Determinants of fertilizer use among small-holder farmers in wetland region of Cross River State.

The study modelled and estimated the fertilizer demand function for wetland farmers in Cross River State. Stratified random sampling method was used to collect cross sectional data from 130 wetland farmers with the help of a well structured questionnaire and personal interview schedules. Ordinary Least Squares Method was used to estimate the specified equation. The results reveal that household size, household consumption expenditure, number of poultry birds kept by farmers, number of goats owned and perceived price of fertilizer have negative effect on fertilizer demand. Education of the farmer, farm size, extension agent contact, farm income, ability to predict rainfall, modern communication facilities, output of maize and mixed cropping in combination with maize have positive influence on fertilizer demand. Also policies that reduce production constraints and household size were recommended. In addition, policies that strengthen the present extension programme and improve rural infrastructures would help to reduce production cost while increasing fertilizer demand and farmers wellbeing.KEY WORD: Fertilizer, Wetland, Farmer, Demand, Polic

Relative price variability of grains and inflation rate movement in Nigeria.

The study estimated the functional relationship between relative price variability of grains and inflation rate in Nigeria. The study also estimated price instability indices for major grains and also investigated the impact of government stability and instability on relative price variability of grains in Nigeria. Data were obtained from various publications of Central Bank of Nigeria which covered the period, 1970 to 2007. Ordinary Least Squares method was used to estimate the coefficients of the specified equation. Empirical results reveal that inflation has a positive significant effect on relative price variability of grains. The result further showed that major grain crops in Nigeria have high producer price instability indices. Furthermore, the civilian regimes which were a proxy of government stability brought about a negative significant shift in the coefficient of inflation which implies a reduction in the relative price variability. Hence the civilian regime policies targeted at the grain sub-sector were upheld as these will improve the sub-sector performance.KEY WORD: Relative price variability, Inflation, Grains, Instability, Fluctuation

Variances in consumers prices of selected food items among markets in Cross River state

The study focused on the determination of variances among consumer prices of rice (local white), beans (white) and garri (yellow) in Watts, Okurikang and 8 Miles markets in southern zone of Cross River State. Completely randomized design was used to test the research hypothesis. Comparing the consumer prices of rice, beans and garri in the three markets; rice and garri had insignificant differences in their consumer prices while beans consumer prices had significant differences between Okurikang market and the other two markets. The results imply perfect information flow in garri and rice markets and hence high possibility of a perfectly competitive market structure for these products. The reverse is the case for beans market. Policies on increased local production of rice, garri and beans as well as improved marketing infrastructures were recommended as these would help increase sellers profit while maximizing consumers’ benefits.KEY WORDS: price, market, consumer, garri, rice, beans

Gross margins analysis of rice, beans and garri sellers in southern zone of Cross River State.

The study calculated gross margins of rice (local white), beans (white) and garri (yellow) sellers in Watts, Okurikang and Marian markets in southern Cross River State. Analysis of variance technique was used to test for the statistical differences among the gross margins of each commodity in the three markets. Empirical results revealed positive gross margins for all sellers of the three commodities in the three markets. Comparing gross margins of rice, beans and garri in the three markets reveal that rice and garri sellers had insignificant differences in their gross margins while the mean gross margins for beans sellers showed significant differences between Okurikang market and the other two markets. The results imply perfect information flow for garri and rice markets and hence high probability of perfect competitive market structure for these products. The reverse is the case for beans market. Policy on increased local production of rice, garri and beans were recommended as they will help increase sellers and consumers’ welfare.KEY WORDS: Gross margin, Variance, Market, Commodity, Sellers

Sustainable efficiencies in small scale cassava farmers in Oruk Anam Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

