Empirical analysis of adaptation strategies used in mitigating flood related losses by rice farmers in Kwara State, Nigeria

This study was designed to gain an insight into the adaptation strategies employed by smallholder rice farmers to mitigate flood losses as well as examine determinants of farmers’ choice of adaptation strategy in Kwara State, Nigeria. Primary data were collected using semi-structured questionnaire administered to 240 smallholder rice farmers who were selected in a three-stage sampling procedure. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and multinomial logistic regression model. The study revealed majority (79.5%) of the rice farmers adopted the planting of early-maturing rice seedling variety so as to ensure early harvest before the peak of rainfall when floods are usually experienced. The least adopted strategy is the change of crop and upland cropping with only 2% of the rice farmers engaging in this. Educational status, past flood-related losses and savings positively influenced the adoption of early maturing rice varieties’ relative to change of crop and upland cropping whereas household size and access to climate information had a negative influence on adoption of change in planting date relative to change of crop and upland cropping (P < 0.05). The study recommends an urgent need to address rice farmers’ continuing dependence on flood plain farming in the study area through enlightening them on the locally adapted coping strategies such as upland cropping and planting of other crops.Keywords: Climate change, Flooding, Multinomial logistic regression, Upland croppin

Econometric analysis of short-run and long-run determinants of agricultural value addition in Africa

The study investigated the effects of trade openness, electricity consumption, education and technology on agricultural value addition growth in Africa. It used data accessed from World Bank Data Base (1971-2011) which were subjected to econometric tests before applying the bound test for cointegration using Autoregressive Distributed Lag model. Results indicated the existence of a steady-state long-run relationship between agricultural value addition and its hypothesized determinants. Finally, technology (0.446) at p < 0.01and electricity consumption (1.695), at p<0.01 were the major long-run determinants of agricultural value addition growth. However technology (Wald stat = -0.551) with p <0.01, electricity (Wald Stat = 0.246) at p<0.01 and education (Wald F Stat = -0.417) with p < 0.01 explained the variation in agricultural value addition in Africa in the short-run. It was recommended that African nations should invest on electricity generation, technology development and skill acquisitions for developing agricultural value chain on the continent.Keywords: Agricultural value addition, Trade openness, Autoregressive Distributed Lag Model, Time Series Modeling, electricity consumptio

Determinants of Rising Price of Yam in Nigeria: Times-Series Approach

With a contribution of up to 71 % to world output of yam, Nigeria remains the largest producing country with rural farmers having yam as second most commonly harvested tuber crop. Given its nutritional superiority to most roots and tubers in terms of digestible proteins and minerals and its relevance as a source of income for the poor majority of rural-farmers, the impo"rtance of yam in Nigeria cannot be overemphasized. There has however been a persistent price increasein yam, as well as other food· commodities, in Nigeria. This study was therefore designed to investigate the determinants of rising yam price in Nigeria over the period 1970-2015. The study relied on timeseries data sourced from FAOSTAT, Federal Bureau of Statistics and CBN Bulletin. Inferential statistics including unit-root test, cointegration and error correction model were employed in analysis. Autocorrelation was present in the model hence necessitating Cochrane-Orcutt approach. Results indicated that variables were non-stationary but became ·stationary after first differencing.At 5% signific.ance level, on the long run, price of yam was determined by annual production (coef.=- 0.8095), GDP (coef.=-3.009) and annual money supply (coef.=:0.829). It is consequently recommended that programmes and strategies implemented to boost food production in Nigeria should be carried on viz-a-viz robust economic planning that keeps the significant macroeconomic variables at optimal levels in order to maintain the balance required for stabilization in food commodity prices. Likewise, efforts should be concerted in putting insurgency in Nigeria under checks considering the ill effect it has on farming and trading activities

Effects of gender-based roles on farm households’ food security status in rural areas of Kogi State, Nigeria

Gender is one of the key issues of discourse among policy experts, research scholars and government as part of the sustainable development goals. In this paper, we examined gender roles in food security among farming households in Kogi state, Nigeria. First, we assessed the food security status of the farm households. Second, the contributions of gender in household security status were identified. A three-stage sampling technique was used to select 120 farm households and data were collected using a well-structured questionnaire. In the study we employed the use of food security index, chi square test and logistic regression analysis. The results revealed that only about 35% of the households are food secure (>2470 kcal/AE/day). The logistic regression model shows that fitted model is statistically significant with the log likelihood of 118.691 and Chi-square of 59.19 (P value < 0.05) with the R2 of 0.61. Household size, access to credit and membership of social groups are significant factors influencing households’ food security status. Therefore, the study recommends that women empowerments should be inculcated into the mainstream of any government policy targeted at ensuring food security of rural households