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

The Growth Enhancement Support Scheme: Productivity and Shortcomings among Rice Farmers in Ekiti State, Nigeria

Increasing access to improved farm inputs at a subsidized rate has urgently become the focus of government programmes. This study therefore examined the effect and shortcomings of GES Scheme on rice farmers’ productivity. A cross-sectional data of 160 smallholder rice farming households was selected through multistage random sampling technique from three major rice-producing local government areas. The total number of communities randomly selected was six. The data were collected using a well-structured questionnaire and the objectives were analysed using descriptive statistics and Total Factor Productivity (TFP) index. The results revealed that the average age of the rice farmers in the study area was about 46 years. More male farmers (73.1%) were involved in the Scheme than their female counterparts. Among the registered rice farmers, 58.7 percent received telephone alerts for the subsidized inputs (fertilizer and seeds), but not all the farmers were able to gain access to the inputs due to cash constraint, missing names at the redemption centres, untimely supply, among others. The results from the TFP index showed that the participants were productive. They had an average of 10% net gain from the cost incurred in production. Using the TFP index, it was revealed that rice farmers in Gbonyin local government area are the most (80%) productive among others. It was therefore recommended that timely supply of inputs should be ensured and an efficient monitoring team should be in place to check inadequacies in this Scheme

Effect of Income Diversification on Household’s Income in Rural Oyo State, Nigeria

Analysis of income diversification conceives of diversification in terms of strategies employed to earn cash income in addition to primary production activities from a variety of sources. It is often argued that this is a strategy primarily intended to offset risk. This study focused on analyzing the effects of diversification on household income in rural farming household in Oyo State, Nigeria. The result presented was based on primary data collected from a random sample of 120 households from two Agricultural zones (Ibadan/Ibarapa and Ogbomoso) of Oyo State. Descriptive statistics was used to describe the socioeconomic characteristics such as age, marital status and primary occupation of the respondents while two-stage least square (2 SLS) was employed to determine effect of diversification of income on per household income and income diversification of rural farming household. Results of descriptive statistics revealed that majority of the farmers were married with mean household size and age of 8 persons and 44 years respectively.2SLS showed that number of income source (NIS), share of off-farm income (OFS), Herfindahl Diversification Index (HDI), years of experience and farm size were positively significant to the per capita household income. Selected human capital variables such as years of education, years of vocational training and extension agent contacts have positive significant effect on income diversification of the farmers in the study area.  The study concluded that number of income source and years of education were the major factors affecting per household income and income diversification of rural farming household

Impact of land access and ownership on farm production: Empirical evidence from gender analysis in Southwestern Nigeria

Millions of poor people who live in rural areas and rely on agriculture for a living need secure access to productive land. Gender disparities in access to productive resources, such as agricultural land, remain a major concern, especially in Nigeria. This study therefore, investigated the impact of land access and ownership on farm production across gender in Southwest Nigeria. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select a total of 480 respondents comprising of 240 male headed households and 240 female headed households across the three states in Southwest Nigeria. Cross-sectional data were obtained through structured questionnaire and subjected to statistical analysis such as propensity score matching (PSM), inverse probability-weighted regression adjustment (IPWRA), and instrumental variable (IV) regression approach to control for possible endogeneity that could arise from the data collected. Farm yield of household heads was used as indicator to estimate the impact of land access and land ownership. Results show that most (56.7%) of male and 46.4% of female headed households acquired land through family inheritance. The significant difference existed between farm yield gained by male and female headed households due to their level of land access and land ownership at 5%. The size of the estimated treatment effect indicates a high improvement in the farm yield outcome of male headed households compared their female counterparts. Also, findings show that marital status, level of education, access to credit, and membership of association all had a positive and statistically significant relationship with both male and female headed households’ access to land and land ownership at various levels. This study thus, conclude that there were gender differences in land accessibility and ownership in the study area as male headed households were found to have more access to farm land than their female counterparts. Reliable data on male and female headed households’ access to land and land ownership are critical for providing an accurate picture of female headed households’ land tenure arrangement, improving policy formulation and monitoring progress towards the attainment of gender equality in land access is hence encouraged. Also, group formation and membership should be promoted and encouraged especially among female headed households to enhance their purchasing power through access to credit, and common voice in accessing communal lands

The Growth Enhancement Support Scheme: Productivity and Shortcomings among Rice Farmers in Ekiti State, Nigeria

