Does Certification Knowledge Matter? Insights into Cocoa Marketing Efficiency Among Licensed Buyers in Osun State

This study examines the effect of awareness of cocoa certification programs on marketing efficiency among Licensed Buying Agents (LBAs) in Osun State, Nigeria. As key intermediaries in the cocoa value chain, LBAs significantly influence cocoa quality and pricing, yet many operate with limited knowledge of certification standards such as UTZ and Rainforest Alliance. A total of 120 LBAs, both certified and uncertified, were selected using multistage sampling. Descriptive statistics were used to assess levels of awareness and socioeconomic characteristics, while the fractional response model (FRM) was employed to estimate the impact of awareness on marketing efficiency. Results show that while 68% of LBAs had heard of certification programs, only 38% possessed operational knowledge of compliance requirements. The result from the fractional response model revealed that awareness about certification and access to credit had a positive effect on marketing efficiency, with marginal effects of 0.033 and 0.0082, respectively, and both were statistically significant at 1%. This shows that certification awareness has a positive and statistically significant effect on marketing efficiency. Certified LBAs exhibited higher average marketing efficiency compared to their uncertified counterparts. The study concludes that awareness of certification programs enhances marketing efficiency and recommends targeted outreach, training, and policy incentives to bridge the knowledge gap and promote wider adoption of certification practices among LBAs.