Qualitative data gathered from food supply chain actors in Ondo State, Nigeria

Description

This dataset contains qualitative data collected between October 2023 and March 2024 in Ondo State, Nigeria, as part of a doctoral research project examining food loss at the pre-consumption stage of the food supply chain. The study focuses on how valuation arrangements, such as infrastructures, financial rules, and institutional practices, shape agricultural decision-making and configure food loss among arable crop farmers. The dataset comprises 42 participants occupying different positions within the food supply chain. These include rice, maize, and cassava farmers; agricultural extension agents; agronomists; representatives from federal, state, and local agricultural agencies; media representatives; and statisticians. Data were generated through one focus group discussion (FGD) with nine farmers (five women and four men) and individual semi-structured interviews with 12 additional farmers and 21 non-farmer actors across institutional levels. Participants were purposively selected with the support of agricultural extension officers, who facilitated contact with registered farmers and relevant institutional actors. The farmers involved in the FGD had an average age of approximately 40 years and a minimum of 10 years of farming experience. They cultivated rice, maize, and cassava, the focal crops of the study. Data collection methods included face-to-face semi-structured interviews, a focus group discussion, and field observations during farm visits. Interviews were conducted in English and Yoruba. The FGD was conducted primarily in Yoruba and later translated into English. All interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Field observations were documented in written fieldnotes and supplemented with photographs and short video recordings for contextual reference. The dataset includes anonymised interview transcripts, and translated FGD transcripts. Participants were assigned pseudonyms to ensure confidentiality. Identifying details have been removed or masked in accordance with ethical research standards. The data capture participants’ accounts of farming practices, market access, transport and storage conditions, credit arrangements, extension interactions, and input sourcing. Attention was given to how actors evaluate crop viability, timing, pricing, infrastructure, and risk. The dataset therefore, provides rich empirical material for examining agrarian market organisation, valuation practices, infrastructural constraints, and food system inequalities in a Global South context. This repository supports transparency and reproducibility by making available the qualitative materials underlying the published analysis of valuation arrangements and food loss in Nigeria’s pre-consumption food system.

Institutions

• Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen

  Hesse, Giessen

Categories

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