Increasing access to improved farm inputs at a subsidized rate has urgently become the focus of government programmes. This study therefore examined the effect and shortcomings of GES Scheme on rice farmers’ productivity. A cross-sectional data of 160 smallholder rice farming households was selected through multistage random sampling technique from three major riceproducing local government areas. The total number of communities randomly selected was six. The data were collected using a well-structured questionnaire and the objectives were analysed using descriptive statistics and Total Factor Productivity (TFP) index. The results revealed that the average age of the rice farmers in the study area was about 46 years. More male farmers (73.1%) were involved in the Scheme than their female counterparts. Among the registered rice farmers, 58.7 percent received telephone alerts for the subsidized inputs (fertilizer and seeds), but not all the farmers were able to gain access to the inputs due to cash constraint, missing names at the redemption centres, untimely supply, among others. The results from the TFP index showed that the participants were productive. They had an average of 10% net gain from the cost incurred in production. Using the TFP index, it was revealed that rice farmers in Gbonyin local government area are the most (80%) productive among others. It was therefore recommended that timely supply of inputs should be ensured and an efficient monitoring team should be in place to check inadequacies in this Scheme

Effect of Income Diversification on Household’s Income in Rural Oyo State, Nigeria

Analysis of income diversification conceives of diversification in terms of strategies employed to earn cash income in addition to primary production activities from a variety of sources. It is often argued that this is a strategy primarily intended to offset risk. This study focused on analyzing the effects of diversification on household income in rural farming household in Oyo State, Nigeria. The result presented was based on primary data collected from a random sample of 120 households from two Agricultural zones (Ibadan/Ibarapa and Ogbomoso) of Oyo State. Descriptive statistics was used to describe the socioeconomic characteristics such as age, marital status and primary occupation of the respondents while two-stage least square (2 SLS) was employed to determine effect of diversification of income on per household income and income diversification of rural farming household. Results of descriptive statistics revealed that majority of the farmers were married with mean household size and age of 8 persons and 44 years respectively.2SLS showed that number of income source (NIS), share of off-farm income (OFS), Herfindahl Diversification Index (HDI), years of experience and farm size were positively significant to the per capita household income. Selected human capital variables such as years of education, years of vocational training and extension agent contacts have positive significant effect on income diversification of the farmers in the study area. The study concluded that number of income source and years of education were the major factors affecting per household income and income diversification of rural farming household

Does agricultural cooperative membership impact technical efficiency of maize production in Nigeria: An analysis correcting for biases from observed and unobserved attributes

Publication history: Accepted - 31 December 2020; Published online - 22 January 2021The formation of agricultural cooperatives has been widely promoted as an agricultural development policy initiative to help smallholder farmers cope with multiple production and marketing challenges. Using a nationally representative survey dataset of smallholder maize producers from rural Nigeria, this study assesses the impact of agricultural cooperative membership on technical efficiency (TE). We based our estimation approach on the combination of a newly developed sample selection stochastic production frontier model with propensity score matching to control for possible selectivity biases from both observables and unobservables. We estimate stochastic meta-frontiers to examine TE differences between cooperative members and non-members. Our results reveal that TE levels of members are consistently higher than that of non-members. This calls for continued policy incentives targeted at encouraging farmers to form as well as participate in agricultural cooperatives

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

Impact of Seed Voucher System on Income Inequality and Rice Income per Hectare among Rural Households in Nigeria: A Randomized Control Trial (RCT) Approach

The Seed Voucher System (SVS) was adopted by the Emergency Rice Initiative (ERI) to grant farmers access to certified improved seed, in order to mitigate the adverse effect of the 2008 global food crisis on resource poor farmers in rural Nigeria. This study examined the impact of the SVS on income inequality reduction and rice income per hectare among rice farming households in Nigeria. Structured questionnaire was used to collect Baseline (2008) and post-voucher (2010) data, using multistage sampling procedure. Using Randomized Control Trial approach, 160 farmers out of the 600 rice farmers randomly selected in 2008 received the seed voucher (treated), and others did not (control). The results revealed that poverty and income inequality declined significantly after the intervention. The SVS also lead to significant increase in rice income per hectare. Therefore, the use of seed vouches to grant farmers access to production inputs could actually be a way out of the endemic poverty situation in rural Nigeria and can also be used to redistribute income among rural households in Nigeria