By Ebe, Felix Edeoa
In the past, collection of f~~elwoowda s primarily for self consumption. In recent years,
filelwood has increasingly become a marketed commodity especially in the urban areas as
a 1-csi110t 1' 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~seliolclsd, etermine the socioeconomic
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 "~IICI ~rirvcsters,w holesalers; 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~~elwootndo vcd l'rom the harvesters to the
wholesalers, rctailcrs and Iinally to the consulners. 'l'lie analysis of the market structure
showed that the harvesters, wholesalers and retailers had low concentration of 0.16, 0.24
ant1 0.1 1 rcspcctivcly. 'rhc mnrkcting margin result indicated tliat middlemen had a
mi~rgin 01'45. 1'%) wliilc the producers s1ii11.c was 54.0'%. '1'1~ prolit analysis showed that
harvesters, had a net profit of #48, 072.00, wholesalers W71, 230. 17 while retailers had
#54. 344. 88. 'l'hc rcsult irlso sl~owcd that 92 % of tlic I~ouscholds used f'uclwood Sor
cooking, 27% lbr Iic:rting, 17% drying while 4% usc i t I'or ironing. l'he socio- econo~nics
cI,aractcristics that all'cctctl li~clwoocls upply signilicantly wcre hoi~scl~olsdiz cs, labour
ti~ne,p riccs 01' the l'i~elwood, cost ol' transportation and age. Also household sizes and
' -.:. . . I;'. ;1,I~l-.?n nll
significantly. Com~iion problems of fi~clwood marketing and consumptions were high
cost of transportation, scarcity 01' fuclwood, bad road, lack of capital, and labour intensive
nature ol' llic trade. lack or space Ihr storage, poor working tools, health problc~iis and
;ltt~xcliot0\1 ' I~;II'II~I'~II IIISC.C~I IISC' . sli~dyC OIIC~~I(~11Ci1t' ~~O VCI'IIIIICIpI~o licies OII povc~~ty
scductio~i~ iccdsto hc scvicwcd so as to iliclidc tlic cncourugcmcnt ol' pcoplc involved in
fuelwood business to gradually source for alternative means of livelihood and hence
discourage them from exploiting trees to ensure sustainable and management of forest
and trcc scsoi~rccs.' l'lic sludy rcco~ii~ilc~ltlacldll ong ot llcrs li)nii;ition 01' coopcrat ivcs,
cstnblislimcnts or forests, inlbr~nation units, maintenance of feeder roads and provision of
altcrnativc cncrgy sources s~lclal s li~t.oscnca nd cooking gas at clicapcr rate.