Oluwakemi Adeola Obayelu

Saving Behavior of Rural Households in Kwara State, Nigeria

Savings are very imperative for supporting and developing rural enterprises. The inability of households to save over time can significantly influence the rate and sustainability of capital accumulation and economic growth in developing countries This research therefore assessed the level of savings and its correlates in rural areas of Kwara state, Nigeria. Data were obtained using multi-stage sampling techniques and analyzed using descriptive statistics the tobit regression model. The result showed that rural enterpreneurs (81.0 percent) were mostly male-headed and the household heads (73.5 percent) that combine farming with other non-farm activities had higher income and savings compare to household heads with only one source of livelihood. Also, most household heads spent their income on food and majority (88.7 percent) saves for investment purposes but their average monthly savings was less than five thousand naira. The result further showed age squared (p

Inequality, Polarization and Poverty in Nigeria

This study examines the impact of zonal differences on the distribution of per capita expenditure in terms of polarization, inequality and poverty. Data sources include the NCS 1996 and NLSS 2004. Analytical techniques used include Gini index and selected measures of polarization Dimensions around which polarization have taken place were analyzed following the identification-alienation framework. Simulation method was used to measure the impact of alternative policy measures on the level of poverty, inequality and polarization. The study reveals decline in the level of inequality and polarization in Nigeria Increasing level of identification indicates emerging level of bipolarization. The main dimensions of increasing polarization include zone, secondary education, unemployed people, sector and gender. It is inferred that intra zonal inequality-reducing policies will be more effective and efficient at reducing poverty. Egalitarian focused polices are suggested to reduce differences between polarization dimensions in order to forestall conflicts and social tension in Nigeria.

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

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.

Welfare Implications of Domestic Land Grabs Among Rural Households in Delta State, Nigeria

Abstract Rural households are displaced from their lands without any plan in place to resettle or compensate them, for a promise of improvement in their living standards. This has not only resulted in a decline in the living standard of the rural populace, in terms of loss of land and livelihoods, the poor are also further marginalized and impoverished. This study examines the welfare implication of domestic land grabs among rural households in Delta State, Nigeria, employing primary data obtained from one hundred and seventy-three representative farming households. Descriptive analysis revealed that majority were low-income earners and engaged in farming as their major occupation. Econometric analysis revealed land size, secondary education, community leaders’ influence, compensation and the use to which the grabbed land was put into as some of the significant factors influencing domestic land grabs in the study area. Further, the size of land grabbed, no compensation for the use of land and low farm output were found to have negative effects on the welfare of the farmers. Thus, the need to intensify efforts to ensure that the rural populace is not being unreasonably dispossessed of its lands, becomes imperative. The need for commensurate compensation of rural households whose lands were grabbed and periodical checks on community leaders who positively influence domestic land acquisitions arbitrarily also becomes pertinent for improvement in the welfare of the farmers. This is especially so, if these small-scale farmers are to be significant drivers of global food security.

Demand for Selected Fruits Among Students of A Tertiary Institution in Southwest Nigeria

ABSTRACT Increased demand for fruits among students is pivotal to healthier lifestyles and better learning abilities. However, there is a paucity of information on elasticity of university students’ demand for fruits in Nigeria. The demand for selected fruits among students of University of Ibadan, Nigeria, was therefore assessed in this study. A multistage sampling technique was used to collect primary data from 300 respondents using a questionnaire. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Quadratic Almost Ideal Demand System model. A majority (65.3%) of the respondents were females, less than 20 years of age (51%), and were in either their first or second year of study. Only 40% of the students with less than N10,000 monthly stipends demanded for fruits daily. Own prices, age, sex, and stipends explained fruit demand among the students. Expenditure elasticities for pineapple (1.30), orange (1.21), banana (1.07), apple (1.38), and cucumber (1.16) indicated that the selected fruits were luxury goods while watermelon was a necessity good (0.67). Own-price elasticity of demand for all the selected fruits was inelastic while the cross-price elasticity revealed that most fruits complemented one another except for watermelon which was the only substitute to other fruits. The study therefore recommended increased students’ stipends in order to drive daily fruit demand among the students of the tertiary institution.

Market Participation of the Local People in Non-timber Forest Products (NTFPs) in Omo Forest Reserve, Nigeria

Marketing systems for non-timber forest products (NTFPs) have evolved over centuries and are culturally rooted in the traditional practices of local people. Relative to timber marketing, marketing of NTFPs has received little attention. This study assessed the NTFPs market participation behavior of people living in Omo Forest Reserve, Ogun State, Nigeria. Primary data were collected from 192 respondents using a multistage sampling procedure and were analyzed using descriptive statistics and a Heckman model. The decision to participate in NTFPs marketing increases with being a female, larger households, greater number of males and females aged 15–64, higher dependency ratios, and being married. Conversely, it decreases with older collectors, higher educational attainment, engagement in farming activities, higher non-farm income, higher per capita land size and farther market distance. Level of market participation was found to be positively and significantly influenced by being married, income from NTFPs, membership of forest users’ association and forest conservation. It is negatively and significantly influenced by being a male, age, household size, education level, livelihood diversification, non-farm income, transportation cost, per capita land size and average market distance.