage facilities, and high cost of input.