Regional Disparities in Private Returns to Education: Evidence from Nigeria

This paper analyses a regional variation in returns to education in Nigeria. The paper draws on the latest national survey data in the country- the Nigeria Living Standards Measurement Survey (LSMS), to estimate the private returns to the different levels of education across the two regions i.e. the Northern and the Southern region of the country. The results confirm that not only the two regions differ in the level of educational attainment, but also the private returns to education varies sharply across the regions. The results demonstrate, in line with the theoretical literature, that education premium increases with level of education, and tertiary education gives the highest private returns to education in Nigeria. Private returns at all levels of education are lower in the Northern region. We interpret the regional heterogeneity in the education premium as the evidence of a malfunctioning labour market in the country. Key words: Private return, educational attainment, inequality, regional disparity

Modelling effects of water stress on the productivity of irrigated wheat (Triticum Aestivum L.) in a semiarid condition of Northeastern Nigeria

Lake Chad region is currently experiencing trending issues. Climate change is among the major influencers of these issues that require inevitable consideration for a sustainable ecosystem. Various crop models have been developed and employed in various environmental conditions and management practices, which are cheaper and easier than field experiments. Therefore, crop models could be used to simulate various water management strategies and suggest suitable options. In this work, the FAO AquaCrop model has been evaluated to simulate deficit irrigation (DI) scenarios for wheat crops using data generated from a field experiment. The model simulated grain yield (GY), biomass yield (BMY), biomass production (BMP) and canopy cover (CC) adequately during its calibration and validation. However, its performance in simulating water productivity (WP) and actual crop evapotranspiration (ETa) was low with average r2, NRMSE, model efficiency (EF) and Willmot Index of agreement (d) of 0.58, 11.0 %, -1.40 and 0.69 respectively. The study of DI scenarios using the model revealed that the application of DI throughout the growth stages of the crop could significantly affect GY and WP. The highest GY and WP of 5.3 t/ha and 1.50 kg/m3 were respectively obtained at the application of full irrigation (T100). Increasing DI beyond 20 % depressed both GY and WP significantly. However, increasing the irrigation interval from seven to ten days did not affect GY, thereby improving WP from 1.28 kg/m3 to 1.38 kg/m3. Therefore, applying an 80 % irrigation requirement throughout the wheat growing season at 10-day intervals could save 25 % of irrigation water, a valuable strategy to improve irrigation water use without significant yield reduction. Furthermore, irrigation-related scientists and managers can use the validated model to decide the current and future irrigation water management for similar wheat varieties in similar environmental conditions

Regional inequality of educational attainment in Nigeria

Aims: This article measures educational inequalities between Northern and Southern regions of Nigeria and compare it with the educational distribution within regions.Study Design: A cross sectional study.Place and Duration of Study: Nigeria, 2012.Methodology: Theil Index and Decomposition Analysis.Results: Educational inequality is higher in the North than in the South as 17 out of 19 states of northern Nigeria have higher Theil index than the national Theil index. However, educational attainment and inequality are found to have a negative relationship.Conclusion: Within regions inequality rather than between regions is the main source of education inequality in Nigeria. There is a negative relationship between educational attainment and inequality. It implies that states with higher educational attainment are more likely to achieve more equitable distributions of education

A spatial econometrics analysis of educational distribution and regional income disparities in Nigeria

Understanding the determinants of regional economic disparities is very important for designing an effective policy framework to address regional inequalities and their disruptive potentials.The role of educational attainment in the regional income determination has been well documented in the economic literature.So far, little attention was given to the importance of educational distribution in regional income determination.To contribute in this respect, this paper developed a regional production function model that incorporates education inequality as a determinant of regional income disparity in Nigeria. Using micro data from the recent Living Standard Measurement Survey (LSMS) on Nigeria, we calculate inequality of education using Theil index.Using a cross-sectional spatial econometric approach, we found evidence that equitable distribution of education has significant and positive effects on regional income level. Interestingly, the measure of the education distribution outperforms that of educational attainment in the model.The results also confirm the role of education inequality in accounting for regional income differences in Nigeria.We conclude that investing for equitable distribution of education will be very effective policy strategy, both for improving regional economic performance and regional economic convergence in Nigeria

