Sickness and agricultural productivity: evidence from arable-crop farmers in Southwest, Nigeria

Literature argued that investments in the health programs for labour to prevent sickness in farming operations enhances agricultural productivity. This paper estimates a stochastic production function using 240 primary data to analyze the relationship between farmers’ dietary-pattern, health-status and agricultural production efficiency. Study indicated that workdays lost to sickness influenced poor farm-income and productivity and the effect is considerable. Sound dietary-patterns and health status enhances human productivity and farm-profit levels. Moreover, the incapacitating effects of sickness on farm-labour leads to diminishing effects on farmer’s efficiency level. Average value of technical efficiency per-unit of input tends to be higher for healthy farmers than for those affected by sickness. About 79.1% of the respondents spent 85.6% of their farm-proceeds on medical expenses, while 66.8% of the respondents were unable to meet medical expenses from farm-proceeds. Hence, expenditures on health upsets affect the availability of disposable cash income as household financial resources are diverted to pay for medical treatment. Thus, deny farmers inability to procure agricultural inputs that can improve agricultural productivity. Regression results confirm the negative effect of health barriers on farmers’ agricultural production-efficiency. Results suggest that one workday lost to sickness increase farmers’ inefficiency by 0.4%

Explaining the ‘hungry farmer paradox’: Through dynamics of Nutritional Scarcity and Its Determinants among Farming Households in Southwestern, Nigeria

Nutritional depravation (both in quality and quantity) is high amongst the rural inhabitants of Nigeria. The study was carried out to examine the dynamics of nutritional depravation and its determinants among farming households in Southwest, Nigeria. The results indicated that 39.96% households in the region were able to meet the basic nutritional demands the year round, while 64.58% of the male-headed households are nutritionally well off and are able to meet their food requirements. Estimated minimum amount required to meet the basic nutritional requirements of a person (on a weekly basis) was N 451.48 (1 United States dollar = N165), whereas the amount actually spent was N 412.95, indicating a gap between the demand and supply of food items and expected to affect the overall health of the individual in some way or another. The results from the transitory matrix indicated that 44.2% households were nutritionally well off

Persistence of Small Farms and Associated Poverty Levels in Nigeria: Case for Commercialization of Small Farms.

Small farmers are one of the more disadvantaged and vulnerable groups in Nigeria. Studies shown that majority of people living in absolute poverty can be found on small farms with half in this group undernourished and three-quarters of small farmer’s children malnourished. Small farms still dominate agricultural practices in terms of numbers of producers of agricultural commodities. It has been observed that, 74.5% Nigerians population is rural and derived their livelihood from small farms. The question is that these small farms are they going to be a prospering farms or vice-versa? This is the rationale behind this study. Specifically the study looks into heterogeneity in circumstances and diversity in rural livelihoods, the growth of small farms, poverty levels and institutional development facilities available for them was all explore. The index of heterogeneity at 29.1 indicated growth of small farms and about 42% of the respondents were categorized as very poor. The study identified that smallness of farms is not correlated to poverty but the traditionally tried and sometimes fool-proof farming systems. Size of the farms is not the problem, but the operationalization. Evidence from China and India revealed that smallholders are better off in times of productivity. These countries are better in terms of fertilizer consumption, tractor per 100 sq. Km of arable land use and agriculture value added per worker. Conversely, small holder and traditional farmers in Nigeria still use rudimentary production techniques, limited use of improved planting materials and fertilizer consumption, thus suggesting for commercialization of small farms

Exploration of public spending and agricultural growth. Comparative analysis of Nigerian and Malaysian agricultural growth (1970-2010).

Public expenditure in the form of budget is making a provision for development for today and in the future. Over the year’s sustainable budget provisions has been a contentious issue in Economic development. Public expenditure is a fiscal instrument that government uses to sustain the economy. The question is “what is to be sustained” and “what is to be developed”. This is the rationale for this study. Literature has revealed that Nigeria and Malaysia are comptemporaries in terms of development in the 1960s, recent findings revealed that Malaysia is advanced in economic development than Nigeria. The study answer two precise questions: policy settings under which public spending contributes to agricultural growth? and public spending mechanisms that have a clearer and longer-lasting influence on agricultural growth? The study aim to establish a link to public spending in Malaysia and provide lessons regarding the level and composition of public spending that can be useful for Nigeria. Secondary data used and sourced from FAOSTAT and International Monetary Fund's Government Finance Statistics (various issues) from 1970 to 2010. Simple version endogenous growth theory adopted. Government expenditures as a percentage of GDP in Nigeria witnessed massive public funding in Agriculture in the 1960s-1980s but decline in 1990s-2010, while Malaysian experienced consistency, both in public funding in agriculture and growth. Malaysia as the better manager in terms of components of growth than Nigeria. Malaysia reflects a clear predominance of productive spending, which is sustained through the decades of analysis, while Nigeria predominance of unproductive spending

Sickness and agricultural productivity: evidence from arable-crop farmers in Southwest, Nigeria

Literature argued that investments in the health programs for labour to prevent sickness in farming operations enhances agricultural productivity. This paper estimates a stochastic production function using 240 primary data to analyze the relationship between farmers’ dietary-pattern, health-status and agricultural production efficiency. Study indicated that workdays lost to sickness influenced poor farm-income and productivity and the effect is considerable. Sound dietary-patterns and health status enhances human productivity and farm-profit levels. Moreover, the incapacitating effects of sickness on farm-labour leads to diminishing effects on farmer’s efficiency level. Average value of technical efficiency per-unit of input tends to be higher for healthy farmers than for those affected by sickness. About 79.1% of the respondents spent 85.6% of their farm-proceeds on medical expenses, while 66.8% of the respondents were unable to meet medical expenses from farm-proceeds. Hence, expenditures on health upsets affect the availability of disposable cash income as household financial resources are diverted to pay for medical treatment. Thus, deny farmers inability to procure agricultural inputs that can improve agricultural productivity. Regression results confirm the negative effect of health barriers on farmers’ agricultural production-efficiency. Results suggest that one workday lost to sickness increase farmers’ inefficiency by 0.4%

Determinants of farmers’ adaptation to climate change: A micro level analysis in Ghana

ABSTRACT This study analyzed socio-economic factors that influence farmers’ adaptation to climate change in agriculture. Perceptions regarding long-term changes in climate variables and the rate of occurrence of weather extremes were also investigated. Additionally, farmers’ perceived barriers to the use of adaptation practices were identified and ranked. A total of 100 farm-households were randomly selected from four communities in the Lawra district of Ghana and data were collected through semi-structured questionnaires, focused group discussions and field observations. A logistic regression model and weighted average index were used to analyze the data. The results showed that 87 % of respondents perceived a decrease in rainfall amount, while 82 % perceived an increase in temperature over the past 10 years. Results of the weighted average index indicate that dry spell and drought have a higher annual rate of occurrence than flood. Empirical results of the logistic regression model showed that education, household size, annual household income, access to information, credit and membership of farmer-based organization are the most important factors that influence farmers’ adaptation to climate change. The main constraints on adaptation include unpredictability of weather, high farm input cost, lack of access to timely weather information and water resources. The policy implication of this study is that governments should mainstream barriers to, and choice factors of, adaptation practices to climate change related projects and programs