Abiodun Elijah Obayelu

Agricultural Response to Prices and Exchange Rate in Nigeria: Application of Co-integration and Vector Error Correction Model (VECM)

Abstract The response of agriculture to changes in relative prices and exchange rates is an important factor in the success of any reform programme in agricultural sector of Nigeria. This study estimated the response of aggregate agricultural output to exchange rate and price movements of food and export crops in Nigeria using available time series data that span about 37 years from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Annual Reports. This study through the Augmented Dickey Fuller (ADF) and unit root test found that the variables used in the model are integrated of the same order.Using maximum likelihood estimation results also shows that the entire variables cointegrated. The results of the Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) for the estimation of short run adjustment of the variables toward their long run relationship showed a linear deterministic trend in the data and that food and export prices as well as the real exchange rate jointly explained 57% of the variation in the Nigeria aggregate agricultural output in the short run and 87% variation in the long run. Total agricultural output responds positively to increases in exchange rate and negatively to increases in food prices both in the short and long run. The significance of food crop prices and exchange rate at 5% and 1% respectively both in the short and long run suggest that changes in these variables are passed immediately to agricultural output.

Assessing changes in the value of ecosystem services in response to land-use/land-cover dynamics in Nigeria

Increasing human activities worldwide have significantly altered the natural ecosystems and consequently, the services they provide. This is no exception in Nigeria, where land-use/land-cover has undergone a series of dramatic changes over the years mainly due to the ever-growing large population. However, estimating the impact of such changes on a wide range of ecosystem services is seldom attempted. Thus, on the basis of GlobeLand30 land-cover maps for 2000 and 2010 and using the value transfer methodology, we evaluated changes in the value of ecosystem services in response to land-use/land-cover dynamics in Nigeria. The results showed that over the 10-year period, cultivated land sprawl over the forests and savannahs was predominant, and occurred mainly in the northern region of the country. During this period, we calculated an increase in the total ecosystem services value (ESV) in Nigeria from 665.93 billion (2007 US

Irrigation Technology and Technical and Resource-Use Efficiencies in Smallholder Urban Vegetable Farming

) in 2000 to 667.44 billion (2007 US

Socioeconomic Determinants of Fruits Consumption Among Students of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria

) in 2010, 97.38% of which was contributed by cultivated land. The value of provisioning services increased while regulation, support, recreation and culture services decreased, amongst which, water regulation (-11.01%), gas regulation (-7.13%), cultural (-4.84%) and climate regulation (-4.3%) ecosystem functions are estimated as the most impacted. The increase in the total ESV in Nigeria associated with the huge increase in ecosystem services due to cultivated land expansion may make land-use changes (i.e. the ever-increasing agricultural expansion in Nigeria) appear economically profitable. However, continuous loss of services such as climate and water regulation that are largely provided by the natural ecosystems can result in huge economic losses that may exceed the apparent gains from cultivated land development. Therefore, we advocate that the conservation of the natural ecosystem should be a priority in future land-use management in Nigeria, a country highly vulnerable to climate change and incessantly impacted by natural disasters such as flooding.

Consumers’ willingness to pay for safe buka foods: A case study of workers in Nigeria tertiary institutions

ABSTRACT Use of efficient irrigation technologies is necessary to increase output of production from farms in or near urban settings. Levels of technical and resource-use efficiency in urban vegetable production with and without motorized irrigation were assessed. Cluster sampling was used to obtain information from 142 smallholder urban vegetable farmers in Lagos State, Nigeria. Of the respondents, 18.3% used motorized pumps and 81.7% used manual irrigation with watering cans. Of those, 61.5% and 35.3% of motorized pump and manual irrigation users, respectively, had grown crops on their land continuously for more than 5 years. A stochastic frontier model indicated that quantities of irrigation (P < 0.01) and pesticides (P < 0.10) positively affected vegetable output; amount of fertilizer used (P < 0.05) negatively influenced productivity. Urban vegetable growers operated at a decreasing return to scale (0.5284). The inefficiency model indicated that male producers (P < 0.01) were more technically efficient than their female counterparts. Technical education (P < 0.10) and years of urban vegetable farming experience (P < 0.01) improved producer technical efficiency. Urban vegetable farming needs to be more technically efficient to increase profitability.

Socioeconomic determinants of profitability of fresh fish marketing in Ogun State, Nigeria

ABSTRACT Fruits are important components of a healthy diet. They are a good source of vitamins, minerals, proteins, and dietary fibers. The study was carried out in the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria with the major objective to analyze the determinants of fruit consumption among students. A multistage sampling procedure was used to select 100 students and data were collected with the aid of a well-structured questionnaire. The mean age was 27 years and 52% of the sampled students were male with a mean stipend of ₦14,511.77 of which about ₦307 is spent on fruit consumption. Apple was most preferred by the respondents due to taste. The regression analysis indicated that marital status, amount of stipend received, parental education level, availability of fruits, and nature of study were variables that significantly determine consumption of fruits among the students. Provision of physical access by giving space to either the growers or sellers of fruits in the University campus and financial access with more stipends to raise what students spent on the average per months will significantly change their fruits consumption pattern.