Alpha amylase and angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitory potential of aqueous extract of Azanza garckeana fruit

Diabetes mellitus and hypertension are common diseases affecting a lot of people. Alpha amylase and angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors are used to treat type II diabetes and hypertension respectively. This study investigated the alpha amylase and ACE inhibitory potential of Azanza garckeana fruits. Phytochemical screening, α-amylase and ACE inhibitory potential of the aqueous extract of A. garckeana fruit was determined using standard procedures. The mode of inhibition of α-amylase by A. garckeana fruit was determined from the Lineweaver-Burk plot. Alkaloids, flavonoids, anthraquinones, steroids, tannins, phenols and terpenoids were present in the aqueous extract of A. garkeana fruit. The percent inhibition of α-amylase  was greater than 50%. The IC50 values were 2.6 ± 0.02 and 0.04 ± 0.09 for the extract and acarbose (standard drug) respectively. The Lineweaver-Burk plot showed that extract Vmax did not change when compared to the no inhibitor (no extract) but the km increased. The percent inhibition of ACE by A. garckeana was also greater than 50%. Its IC50 was 0.625 ± 0.03 while that of the standard drug (captopril) was   0.875 ± 0.07. Thus A. garckeana inhibited  α-amylase and ACE and can be used to treat type II diabetes and hypertension. It is a competitive inhibitor of α-amylase

Projected streamflow in the Kurau River Basin of Western Malaysia under future climate scenarios

Climate change-induced spatial and temporal variability of stremflow has significant implications for hydrological processes and water supplies at basin scale. This study investigated the impacts of climate change on streamflow of the Kurau River Basin in Malaysia using a Climate-Smart Decision Support System (CSDSS) to predict future climate sequences. For this, we used 25 reliazations consisting from 10 Global Climate Models (GCMs) and three IPCC Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP4.5, RCP6.0 and RCP8.5). The generated climate sequences were used as input to Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) to simulate projected changes in hydrological processes in the basin over the period 2021–2080. The model performed fairly well for the Kurau River Basin, with coefficient of determination (R2), Nash-Sutcliffe Efficiency (NSE) and Percent Bias (PBIAS) of 0.65, 0.65 and –3.0, respectively for calibration period (1981–1998) and 0.60, 0.59 and −4.6, respectively for validation period (1996–2005). Future projections over 2021–2080 period show an increase in rainfall during August to January (relatively wet season, called the main irrigation season) but a decrease in rainfall during February to July (relatively dry season, called the off season). Temperature projections show increase in both the maximum and minimum temperatures under the three RCP scenarios, with a maximum increase of 2.5 °C by 2021–2080 relative to baseline period of 1976–2005 under RCP8.5 scenario. The model predicted reduced streamflow under all RCP scenarios compared to the baseline period. Compared to 2021–2050 period, the projected streamflow will be higher during 2051–2080 period by 1.5 m3/s except in February for RCP8.5. The highest streamflow is predicted during August to December for both future periods under RCP8.5. The seasonal changes in streamflow range between –2.8% and –4.3% during the off season, and between 0% (nil) and –3.8% during the main season. The assessment of the impacts of climatic variabilities on the available water resources is necessary to identify adaptation strategies. It is supposed that such assessment on the Kurau River Basin under changing climate would improve operation policy for the Bukit Merah reservoir located at downstream of the basin. Thus, the predicted streamflow of the basin would be of importance to quantify potential impacts of climate change on the Bukit Merah reservoir and to determine the best possible operational strategies for irrigation release. MD ROWSHON KAMAL// HABIBU ISMAIL, MUHAMMAD ADIB BIN MOHD NASIR/ Md Abdul Moji

Sustainability-Based Review of Irrigation Schemes Performance for Sustainable Crop Production in Nigeria

