Estimation of Actual and Potential Adoption Rates and Determinants of Improved Rice Variety Among Rice Farmers in Nigeria: The Case of NERICAs

The article used the ATE estimation framework to derive consistent semi-parametric estimators of population adoption rates and their determinants of the NERICA (New Rice for Africa) rice varieties in Nigeria. Empirical evidence shows that the observed sample adoption rate does not consistently estimate the population adoption rate even if the sample is random. NERICA awareness was found to be a major constraint to NERICA adoption in Nigeria. Several socioeconomic/demographic characteristics were found to be important determinants of NERICA awareness and adoption. Among those factors are age, gender, major occupation, year of experience and vocational training. In particular, we have found that the NERICA adoption rate in Nigeria would have been up to 76% in 2008 instead of the actually observed 20% joint exposure and adoption rate, if the whole population were exposed to the NERICAs in 2008 or before. This justifies investing in the dissemination of the NERICA varieties; considering that the 76% is bound to increase significantly in the future as farmers learn more about the characteristics of the NERICAs and become comfortable with their performances.NERICAs Adoption, awareness, Average Treatment Effect, Nigeria, Crop Production/Industries,

Technical Efficiency And Impact Evaluation Differentials Between The Adopters And Non-adopters Of Nerica In The Six Baseline States In Nigeria

The study examined the adoption rate of New Rice for Africa (NERICA), technical efficiency differentials of production of these varieties between adopters and non-adopters and the determinants. It further analysed the impact of adoption of NERICA on area cultivated, output, yield, expenditure and total income of rice farmers in the NERICA baseline states in Nigeria. To achieve the objectives, it employed the descriptive statistics, stochastic production frontier and counterfactual outcomes framework of modern evaluation technique (the Local Average Treatment Effect) to analyse 621 rice farmers across the six NERICA baseline states in Nigeria in 2012. The findings show that NERICA adopters were more technically efficient than the non-adopters. In addition, adoption of NERICA was found to significantly increase the areas of land cultivated, output, yield, household expenditure, per capita household expenditure and total income among NERICA adopters by 1.2ha (p < 0.01), 1998.2kg (p< 0.01), 191.2kg/ha (p < 0.1), N13,222.63≈$66.4 (p < 0.05), N2,015.6≈$10.1 (p < 0.05) and N145,098.7 ≈$728.0 (p < 0.01) respectively despite their high level of inefficiency (39 percent) by the adopters. The positive impact of NERICA adoption on rice yields, poverty status measured by the per capita household expenditure and total farm income of farmers is a clear indication that NERICA has the potential to increase rice productivity, reduce poverty and food insecurity. NERICA adoption rate will rise if more farmers are aware of the varieties in the study. Farmers who had adopted, and government at all levels should therefore intensify their efforts to encourage others rice farmers possibly through the extension agents on the need to grow NERICA varieties so as to increase rice production level, reduce rice importation and ensure a sustainable rice production

Assessing beekeeping potential in Oyo State, Nigeria

This paper investigated the technical efficiency and its correlates as well as the profitability status of honey enterprise in Oyo State, Nigeria. A hundred and twenty respondents were sampled using multiple stage sampling techniques and questionnaire was administered to elicit the needed responses. The non-deterministic nature of producing honey informed the use of stochastic production model to assess beekeepers’ technical efficiency while gross margin analysis was adopted to illuminate how profitable honey production is in the area under consideration. The descriptive statistics revealed important socio-economic attributes of beekeepers in relation to beekeeping while the Maximum Likelihood Estimate (MLE) revealed the technical efficiency deciles of beekers within the production possibility frontier. Result revealed that beekeepers are operating close to the frontier of production using the available resources. The elasticity of production was greater than 1, showing an increasing return to scale of production while the budgetary analysis revealed that honey production is profitable. Consequent on the research outcome, beekeeping enterprise has the potential to generate substantial income, generate employment opportunity and meet the nutritional needs of Nigerian populace

Towards a research agenda on tracking the contribution of agricultural research to poverty reduction in Africa: the case of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture

Like all public organizations concerned with research for development, IITA aims to contribute to poverty reduction goals in the developing world through improved agricultural technologies. IITA’s refreshed strategy articulates a major target of lifting 11 million people out of poverty by 2020. This paper discusses the analytical strategies for tracking the number of people lifted out of poverty through the contributions of IITA’s Research-for-Development (R4D) initiatives. The paper documents the evolution and underlying impact pathways of R4D programs carried out by IITA during the past 45 years and reviews the literature on impact evaluation of agricultural research. The paper then identifies and discusses the challenges, opportunities, and strategies which translate into a set of research agendas for tracking IITA’s contributions to poverty reduction

