Poverty and Inequality Nexus: Illustrations with Nigerian Data

The main aim of this paper is to explore the link between poverty and inequality. In developing countries, there is a general consensus that high inequality can dampen significantly the impact of economic performance on poverty. In this paper, we propose a new theoretical framework that links poverty and inequality. We also show between and within group inequalities, as well as inequality in income sources, can contribute to total poverty. The methodology of the paper is illustrated using the 2004 Nigerian national living standard survey.Poverty, Inequality

Rural Non-Farm Incomes and Poverty Reduction in Nigeria

The study examines some of the factors which determine the type of non-agricultural activities in rural Nigeria an individual engages in. It is argued that diversification from subsistence farming and support for rural on-farm employment opportunities could be poverty-reducing. It has been noticed that an increase in foreign remittances reduces the incidence, depth and severity of poverty in developing countries. This study considers remittances as a source of incomewhich could possibly reduce poverty in the rural sector of the economy.We focus on the non-farmsector because of its potential for development and poverty alleviation in Nigeria.

Analysis of Profitability of Fish Farming Among Women in Osun State, Nigeria

The simple random sampling technique was employed in selecting 62 farmers drawn from the sampling frame obtained from the list of Agricultural Development Programme (ADP) contact farmers in the four Local Governments Areas (LGAs) of Egbedore, Olorunda, Ede South and Ife Central, which made up the study area. The main instrument for collecting the primary data was structured questionnaire. It is evident from the result is that an average total cost of N371486.35 was incurred per annum by fish farmers while gross revenue of N791242.52 was realized with a gross margin of N 574314 and a profit of N 419756.17. The rate of return on investment of 0.58 implies that for every one naira invested in Fish production by farmers, a return of N1.5 and a profit of 58k were obtained. The multiple regression result revealed that fish output was significantly determined by pond size, labour used, cost of feeds, cost of lime and cost of fingerlings. The study concluded that fish production in the study area is economically rewarding and profitable

Factors Influencing Smallholder Farmers’ Participation in Cooperative Organization in Rural Nigeria

This study investigates the factors that influences smallholder rice farmers’ participation in cooperative organisations. it seek to provide answers to the reason why some rice  farmers join cooperatives while others are reluctant to join or drop out, in spite of the benefits associate with being a member. The 341 farming households was selected through multistage random sampling procedure. The data was collected and analysed using well-structured questionnaire and probit model, respectively. The results reveal among many others that cooperative members have higher income per hectare than the non-cooperative members. Younger and male farmers are more likely to participate in cooperative organization. Farmers with small farm size have the highest probability of participation than those with large farm size. Contact with extension agents and education positively influence the probability of participation.  In order to improve participation in cooperative organization, this study therefore, recommends that female headed households should be the focus of attention of any program aim to increase cooperative membership in rural Nigeria. Contact with extension agents and years of education of the household head should be improved. Programs, strategies and policies that are targeted at the achievement of increase agricultural productivity should be intensified. Keyword: Rice, farmer, cooperative, Nigeria JEL Classification: D02, J54, O12, P1

Explaining Rice Price Shocks in Nigeria: Implications for Policy Intervention

At the microeconomic level, in predominantly agrarian society of Nigeria where majority of the farmers are poor and unable to obtain insurance, price and production shocks would have adverse impact on growth and development. Particularly, there is a growing concern that current levels of rice production will not meet future demand. The general objective of the paper is to examine the key factors influencing rice price variability, and how to address these effects in policy terms. Time series data of price which cover the period of 1990-2004 from the National Bureau of Statistics were used. Coefficient of variation was used in the analysis of variability. The time varying conditional variances were estimated by using a Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroscedasticity model. Coefficient of variation (CV) for rice was calculated as 40.92 %. This value shows that the price of rice fluctuates at important level in the period of 1990-2004. There were price shocks because both the supply of and demand for rice vary widely over time in addition to the effect of some variables, which are not under control of both producers and suppliers. Gross income equals to the value that yield of a product is multiplied by its price. Therefore, a fluctuation in either yield or price affects gross income of farmers. A GARCH based measure indicates considerable time variability. The study suggests policy measures to support research, provide storage and processing technologies

OUT OF POCKET PAYMENTS AND THE UTILIZATION OF HEALTHCARE SERVICES AMONG FARMERS IN OYO STATE

The main question addressed here is the effect of Out of Pocket Payments on the Utilization of Healthcare Services among farmers in Oyo State. A multistage random sampling technique was used to solicit responses from 140 farmers on the type and degree of utilization of the various types of healthcare services available to the farmers, the determinants of Out of Pockets Payments and the factors influencing the utilization of six classes of healthcare services. The distance to healthcare services, frequency of visit by farmers, the quality of treatment, cost of treatment, the availability of healthcare services, type of healthcare services and the method of financing healthcare services were found to significantly affect the utilization of healthcare services among farmers in Oyo State while cost of treatment, quality of treatment, distance to healthcare services and age are the factors determining Out of Pocket Payments by the farmers. The study therefore recommends that efforts should be made to provide accessible primary healthcare service centres such that the farmers do not have to walk more than 1 km to access healthcare services. Also, improved healthcare facilities and competent medical personnel should be provided for the farmers at little or no cost so as to improve the utilization rate by farmers who cannot afford medical care. This will in turn increase the productive capacity of the farmers thereby increasing the GDP of Oyo state and Nigeria at large

