Bolarin T. Omonona

FARMERS RESOURCE – USE AND TECHNICAL EFFICIENCY IN COWPEA PRODUCTION IN NIGERIA

In Nigeria, the use of stochastic frontier to estimate farm level efficiency effects is still at the rudimentary level and is beginning to build up. Few studies have been undertaken but there is dearth need for more empirical studies on this important issue. This paper presents the analysis of technical efficiency of cowpea production in Osun state southwest Nigeria, using the stochastic production frontier, budgetary and resource-use efficiency analyses. The marginal value products of all the resources used are less than their prices (MVP

Household poverty and inequality: the implication of migrants’ remittances in Nigeria

This article examines the nature of migrant remittances and the amount by which income poverty and inequality will be reduced given migrants’ remittances. We used the living standard survey (NLSS) data set produced by the government of Nigeria to help track poverty reduction progress. The unit of analysis was the household, upon which information on remittances was analysed. From the results, 94% of households received remittances through internal channels while less than 5% received them through international channels. Remittances alleviated poverty head count by 20% and helped to equalize household income inequality by 25%.

Is increasing inorganic fertilizer use for maize production in SSA a profitable proposition? Evidence from Nigeria

Inorganic fertilizer use across Sub-Saharan Africa is generally considered to be low. Yet, the notion that fertilizer use is too low is predicated on the assumption that it is profitable to use rates higher than currently observed. There is, however, limited empirical evidence to support this. Using a nationally representative panel dataset, this paper empirically estimates the profitability of fertilizer use for maize production in Nigeria. We find that fertilizer use in Nigeria is not as low as conventional wisdom suggests. Low marginal physical product and high transportation costs significantly reduce the profitability of fertilizer use. Apart from reduced transportation costs, other constraints such as soil quality, timely access to the product, and availability of complementary inputs such as improved seeds, irrigation and credit, as well as good management practices are also necessary for sustained agricultural productivity improvements.

Resource Use Efficiency among Small - Scale Irrigated Maize Producers in Northern Taraba State of Nigeria

Abstract Inefficiency in the use of available scarce resources has been the bane on increased food production hence low income among the cream of farmers across the nation. The study examined resource use efficiency (with water as the key variable) in irrigated maize production in the Northern part of Taraba State. The study revealed that water was over-utilized in irrigated maize production in the area of study since it had an MVP of less than unity. Multistage stratified random and purposive random sampling techniques involving six wards and eighteen villages were used to select respondents. One hundred and twenty (120) questionnaires were administered on one hundred (120) irrigated maize growers. Only one hundred and seventeen (117) of the questionnaires were retrieved for analysis. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, gross margin and net farm income analyses and production functions. Data were fitted to four functional forms based on the OLS techniques. The Cobb-Douglas (power function) production function gave the best fit. All the co-efficients except those of agro-chemical and education carried the expected positive signs. The specific objectives of the study were to determine resource use efficiency, describe socio-economic characteristics of irrigated maize growers, estimate cost and returns and identify constraints to irrigated maize production among respondents. The study revealed the cost and returns per hectare as N 55, 152.61 and N 105,937.50 respectively. About 73.1% variability in the dependent variable was accounted for by the independent variables. The result revealed that all the scarce resources were not used efficiently hence not to optimum economic advantage. This was attested to by the high ratios (greater than unity) of MVP/MFC for fertilizer, seeds, labour and land and low ratio (less than unity) for the key variable, water. For optimum resource allocation to water about 233% decrease in MVP was required while seeds, labour, fertilizer and land required 92.8%, 87.1%, 71.8% and 98.7% increase in MVP respectively. The estimate of elasticity of production summed up to 0.961 meaning decreasing return to scale. Irrigational facilities such as water pumps, sprinklers, pipes and relevant accessories should be made available to farmers to encourage them expand the scale of production thereby boosting increased food production

Is increasing inorganic fertilizer use in Sub-Saharan Africa a profitable proposition ? evidence from Nigeria

Inorganic fertilizer use across Sub-Saharan Africa is generally considered to be low. Yet, this belief is predicated on the assumption that it is profitable to use rates higher than currently observed. However, there is little rigorous empirical evidence to support this notion. Using a nationally representative panel data set, and with due recognition of the role of risk and uncertainty, this paper empirically estimates the profitability of fertilizer use for maize production in Nigeria. The analysis finds that inorganic fertilizer use in Nigeria is not as low as conventional wisdom suggests. Low marginal physical product and high transportation costs significantly reduce the profitability of fertilizer use. The paper finds evidence that strategies to reduce transportation costs are likely to have a much larger effect on the profitability of fertilizer use than fertilizer subsidies. Apart from reduced transportation costs, other constraints such as timely access to the product; availability of complementary inputs such as improved seeds, irrigation, and credit; as well as good management practices are also necessary for sustained agricultural productivity improvements.