Looking back and moving forward: 50 years of soil and soil fertility management research in sub-Saharan Africa

Article purchased; Published online: 02 Nov 2017Low and declining soil fertility has been recognized for a long time as a major impediment to intensifying agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Consequently, from the inception of international agricultural research, centres operating in SSA have had a research programme focusing on soil and soil fertility management, including the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA). The scope, content, and approaches of soil and soil fertility management research have changed over the past decades in response to lessons learnt and internal and external drivers and this paper uses IITA as a case study to document and analyse the consequences of strategic decisions taken on technology development, validation, and ultimately uptake by smallholder farmers in SSA. After an initial section describing the external environment within which soil and soil fertility management research is operating, various dimensions of this research area are covered: (i) ‘strategic research’, ‘Research for Development’, partnerships, and balancing acts, (ii) changing role of characterization due to the expansion in geographical scope and shift from soils to farms and livelihoods, (iii) technology development: changes in vision, content, and scale of intervention, (iv) technology validation and delivery to farming communities, and (v) impact and feedback to the technology development and validation process. Each of the above sections follows a chronological approach, covering the last five decades (from the late 1960s till today). The paper ends with a number of lessons learnt which could be considered for future initiatives aiming at developing and delivering improved soil and soil fertility management practices to smallholder farming communities in SSA

The Rural Household Multiple Indicator Survey, data from 13,310 farm households in 21 countries

The Rural Household Multiple Indicator Survey (RHoMIS) is a standardized farm household survey approach which collects information on 758 variables covering household demographics, farm area, crops grown and their production, livestock holdings and their production, agricultural product use and variables underlying standard socio-economic and food security indicators such as the Probability of Poverty Index, the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale, and household dietary diversity. These variables are used to quantify more than 40 different indicators on farm and household characteristics, welfare, productivity, and economic performance. Between 2015 and the beginning of 2018, the survey instrument was applied in 21 countries in Central America, sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. The data presented here include the raw survey response data, the indicator calculation code, and the resulting indicator values. These data can be used to quantify on- and off-farm pathways to food security, diverse diets, and changes in poverty for rural smallholder farm households

An Economic Appraisal of Cocoa Production in Cameroon: The Case Study of Lekie Division

Prior to oil exploitation, Cameroon's major export commodity was essentially agricultural. It contributed for about 80% of the total exports. But in 1978, oil exploitation quickly became the engine of economy growth.  With the presence of oil, the economy of the country still remains greatly agrarian with about 80% of the population involved in agriculture and this explains the important contribution of agro-product (40%) to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Cameroon. The major export crops of the economy are cocoa, coffee and cotton. Statistical evidence indicates that Cameroon is sixth world largest producer of cocoa (ICCO, 2003). However, despite the huge proportion of the population involved in the agricultural sector, the country still experiences poverty with 48% of its population living below the poverty line (World Bank, 2002). In recent years, crop production witnessed serious decline as a result of inadequate institutional capacity and fluctuation in world prices. In response to this, the government in 2001 announced an adjustment programme to revive cocoa and coffee production but this was proven abortive. Since the displacement in 1995 of the National Product Marketing Board (NPMB), the cocoa output has remained steadier rather than shifting upward (ICCO, 2003).This phenomenon has led to drastic reduction of the gain by farmers and deepens the poverty situation couple with the decline in cocoa price at world market. The decline in the world price of the cash crop product rather triggered the international competitiveness of agricultural product and fuggier other macroeconomic aggregates in Cameroon, for example, the debt payment that was generally drawn from the export receipts witnessed and increase and recurring delay in servicing it. This scenario may persist if cocoa production is not adequately taken care off. It should be noted that the cocoa production is treated as extractive industry with fertilization from forest litter. Consequently, traditional methods, inadequate labour result to meaningless yield (about 326kg/ha) and low returns to farmers (Harpooning and Sanders, 2002). Concurrent, other control measures were not productive. This study is therefore investigating the profitability of cocoa production among farmers in Lekié Division in Cameroon. Specifically, the study seeks to identify the major problems faced by cocoa producers, determine the cost and benefit from cocoa production and examine the efficiency of resources used by cocoa farmers in the Lekié Division