Assessment of Land Use Planning and Development in Nigeria: Challenges and Policy Implications on Agriculture

Abstract The rising demand for food quality as well as the crisis of food safety in recent years is increasing consumers’ consciousness of the safety of food they consume. This study analysed the willingness of workers in tertiary institutions to pay for safe buka foods using the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta as a case study. The Contingency Valuation Method (CVM) was used to assess the Willingness-To-Pay (WTP) of a total of 250 members of staff in the University including teaching and non-teaching sampled for the study. The respondents’ were selected using a multistage simple random sampling technique. Data were collected with the aid of a structured questionnaire and analysed using descriptive statistics, and logit regression model. The study found that majority of the respondents’ are still within the economically active age group with a mean age of 40 years. The respondents have spent an average length of 7 years working in the University. The commuting time between the respondents’ home and the University is more than 30 min. Almost half of the respondents (46.8%) perceived foods from buka to be very unsafe for consumption. More than half (69.2%) of the respondents confirmed to have had food related ailments among which 57.8% were able to trace the ailment back to the buka foods they ate. An appreciable number of the respondents (83.2%) were willing to pay for the safety of buka foods with a mean WTP of ₦32.5 (

Effects of Climate Change on Food and Human Security in Nigeria

0.16) per plate on any of the buka foods reflecting the prevailing situations in Nigeria and valid exchange rates at the time the data were collected in 2015. The logit regression analysis revealed that bid amount, income, household size and commuting time were the significant factors influencing the probability of respondents’ WTP for buka foods safety. The study concludes that WTP for safe buka foods among the respondents is positive and recommends that the government through her regulatory agencies should help to enforce the necessary standards procedures that buka foods operators will follow to ensure the safety procedures. Buka foods operators on the other hands should abide to the set standards as consumers are willing to pay more to ensure that they consume safe food. The respondents should also be encouraged to maintain small household size so that they will be able to pay more for the safety offoods they consume as smaller household size tends to reduce their financial responsibility.

The Effects of External Debt Management on Sustainable Economic Growth and Development: Lessons from Nigeria

Purpose - – The purpose of this paper is to examine the socioeconomic determinants of profitability of fresh fish marketing in Ogun State, Nigeria. Design/methodology/approach - – The study was a cross-sectional survey of 120 fresh fish marketers selected randomly from four major fish markets in Ado-Odo Local Government area of Ogun State, Nigeria. Data were collected using structured questionnaire which was designed to solicit information on the marketers’ socioeconomic and marketing characteristics, operating costs and returns, and problems associated with fish marketing in the study area. A combination of descriptive statistics, marketing margin, budgetary and ordinary least square regression analyses were employed to analyze the study data. Findings - – The study showed that female (85.8 percent) dominated fresh fish marketing. The percent marketing margin of fresh fish was 34.55 percent. The percent marketing investment of 20,906.03, 20,453 per month and 1.43 were realized, respectively. The result of the regression analysis revealed that profit from fresh fish was significantly determined by education, proportion of household members involved in fresh fish marketing, marketers experience, capital, number of sales outlet and purchase price. Research limitations/implications - – The findings was based on information supplied by the fresh fish marketers in the study area based on the authors memory recall since most of the respondents do not have diary where records of activities were kept before the survey. Practical implications - – This study contributes to the existing literature in fish marketing and will provide empirical information to policy makers in the formulation of appropriate policies. It will also serve as a guide to practicing and prospective fresh fish marketers and to researchers who may investigate further into the subject matter. Social implications - – The social implications from the findings on the return on investment of 1.43 implies that for every one naira invested by fresh fish marketers, a return of 1.43 and a profit of 0.43 were obtained. The study concludes that fresh fish marketing is an economically rewarding and profitable venture in the study area. It also recommends the need to provide credit facilities to finance storage facilities of this group of marketers. Originality/value - – The study is original in nature and revealed the economic status of fresh fish marketing in Ogun State, Nigeria.

Welfare impact of adoption of improved cassava varieties by rural households in South Western Nigeria

The world is facing problems of poor land, water, and waste products management. This has attracted the international, national, and local attentions. This chapter presents a comprehensive land use plan based on the past and present land use planning and management practices in Nigeria and highlights the challenges and implications on agricultural production. It is revealed that land transformation is a common phenomenon in Nigeria. The rising land costs and accessibility to urban land has become a serious issue affecting agricultural production with over 70% of the citizens living on less than US