Value Chain Optimization and Livelihood Enhancement: Exploring Efficiency and Equity in Ginger Production in Kaduna State, Nigeria

The study investigated value chain optimisation and livelihood enhancement by examining efficiency and equity in ginger production in Kaduna State, Nigeria. Although ginger production constitutes a vital agricultural activity with strong potential for income generation and export expansion, the associated value chain remains largely inefficient and inadequately coordinated. The research was guided by a single objective focused on assessing value chain optimisation and livelihood enhancement in relation to efficiency and equity, supported by one research question and a corresponding hypothesis. A descriptive survey design was adopted, drawing from a population of 8,169, from which a sample of 397 respondents, consisting of ginger farmers and middlemen, was selected. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire and analysed with mean and standard deviation to address the research question, while a one-sample t-test was employed to test the hypothesis at a 0.05 level of significance. The results revealed that efficiency and equity in ginger production in Kaduna State are influenced by factors such as access to inputs, infrastructure, finance, market information, cooperative participation, value addition, stakeholder coordination, intermediary roles, and supportive government policies. The study therefore concluded that the effectiveness of the ginger value chain is shaped by a combination of structural, institutional, and market-related factors that jointly determine efficiency and equity outcomes. Based on these findings, it was recommended that government and relevant stakeholders should improve access to quality inputs, affordable credit, and modern processing and storage facilities to enhance productivity and minimise post-harvest losses, while also promoting cooperative participation, regulating intermediary activities, and strengthening access to timely market information to ensure fair pricing, equitable benefit distribution, and inclusive livelihood improvement among value chain participants.