Assessment of Innovation Strategy and Commercialization to Enhance Mango Value Chain: A Case Study of South-Western Nigeria

Abstract

This study assessed the innovation developed to enhance mango value chain. Purposive sampling procedure was used to select one research institute, one university with a commercial farm and one commercial enterprise to determine the level of commercialization of research products and innovations for social and economic development. The selected institutions were Afe Babalola University Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD FARMS), National Horticultural Research Institute and FUMMAN Agricultural Products Limited. Results showed that the factors that determined the quantity of mango produced were; income realised on past production, accessibility to information on better production practices, educational qualification of respondents and size of land cultivated. Notable constraints attributed to low production of mango plantation among the respondents were bad road networks, high cost of pesticides, and lack of credit facilities and shortage of grafted seedlings. Adopters of improved variety of mango had more quantity of production than the non-adopters of improved variety of mango.

Keywords: Enabling environment, Research results, Innovation, Mango and Development