Improved Rice Variety Adoption and its Welfare Impact on Rural Farming Households in Akwa Ibom State of Nigeria

ABSTRACT In this study cross-sectional data from 200 rice farmers were used to examine the various factors that influence the adoption of improved rice varieties distributed by the State Agricultural Development Programme (AKADEP) and its welfare impact on the farmers. The Foster, Greer and Thorbecke (FGT) class of measures was used to determine the incidence, the depth and severity of poverty among rice farming households who are adopters and non-adopters of improved rice varieties. The incidence, depth, and severity of poverty were higher among households who were non-adopters of improved rice varieties. The Tobit regression model was used to determine the factors that affect adoption and poverty. Educational attainment, access to extension agents, access to credit, access to augmented inputs, farm size, and crop yield were significant determinants of adoption of improved rice varieties. The results of the determinants of household poverty revealed that age, educational attainment, extent of commerciali...

Land Management and Food Crop Production in Nigeria

Abstract This paper analyzed land management practices and crop production among farmers in Ikorodu division of Lagos State. A two-stage sampling technique was used to collect primary data from 130 farmers in the study area through structured questionnaires. A combination of descriptive and regression analyses was used to analyze the data. Specifically, a stochastic production frontier based on Cobb-Douglas function was developed to capture inefficiency variables and land management variables. The maximum-likelihood estimation of the stochastic production function revealed that the conventional input (land, labor, planting materials, and implements) increased the output of food crops. In addition, the use of fertilizer, flat land, well-drained soil, and fallowing were positively associated with higher levels of crop output. The production process in the study area is in Stage 2 with respect to inputs productivity. This indicates that there is room for expansion. The study further revealed mean output-oriented technical efficiency of 0.66 for the farmers. Farmers with efficiency index between 0.30 and 0.39 are about 4 percent, those with technical efficiency between 0.60 and 0.69 constitute about 28 percent while about 21 percent have technical efficiency index between 0.70 and 0.79. The study therefore suggested adequate land availability and acquisition pattern, improved production environment to retain farm labor in the rural areas and better access to improved, high yielding crop varieties. In addition, education of the farmers and their household members should be seriously considered.

Economic impact of climate change on Nigeria's agriculture: a conceptual framework

Total impact of climate change (CC) on Nigerias agriculture will be realised through direct and indirect pathways with a secondary effect on the economy. Impact however, depends on the capacity of the sector to manage CC risk and uncertainty. The review reveals sparse literature on this issue for Nigeria compared to the whole of Sub-Saharan Africa, South Africa and the USA. Observable climate attributes and less of extreme events are often modelled over varying assumptions on greenhouse gases emissions within a marginal context. While necessary for policy direction, inappropriate application of a marginal method to a strongly non-marginal context is likely to downplay issues of equity, rights and responsibility.

How Cassava Exportation Policy Affects Household Consumption of Cassava Food Products in Nigeria

This article examined the consumption pattern of households for cassava food products (gari, cassava flour, and fufu) and their substitutes (semovita and yam flour) for the periods before and after the implementation of the Cassava exportation policy using the Almost Ideal Demand System. Data were collected using structured questionnaires administered on 218 households in Ibadan North Local Government Area. The analytical techniques used include descriptive and almost ideal demand system (AIDS), from where own and cross price elasticities were calculated before and after the exportation.The mean budget shares of households for cassava food products decreased after the export policy whereas those of their substitutes increased after it. From the result of the computed own price elasticities, the cassava food products were seen to be more price-elastic after the exportation than before it, and the result of the computed cross-price elasticities shows higher values for the substitutes of cassava food products indicating that there is higher shift towards these substitutes after the exportation than before it. The expenditure elasticities were higher after the exportation than it was before the exportation, with the substitutes increasing at a higher rate than the cassava food products. In the short run, the exportation is a strain on the availability of cassava products for domestic consumption and therefore producers of these products will react to demand signals through increased production that will be sufficient for both the local and export market.

Simulating the Impact of Exogenous Food Price Shock on Agriculture and the Poor in Nigeria: Results from a Computable General Equilibrium Model

Motivated by the recent global economic crisis, this paper simulated the impact of a rise in the price of imported food on agriculture and household poverty in Nigeria using a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model and the Foster, Greer and Thorbecke (FGT) class of decomposable poverty measures on the 2006 social accounting matrix (SAM) of Nigeria and the updated 2004 Nigeria Living Standards Survey (NLSS) data. Results show that a rise in import price of food increased domestic output of food, but reduced the domestic supply of other agricultural commodities as well as food and other agricultural composites. Furthermore, a rise in the import price of food increased poverty nationally and among all household groups, with rural-north households being the least affected by the shock, while their rural-south counterparts were the most affected. A major policy implication drawn from this paper is that high import prices in import competing sectors like agriculture tend to favour the sector but exacerbate poverty in households. Thus, efforts geared at addressing the impact of this shock should strive to balance welfare and efficiency issues.