Farmers’ preferences and perception influencing decision to grow bio-fortified provitamin A cassava

The study analysed farmers’ preferences and perception influencing decision to grow biofortified provitamin A cassava. Specifically, the study  described the socio-economic characteristics of cassava farmers in the study area; identified sources of information on biofortified provitamin A cassava; ascertained farmers’ perception of the key attributes of biofortified provitamin A cassava; ascertained farmers’ preference for biofortified provitamin A cassava; analysed sio-economic determinants of willingness to grow bio-fortified provitamin A cassava, and, constraints that hinder farmers’ decision to grow bio-fortified provitamin A cassava. It was hypothesized that the socio-economic characteristics of farmers significantly influence the decision to grow bio-fortified provitamin A cassava. Structured questionnaire and interview schedule were used to elicit data from 90 cassava farmers in the study area. Data collected were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The result revealed that farmers in the study area were mostly female, married, with a mean age of 50 years, mean years of formal education of 12 years, farming experience of 6 years and a mean household size of 6 persons. The sources of information on bio-fortified provitamin A cassava include agricultural extension agents, farmer groups and radio. The result also showed that farmers perceived bio-fortified provitamin A cassava to be able to make yellow Garri (Cassava granules); have low sugar content. The farmers preferred bio-fortified provitamin A cassava because of its low sugar content, ability to make yellow cassava granules (Garri) which makes it attractive for selling, and contain vitamin A which is necessary to reduce blindness. Poor access to information, poor access to bio-fortified provitamin A cassava stem, and high moisture content were some of the major constraints that affect the decision to grow bio-fortified provitamin A cassava by farmers’ in the study area. The study recommends that farmers should be given easy access to bio-fortified provitamin A cassava stems and extension agents should make more visits to cassava farmers to enlighten them on the benefits of growing biofortified provitamin A cassava. Keywords: Cassava, Biofortified, provitamin A, Farmers, Imo Stat

Smallholder Farmers’ Formal Risk Management Services: Evidence from Southeast Nigeria

Smallholder farmers’ livelihood activities are mainly centred on agricultural investments which are inherently risky. The risky nature of agricultural activities is further complicated by the fact that resource-poor smallholder farmers operate in an environment with weak markets and less than satisfactory financial services. Formal risk management services hold out the expected external intervention for aiding the resource-poor farmers break out of the vicious circle of poverty. Not all formal risk management services are actually tailored to the scope the smallholder farmers. This study therefore set out to examine the formal risk management services employed by the smallholder farmers in southeast Nigeria. A multi-stage sampling technique was adopted in selecting respondents. Out of 504 smallholder farmers selected, data were successfully collected from 494. Functional analysis, descriptive and inferential statistics were used in data analysis. Results showed that 37% of the smallholder farmers employed formal risk management services; 17.68% subscribed to and utilized direct formal risk management services provided by the Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation. There was a sufficiently deficient use of formal risk management services by smallholder farmers in Southeast Nigeria. It is recommended that the Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation should tailor its services to the needs of the smallholder farmers

Profitability of rice production in different production systems in Ebonyi State, Nigeria

Profitability of rice production in different production systems in Ebonyi State, Nigeria was evaluated. Rice is critical for food security in Nigeria, hence, farmers need to make appropriate choices of rice production systems to optimize production and ensure an adequate domestic supply. This study used 2015 survey data from rice farming households. Rice farmers in swamp, lowland and upland rice production systems showed variability in profit. Swamp production systems had the highest return per hectare (29.37%) followed by lowland production systems (20.10%) and upland production systems (13.03%). Poor access to production credit and climate change were constraints to rice production in the area. Rice production using the swamp production system is profitable and would ensure increased production and higher returns to the farmers. It is recommended that farmers should form cooperative groups to enable them to pool resources together to boost their production

Agricultural Production, Renewable Energy Consumption, Foreign Direct Investment, and Carbon Emissions: New Evidence from Africa

This paper explores the nexus between agricultural production, renewable energy, foreign direct investment (FDI), and carbon emissions in Africa, where there is limited evidence on the topic. Relying on panel data covering thirty-one African countries obtained from the World Bank World Development Indicators and FAOSTAT databases, we answered the question of whether agricultural production (proxied by livestock production, fertilizer consumption, and land under cereal cultivation), the use of renewable energy, and FDI increase or reduce carbon emissions. Using the panel autoregressive distributed lag model for analysis, our results show that net FDI, fertilizer consumption, livestock production significantly increased carbon emissions, both in the short run and long run. Meanwhile, renewable energy use consumption significantly decreased carbon emissions, both in the short run and long run. Specifically, a 1% increase in net FDI increased total carbon emissions by 0.003% in the short run and by 0.01% in the long run. Renewable energy consumption significantly decreased carbon emissions, both in the short run and long run. A 1% increase in renewable energy consumption decreased total carbon emissions by 0.16% in the short run and by 0.22% in the long run. Additionally, fertilizer consumption and livestock production significantly increased carbon emissions in the short run and long run. A 1% increase in fertilizer consumption increased total carbon emissions by 0.01% in the short run and by 0.04% in the long run, while a 1% increase in livestock production increased total carbon emissions by 0.20% in the short run and by 0.56% in the long run. The findings call for investment in renewable energy technologies and consumption while advocating for large-scale uptake of climate-smart agriculture, and environmentally friendly targeted foreign direct investments on the continent