Nexus between government policies and performance of small scale bread bakeries in Nigeria

Government policy could compress the small scale business sector in any economy if not giving careful attention, hence, this study assessed the nexus between government policies and performance of small scale bread bakeries in Nigeria. Multi-stage sampling technique was used to sample 107 bread bakeries using structured questionnaire. Descriptive, profitability ratios and linear regression were employed. Profit margin was higher for those that were trained by government, received credit and pay tax when compared to their counterparts who did not benefit from these policies. The regression results showed that none of the policy variables was significant with profit but amount paid for registration, year of business registration and licensing procedure significantly affected assets accumulation. Therefore, this study concludes that for any bakery to commence operation, it must be registered and have a specific standard of assets. Hence, governments should streamline the licensing procedure and also reduce registration amount.Keywords: Government Policies, Small scale, bread bakery, performance, Nigeri

Nexus between government policies and performance of small scale bread bakeries in Nigeria

Government policy could compress the small scale business sector in any economy if not giving careful attention, hence, this study assessed the nexus between government policies and performance of small scale bread bakeries in Nigeria. Multi-stage sampling technique was used to sample 107 bread bakeries using structured questionnaire. Descriptive, profitability ratios and linear regression were employed. Profit margin was higher for those that were trained by government, received credit and pay tax when compared to their counterparts who did not benefit from these policies. The regression results showed that none of the policy variables was significant with profit but amount paid for registration, year of business registration and licensing procedure significantly affected assets accumulation. Therefore, this study concludes that for any bakery to commence operation, it must be registered and have a specific standard of assets. Hence, governments should streamline the licensing procedure and also reduce registration amount.Keywords: Government Policies, Small scale, bread bakery, performance, Nigeri

CAUSAL EFFECT OF CREDIT AND TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION ON FARM OUTPUT AND INCOME: THE CASE OF CASSAVA FARMERS IN SOUTHWEST NIGERIA

This study examined credit accessibility, technology adoption and the impact on output and income of cassava farming households in Southwest Nigeria. Data were collected using structured questionnaire through a multi-stage sampling procedure. Ondo and Ogun states were randomly selected from the six States in Southwest, Nigeria. The next stage involved the random selection of four Local Government Areas from each State. Finally, a total of five hundred and forty cassava farmers were randomly selected from both States. Propensity Score Matching, descriptive statistics and Tobit regression model were employed in the analysis. There were 387 respondents with similar characteristics. Majority of the farmers were males with mean household size of six members. Average area of land cultivated was about 1 hectare. Credit accessibility was higher among the adopters. Credit access had a positive and significant (p<0.01) influence on level of adoption. Cassava yield and income (14.92 tonnes/ha and ₦321,758.00 respectively) of adopters with credit was higher than their counterparts (13.06 tonnes/ha and ₦287,110.90) without credit access. The impact of technology adoption was higher among adopters with credit access. Technology adoption increased cassava yield and income of adopters with credit access by 4.68tonnes/ha and ₦64,945.19 respectively compared with 2.57 tonnes/ha and ₦33,964.79 for those without access. This suggests that access to credit and technology adoption have the potential to transform smallholder agriculture in Nigeria. The study recommends that government should invest more on technology advancement and dissemination among smallholder farmers. Policy measures should also be oriented towards the improvement of rural credit

Commercialization of Urban Farming: The Case of Vegetable Farmers in Southwest Nigeria

Markets and improved market access are critical for improving urban incomes, particularly in Africa. Despite this, participation of farmers in domestic and regional markets in southwest Nigeria remains low due to a range of constraints. One of the limiting constraints faced by farmers is linked to poor market access. This paper analyses the determinants of commercialization of urban vegetable farming in southwest Nigeria. Primary data were collected for the purpose of this study using structured questionnaire. A multi-stage sampling technique was employed for the study. Oyo and Lagos states were randomly selected from the six states in the southwest Nigeria. The next stage was random selection of two urban Local Government Areas from the selected states. Two hundred and thirty (230) vegetable farmers were randomly selected from both states. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics and Tobit model. Mean age and household size of farmers in the area was 41.9 years and six members respectively. Vegetable farmers are smallholders with average farm size of 0.05ha. Average market participation index of urban vegetable farmers was 0.73. Result of Tobit regression showed that age, age squared, farm size, membership of association, years of education, distance to market, heterogeneity index, cost of fertilizer, cost of chemicals and decision making index influenced extent of commercialization. Social capital significantly affects market participation. The study recommends that governments, non-governmental organizations and other development partners should take a pro-active role in facilitating the formation of smallholder vegetable farmer’s organizations and linking then to markets

Production Efficiency of Farmers under National Fadama II Project in Oyo State, Nigeria

The study examines production efficiency of farmers under National Fadama-II Project in Oyo State Nigeria. Primary data were collected from two hundred and sixty-four farmers using multistage sampling technique. The analytical framework used for the study include: descriptive, infrastructure index, gross margin and stochastic frontier production function. Average infrastructural index in the area was 0.42. The gross margin for IDV was ₦445, 968.30 while for IUV for under-developed in Fadama villages is ₦357, 805.00. Gross margin was higher for Fadama II farmers than non Fadama-II farmers in IDV. The mean technical efficiency were 0.69 and 0.59 for Fadama and non-Fadama farmers respectively. The result showed that technical inefficiency of female Fadama-II farmers reduced by 0.19% while that of non-Fadama II farmers by 1.23%. Similarly, extension contact, marital status and infrastructural status reduced technical inefficiency of Fadama-II farmers by 2.8%, 0.3% and 2.6% respectively. Presence of infrastructure of Fadama-II project has imparted on efficiency of resource use among the beneficiary. There is therefore need to improve on Community Driven Development programme like Fadama-II and on coming Fadama-III project or any developmental project, so as to further impart more technical and economic knowledge to farmers