Agricultural Economics and Farm Management

Inflation is undeniable one of most leading and dynamics macroeconomics issues confronting almost all economies of the world. Its dynamism has made it an imperative issue to be considered. Hence the study examines the factors affecting inflation in Nigeria. Time series data were employed for the study. The data was sourced from the Central Bank of Nigeria and National Bureau of Statistics. Descriptive statistics and cointegration analysis were the analytical tools used. It was observed that there were variations in the trend pattern of inflation rate. Some of the variables considered were significant in determining inflation in Nigeria. The previous total export was found to have a negative impact on current inflation while the previous total import exerts a positive effect likewise the food price index. It has thus been recommended that policies that will set the interest rate to a level at which it will encourage investment and increase in production level could be institutionalized, importation should be reduced in Nigeria such that it will not encourage change of consumer taste resulting to inflating prices, exchange rate system should be maintained at a level that will not impose threat on the Nigeria economy and the domestic consumption of petroleum product should be focused, not only exportation.

Unemployment which has been identified as the major cause of poverty is a worldwide economic problem. Poverty alleviation has been a great concern to developing countries. The economic burden of unemployment on a society necessitates this study. Consequently, this study analyses the Nigerian agricultural growth rate, its contributions, and examines the linkage and dimension of agricultural growth and unemployment rates. Collected time series data were analyzed with the aid of t -test, Duncan Multiple Range test, Granger Causality test and regression analysis. Results showed that Nigerian agricultural growth rate has an inverse relationship with unemployment and re -establish the Cobweb supply theory. In addition, increase in agricultural growth decrease unemployment and thus can alleviate poverty. Consequently, recommending polices to alleviate poverty should focus on increasing agricultural growth.

The study analyzed the economics of using cocoa bean shell (cbs) as feed supplement in rabbit production. Data used for this study was collected from an experimental study of performance of rabbits fed graded levels of various treatments of CBS as feed supplement. Gross margin and dominance analysis were used to analyze the data. The study showed that untreated CBS can be used economically at 100g/kg inclusion in rabbit feed while hot Water treated CBS (WCBS) can be included up to 200 g/kg in rabbit feed. The study recommends the use of hot water treatment of CBS at 200 g/kg inclusion for optimum profitability of rabbit production.

The official measurement and analysis of poverty in Nigeria has historically relied upon the single dimension, consumption based monetary approach with little attention on multidimensional poverty assessment. This study was therefore carried out to assess the multidimensional poverty index of rice farming households in Nasarawa/Benue Rice Hub, Nigeria. The study employed stratified random sampling technique to select 149 rice farming households in the study area. Descriptive statistics, the Alkire and Foster Multidimensional Poverty Index Methodology using two different cut-off points and the Tobit regression model were the main analytical tools employed for the study. The results of the multidimensional poverty index analysis revealed that female headed households were poorer than the male headed households. On the overall, 66 percent of the rice farming households was multidimensionally poor. The study also showed that the rice farming households were deprived in 48 percent of the dimensions. A multidimensional poverty index of 0.32 was obtained for the rice farming households in the study area with varying values obtained for the male and female headed households. The result of the Tobit regression model showed that gender of the household head, health, marital status and membership of association were the major determinants of multidimensional poverty of the rice farming households in the study area. The study concluded that the rice farming households in the study area were multidimensionally poor. It was recommended that the government should give priorities to the development of the rural areas with special consideration for women through the provision of essential infrastructural facilities.

While the poverty implications of off-farm income have been analyzed in different developing countries, much less is known about the impact of off-farm income on household food security and nutrition. Here, this research gap is addressed by using farm survey data from Nigeria. Econometric analyses are employed to examine the mechanisms through which off-farm income affects household calorie and micronutrient supply, dietary quality, and child anthropometry. We find that off-farm income has a positive net effect on food security and nutrition. The prevalence of child stunting, underweight, and wasting is lower in households with off-farm income than in households without. Using a structural model, we also show that off-farm income contributes to higher food production and farm income by easing capital constraints, thus improving household welfare in multiple ways.

