Files
Abstract
This research examined the potential demand of African breadfruit (Treculiaafricana) by rural households in Udi Agricultural Zone in Enugu State, Nigeria. Specifically, the work determines household demand for African breadfruit; estimates price, income and cross-price elasticities of demand for African breadfruit among other objectives. Sampling technique used was multi-stage random sampling where one hundred (100) households that consume breadfruit were interviewed. Data collected came from mainly primary sources with well-structured questionnaires. Elasticity of demand models and descriptive statistics were used to analyze collected data. From the result, it shows that the household demand for breadfruit is high in the study area. The mean quantity demanded per household per month was 5.08kg. The research findings further show that the demand for African breadfruit was observed to be price inelastic with a value of -0.254. But for income elasticity, African breadfruit was observed to be a normal good and relatively income inelastic with a value of 0.3574. The cross-price elasticity of African breadfruit indicated 0.153 when compared with cowpea as substitute commodity. The results of the study indicated that African breadfruit is sold at a higher price in the study area as there is greater demand for commodity. The research recommends that there is need for more individuals, government at all levels to promote and partake in production of African breadfruit due to high demand of the produce/products in the area.