This study derived sustainable technical, economic and allocative efficiencies from a set of efficiencies generated from the maximum likelihood estimation of stochastic production and profit functions fitted with data collected from small scale cassava farmers. The study was conducted in Oruk Anam Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. A three-stage sampling method was employed to select choose respondents’ to which structured questionnaire was administered to obtain the necessary information for the study. The result revealed an average sustainable technical efficiency of 81.60%, 30.40% for profit efficiency and 38.40% for allocative efficiency. Results further showed that farming experience, membership in social organization, years of formal education, farm capital and farm size were the positive determinants of sustainable technical efficiency while household size, number of female cultivating cassava, poor farming households and the use of organic manure were negative. In the same Vein, farming experience, education farm size, gender and the use of tillage technology were identified as positive determinants of sustainable economic or profit efficiency while household size and quantity of fertilizer use had negative impacts. Similarly, cassava farmers’ farm size, age, educational level, farming experience, gender and the use of tillage technology impacted positively on sustainable allocative efficiency while household size and the quantity of fertilizer have negative relationships. In order to achieve sustainability of small scale cassava farms, it is recommended that social capital formation should be intensified among cassava farmers. Also, adult education and family planning programmes for farmers should be fine-tuned in the state for effective delivery among others. Keywords: Cassava, Technical efficiency, economic efficiency, allocative efficiency, sustainability

Fertilizer−MFertilizer−manure substitution among arable crop farmers in Akwa Ibom state: empirical evidence

The study estimated the constant elasticity of substitution of fertilizer for manure in arable crop production in Akwa Ibom State. The approximation of the generalized constant elasticity of substitution (CES) model using Taylor’s expansion series yielded a linear equation that was estimated using OLS method. The CES parameters were estimated through a system of coefficients relationship and were later used to calculate the constant elasticity of substitution for each crop enterprise. Empirical results revealed that, waterleaf has constant elasticity of substitution less than unity: while pumpkin and maize had constant elasticity of substitution greater than unity. Increased supply of fertiliser and repackage extension services were recommended as these would help to increase fertiliser use as well as growth rate of crops in the state.KEY WORDS: Arable Crop, Elasticity, Fertiliser, Manure, Substitutio

Assessment of Rice Market Competiveness Using Horizontal Price Transmission: Empirical Evidence from Southern Region of Nigeria

The study examined the horizontal price transmission and market integration between the local and foreign rice market in the Southern region of Nigeria. The study used average monthly prices of local and foreign rice in the rural and urban markets from January 2005 to June 2014. The findings show that, prices of local and foreign rice in the rural and urban markets have constant exponential growth rate of 0.60%. The Pearson correlation coefficient revealed a strong positive relationship between prices of local and foreign rice in both rural and urban markets. The cross-product Granger causality test revealed bidirectional relationship between prices of local and foreign rice in the region. The results of the cross co-integration test revealed the presence of co-integration between prices of the two products. The coefficients of the price variable in the cross co-integration equations for the local and foreign rice markets converge to the law of one price which connotes instantaneous price adjustment and competitiveness. The result of the cross - product error correction model also confirmed the existence of the short run market integration between the two markets. The study established the fact that, price of local rice competes favorably with its foreign counter part and thus a perfect substitute especially in the rural area. Based on the finding, it is recommended that, short term policies should be used to intervene in the rice sub sector in the region. Policies aimed at boosting local production of rice should be encouraged, while value additions in the domestic produced rice should be pursuit vigorously

Adoption of striga (striga hermonthica) management technologies in northern Nigeria

This study examined the adoption of Integrated Striga Management (ISMA) technologies among maize farmers in Bauchi and Kano states of northern Nigeria. It employs a double-hurdle approach to analyse the factors influencing adoption and intensity of ISMA technologies among households, using cross-sectional data of 643 farmers from the two states. The results show that the estimated coefficients of exogenous income and proximity to extension office are negatively significant (P < 0.05), while higher total farm income, polygamous households, past participation in on-farm trials, awareness of the technology, contact with extension agents and access to cash remittances are positive and significant (P < 0.01), and are the most significant factors likely to influence ISMA technologies adoption. Marital status, household size, farm size and access to cash remittances are most significant factors influencing adoption intensity. Maize farmers in the study area who adopted ISMA technologies obtained higher output than the non-adopters, which resulted in a positive and significant effect on their total farm income. Hence, policies targeted at increasing maize productivity through Striga management need to include ISMA technologies as a potentially feasible option. The study recommends actions to improve farmers’ access to financial services to increase their liquidity. Nevertheless, the most immediate action will be improvement in farmers’ access to extension services as they have proved to be a reliable source of information in the rural areas