The study examined beekeeping activities in Ekiti State, Nigeria. Specifically the study appraised the costs and returns structure of beekeeping activities by beneficiaries of the ESACA scheme, examined the constraints to beekeeping under the scheme and outside the scheme and identified factors that affect beekeeping under the scheme and outside the scheme. A total of 150 beekeeper households were selected; 75 households each for ESACA beneficiary and non-beneficiary respondents across communities popularly known for beekeeping in Ekiti state. Descriptive statistics, costs and returns, regression and Kruscalwallis analyses were employed for data analysis. Beekeeping was found to be more profitable under the ESACA scheme than outside the scheme with returns to beekeeping labour and management of N 128.5 and N 87.0 per hive for beneficiary and non-beneficiary respondents respectively. The pooled regression result showed that the ESACA scheme enabled beneficiary respondents to be more economically viable than the non-beneficiary respondents. The bee-keepers are also faced with numerous constraints including inadequate credit, pests and diseases, bee aggressiveness, bush burning, absconding of bees, theft, inadequate technical assistance and poor market problems. The study therefore calls for that ESACA authority should extend its credit facilities to more beekeepers, need to increase loan sums and other credit facilities disbursed to beekeepers and the discouragement of bush burning by the hunters and other forest users during the dry season.

This study assessed the productivities of prevalent cassava-based farms in the large Guinea Savannah ecology of Nigeria. For the study, 160 cassava producing households were selected across the Kwara State Agricultural Development Project (KWADP) zones and interviewed. The study data were analysed using the Total Factor Productivity (TFP) and the Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression methods. The study findings revealed the cassava/maize enterprise with a 4.4 TFP level as the most popular and most productive cassava-based enterprise. This was followed by the Cassava/Cowpea, Cassava/Maize/Guinea-corn and the Cassava/Melon systems with 4.1, 3.6 and 3.5 TFP levels respectively. The study also revealed that land, labour, educational status of the household head and the fertilizer input significantly influence the productivity levels in cassava-based farms. Therefore, to achieve increased crop yield per cost outlay in cassava-based production systems, the study recommends the enhancement of farmers' access to education and the encouragement of the use of land and labour saving technologies in the cassava cropping systems.

This paper analyzes the determinants of farm household poverty in south-western Nigeria. The paper build on sample survey data collected in 2005. We find that 30% of the households are poor, subsisting below the average poverty line of 1985 naira (1US = 126 naira) per capita per month. The prevalence of poverty is higher among older, small-scale farmers and those who do not belong to any farmers' cooperative group. Econometric analysis shows that households with smaller number, headed by male and educated head are better-off in terms of poverty than their counterparts with larger number, headed by female and uneducated head. Other factors that determine poverty include land ownership, farm size and membership of farmers' cooperative society. To reduce the prevalence of poverty, farm households should be targeted with education and birth-control programmes, in addition to policies geared towards general improvement of agricultural production of farming households.

It is often assumed that shrinking land availability is the main reason for the growing role of off-farm income among farm households in developing countries. Here, we use survey data from rural Nigeria to show that this assumption is not always true. The off-farm income share is 50 per cent, and it increases with total income and farm size, pointing at important complementarities between farm and off-farm income. Econometric analysis demonstrates that poor households face entry barriers to higher-paying off-farm activities. Accordingly, off-farm income tends to increases income inequality. These entry barriers need to be overcome to promote equitable rural development.

Social protection in the form of cash transfer is emerging as a policy objective to solve the problem of poverty and food insecurity in developing countries. However, the extent to which this is feasible is yet to be empirically examined. This study was therefore carried out to assess the effect of the Ekiti State Social Security Scheme (ESSSS) on the dietary diversity of beneficiary households in Ekiti State, Nigeria. The study employed a three-stage random sampling technique to collect data from 200 respondents using a structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, Household Dietary Diversity Score (HDDS) in terciles and the Poisson Maximum Likelihood Estimator were the main analytical tools employed for the study. The result of the Poisson maximum likelihood estimator at p ? 0.05 showed that access to the Ekiti State Social Security Scheme (ESSSS), years of education and total monthly income were found to significantly influence household dietary diversity. The study concluded...

