By Ebe, Felix Edeoa
In the past, collection of f~~elwood was primarily for self consumption. In recent years,
filelwood has increasingly become a marketed commodity especially in the urban areas as
a 1-csi11t 01' incrcasc ill the dcmancl ol' tlic wood procluct by the urban poor. 'l'liis has
encouraged the supply of fuelwood to the urban areas. The study examined the supply,
marketing and consumplion of firelwoocl in Unuga State. 'I'hc spccilic objectives ol' thc
study wcrc 10: descrihc and analyze Ihc mdxting channel and slruclurc, detcrminc lhc
markcling margin and prolikhility 01' litelwood in the hoc~seliolcls, determine the socio-
economic cliarnctcristics of li~clwood h:~rvesters and consulncrs, identify common
problenis being experienced by the people involved in fuelwood marketing and
ccinsitnlption and tnahc recomn~cnclirtions based on the findings of the study. Ninety
ti~elwood harvesters, 90 niiddlemcn (wholesalers and retailers) and 120 consumers were
chosen Sro~n the three agricultural zones ol' the state. 'l'licy wcre chosen througl~ clustcr
random sampling techniques. Primary data were collected through the use of
questionnaires designed differently for fuelwood harvesters, middlemen and consumers.
'['he questionnaires were administcrcd through intcrvicw sclicclulcs. Analytical tools used
were descriptive statistics, ordinary least squares, gini-coefficient, marketing margin and
gross margin analyses. 'I'llc result 01' the study showctl that 76% or the fuelwcwd
Iiarvcstcrs wcrc m;~lcs while 62%) 01' wholcsalcrs and (17%) of rctailcrs wcre females. The
lindings indicated tliat mqjorit~ W"~IIC I~rirvcsters, wholesalers; retailers and consumers
wcre murricd with large lio~tschold sizcs ranging liom 0-10 persons. Also majority ol'
these respondents had low level of education and tlicy earned Pt20,000.00 or less
monthly. 'l'hc tnarkcting channel showed that .f~~elwood tnovcd l'rom the harvesters to the
wholesalers, retailers and finally to the consumers.