PERFORMANCE OF MICRO-, SMALL- AND MEDIUM- SCALE RICE MILLING ENTERPRISES IN EBONYI STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

The study was conducted to analyze the performance of micro, small and medium-sized rice milling enterprises in Ebonyi State, Nigeria. The specific objectives were to: describe characteristics of rice milling enterprises in Ebonyi State, and estimate and compare the performance of micro, small and medium-sized rice milling enterprises. A two-staged sampling method was employed, combining purposive and proportionate random sampling techniques. 200 respondents comprising of 134 micro enterprises, 57 small enterprises and 9 medium enterprises were selected. Data were obtained using structural questionnaires and analyzed using descriptive statistics and cost and return analysis to achieve the study objectives. Majority of the millers were men at 85%, 100% and 88.9% respectively. The result showed that 65.67% of micro enterprises and 73.68% of small enterprises had secondary education while 88.89% of medium millers had primary education. Majority of the enterprises were located in the urban areas 54.5% and 45.5% respectively. 46.3% of micro enterprises and 45.6% of which were small were not registered while only 11% of medium millers were registered. Majority of micro and small enterprises were less than 10 years, 91.8% and 66.79% respectively. The result on business performance revealed that medium enterprises had the highest total revenue, net farm income ₦33,592.20k a unit (50kg) and high total cost. Results showed no significant difference in average annual sales between the three enterprise sizes.