Factors Influencing Migration and the Poverty Profile of Migrants in Ilorin South Local Government Area of Kwara State, Nigeria

This study examined the causes of migration and the poverty profile of migrants in Ilorin South Local Government Area of Kwara State. Primary data were collected from a total of 110 migrants using two staged purposive sampling procedure. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics and Foster, Greer and Thorbecke poverty analysis method. The results showed that the average sampled migrants were about 41 years old. Majority of them were male, married and literate. Majority of them had household size of between 6 and 10 members. The study underlined the rural push, owing to low level of income as a major determinant for the process of migration. The possibility of getting job in Tedun was highest for migrants than in any other town in the study area. The period of waiting for job was lowest in Tedun and highest in Agoo than in any other town in the study area. Getting jobs through friends and relatives as sources of employment was highest in Tedun and Nigerb. The study revealed that, low income and better standard of living were the major factors causing migration in the study area

Agricultural Technology Adoption, Market Participation and Rural Farming Households’ Welfare in Nigeria

This study assessed the determinants of intensity of improved rice varieties adoption using the Tobit model and also employed. The Heckman Two-stage model was used to identify the determinants of market participation and its potential impact on farming households’ welfare in three states selected from the three notable rice producing ecologies in Nigeria. A cross-sectional data of 600 rice farmers from the three states were used in the analysis. The Tobit model revealed that the gender of household head, wealth status, distance to sources of seed, household size, membership of any organisation, and educational background positively and significantly influence the intensity of improved rice varieties adoption. Gender of household head, contact with extension agents, educational background, area cultivated to improved rice varieties, and access to seed were positively and statistically significant in determining market participation. Also, the estimated ordinary least squares (OLS) part or the second step of the Heckman model revealed that how peanut acreage, number of bicycles owned, and the dependency ratio could influence the income from farming as a result of improved variety adoption. Therefore, it is recommended that formation of associations among the rural farmers should be encouraged. Access to seed and information about the improved rice varieties are also essential to increase the intensity of its adoption. Programmes that would improve contact with extension agents, educational background and the proportion of area cultivated to improved rice varieties should be promoted in order to increase market participation and generate improvement in rural households’ welfare

Welfare Distribution in Rural and Urban Centres in Nigeria: A Stochastic Dominance Approach

Policy makers are interested in knowing the welfare effect of the many development programmes implemented in rural centres in Nigeria. This study applied stochastic dominance approach to show whether the aggregate welfare in rural centres was better than in urban centres using the household survey data for Nigeria collected by the national Bureau of Statistics. The monetary approach of measuring welfare was adopted and consumption expenditure was chosen over household income following its practicability in a developing country context. Adjustments were also made so as to fit welfare distribution as much as possible. The main findings were that rural centres had better aggregate welfare only for the class of welfare function that is equity loving. For the class of welfare function that is equity and efficiency loving, aggregate welfare dominance of rural centres over urban centres was inconclusive. However, with further imposition of Pigou Dalton transfer condition using the generalized Lorenz curve, rural aggregate welfare showed dominance over urban aggregate welfare. This suggests that redistribution of incomes through rural development programmes may have much more effect on rural aggregate welfare

Analysing Poverty Situation in Rural Nigeria

In spite of increase in the growth rate of the economy in recent times and the huge revenues derived from oil, it is worrisome to discover that Nigeria is still suffering from high level of poverty. The study employs Shapley decomposition approach to address the paradox of whether economic growth in Nigeria reduces poverty or not. The result indicates that the so-called “trickle down” phenomenon, underlying the view that growth improves poverty is not supported by Nigeria’s data. The paper therefore investigates changes and the extent of poverty in rural Nigeria from 2004 to 2010. It examines the contributions of growth and redistribution factors to changes in poverty within the study period. The analysis is based on the National Living Standard Survey (NLSS) data of 2004 and 2009/2010 sourced from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The study reveals that the extent of poverty in the rural sector declined slightly during the second period of study (2010). Decomposition of changes in poverty into growth and redistribution components indicate that both the growth and the redistribution component were poverty reducing but at different magnitudes indicating that the deterioration of income inequality contributes to the worsening of poverty in Nigeria. Equitable distribution of income and pro-poor growth is thus essential for growth to translate into meaningful and rapid poverty reduction