Low labour productivity among farming households have been associated with farmers' exposures to chemical and musculoskeletal health risks. The extent of these health risks exposures among farmers in Nigeria is yet to be addressed by research output. There is paucity of empirical evidence on the effectiveness of appropriate intervention at reducing exposure to these health risks. A randomized control trial approach was used to assign 480 cassava farmers from 24 farming communities to the study. However, 200 farmers were randomly assigned to receive the treatment. The intervention component includes one-time village level agricultural health training and a three-month farm safety mobile text messaging follow up. A peerdeveloped module covering safe ergonomic practices and safe use of agrochemicals was used for the training. The intervention effects were evaluated in short-term (6 months) post treatment. Structured questionnaire, interviews and random farm visit were used for data collection. Exposure to health risks is measured by recurrent self-reported symptoms. Descriptive statistics, ordinary least square regression, and difference-indifference estimator were used for data analysis. Findings showed that during chemical application, 90% of cassava farmers reported exposure to chemical health risks and at least 40% reported exposure to musculoskeletal disorders at other stages of cassava production; farmers' sickness absence is influenced by age, educational level, daily duration of chemical spray, care time and number of ergonomic exposure (p<0.05); every one day increase in sickness absence decreases labour productivity of cassava farmers' by 3% (p<0.01); the agricultural health intervention reduced sickness absence in the season by 1.9 out of 6.5 days (29%) with significant improvement in farmers' agricultural health knowledge and attitude (p<0.01). The study concluded that cassava farmers were engaged in unsafe farm practices exposing them to some health risks which negatively affect their wellbeing. Although, evidences from the study supports that the agricultural health training intervention enhanced farm safety knowledge, attitude and reduced sickness absence in short term, additional research is needed to establish the long-term intervention effects and explore issues of cost effectiveness. Furthermore, there is a need for inclusive agricultural health policy addressing agricultural health information, agricultural health surveillance and agricultural health services for the teeming Nigerian farming population. By casualty, this will enhance farmers' health, shared agricultural productivity and well-being.

Cassava has been identified as Africa’s second most important staple food after maize, in terms of calories consumed, with Nigeria as the World leading producer. This study estimated postharvest loss of cassava along the cassava value chain in Kwara State. It estimated the size of postharvest loss of cassava; analysed the factors responsible and the financial implications of loss; and identified the strategies employed in the mitigation of loss in the study area. A three-stage random sampling technique was used to select 117 cassava farmers whom were administered structured questionnaire to elicit data analysed by the study. Descriptive statistics, Shannon’s diversity index and Tobit regression model were the analytical techniques utilised. The results show that 68 % of the loss occurred at the harvesting. The loss was estimated to be about 3.8 t ha-1. The financial implication was valued at $ 300 ha-1. Analysis of the factors responsible for cassava postharvest loss showed that the...

In rural Nigeria, most households cannot afford food products rich in vitamin A which gave rise to the introduction of bio-fortified agricultural produces. One of these is the Orange Fleshed Sweet Potatoes (OFSP). Although introduced about six years ago, empirical evidence as regards the actual level of adoption as well as its effect on their productivity remains relatively scarce. The analysis was built on a field survey of 183 smallholders in Kwara State, Nigeria conducted in the year 2016. Tobit model and the Heckman’s two stage models were used to model the determinants the intensity of cultivation and the effect of OFSP’s cultivation on the income of the smallholders. Results indicate that almost 87% of the smallholders sampled were into the cultivation of OFSP with 56% of them cultivating it solely for family consumption and its nutritional value. Also, 44% of them put less than half a hectare of their farmland to the cultivation of OFSP. The result showed that aged smallholde...