Irrigated agriculture has been identified as an important practice to achieving food security and socio-economic development in the face of rapid population growth and climatic uncertainties. In northern Nigeria, irrigation has long been identified as the key to achieving the much-desired increase in food production to meet the ever-increasing population. However, the existing irrigation schemes encountered several challenges coming from different dimensions including economic, social, environmental, institutional and technological. To attain sustainable crop production, this paper attempts to uncover the underline challenges confronting irrigation schemes in northern Nigeria that cut across sustainability pillars. The findings revealed that irrigation schemes contributed immensely toward achieving food security and improving the wellbeing of rural dwellers. However, the huge investment in large- and medium-scale irrigation schemes have resulted in massive economic losses. This could be attributed to their under-utilization, poor management and abandonment although few ones are performing remarkably well. The study recommends the need to adopt new water allocation and application methods that can improve water use efficiency, users-managers join approach (participatory), effective and competent institutions which include improved monitoring, evaluation and surveillance systems, frequent policy review to suit the situation, law enforcement, and timely sensitization and awareness campaigns

Climate-smart agro-hydrological model for the assessment of future adaptive water allocation for Tanjong Karang rice irrigation scheme

Agro-hydrological water management framework helps to integrate expected planned management and expedite regulation of water allocation for agricultural production. Low production is not only due to the variability of available water during the crop growing seasons, but also due to poor water management decisions, such as not considering the available water for irrigation. Climate-smart agro-hydrological model can be a robust solution for wise water management decisions in a large-scale irrigation scheme to cope with the risk of water and food security under the new realities of climate change. The Tanjung Karang Rice Irrigation Scheme has yet to model agro-hydrological systems for effective water distribution under climate change impacts. The study aimed to develop a climate-smart agro-hydrological model in the context of adaptive water allocation under the risk of climate change for a large-scale rice irrigation scheme. In this study, daily climate variables for baseline (1976-2005) and future 2020s (2010-2039), 2050s (2040-2069) and 2080s (2070-2099) periods were extracted for ten global climate models (GCMs) under three Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) scenarios (RCP4.5, RCP6.0, and RCP8.5). Climate variables then downscaled to a local station using Climate-smart Decision Support System (CSDSS) in the MATLAB environment. Two hydrological models Soil Water Assessment Tool (Arc-SWAT 2012) and Hydrologic Engineering Corps Hydrologic Modeling System (HEC-HMS 4.2) simulated climate change impacts on hydrological processes in Upper Bernam River Basin (UBRB). The Hydrologic Engineering Center’s River Analysis System (HEC-RAS 5.0) hydraulic model used to compute available discharges for the main water conveyance system from the Bernam River Headwork to Tengi River and at the key points in the main canal. The impact of climate change on potential basin streamflow was evaluated using the validated HEC- HMS model. Based on design parameters, the inflow and release patterns for the newly built reservoir were assessed with the need for irrigation water demand and available water for supply under future climate change. Finally, Climate-smart agro-hydrological model was developed using Excel-based Visual Basic for Application (VBA) to analyze and visualize climate and hydrological knowledge for wise adaptive water management practices under new climate change realities. The statistical results of the model evaluation in the watershed both during the calibration (p = 0.014) and validation (p = 0.022) indicated that HEC-HMS performed better compared to Arc-SWAT model. The R², NSE, PBIAS and RSR for HEC-HMS are 0.74, 0.71, 4.21 and 0.37; and 0.71, 0.69, 5.32 and 0.31 while that of SWAT are 0.67, 0.62, -5.4 and 0.64; and 0.64, 0.61, -4.2 and 0.65, respectively during the calibration and validation periods. The projected temperature will increase under scenarios with the largest changes of 1.97 ᵒC and 2.08 ᵒC, respectively for mean maximum and minimum temperatures during the off-season period (January-June) in the most severe scenario (RCP8.5). Projected rainfall may have normal fluctuations, increasing in the main-season and decreasing in the off-season with higher (average increase of 2.4% and decrease of -3.7%) rate in the most severe scenario (RCP8.5). The projected climate patterns indicate that the water availability for irrigation is expected in the future to be more critical during the off-season period. Future streamflow at UBRB decreases in all future periods (2010-2099) during the main and off-seasons. However, the changes is more pronounced during the off- season, with a decrease of -9.14% under the worst-case scenario (RCP8.5). Projected future hydro-climatic variables show that the basin may likely to experience tremendous pressure in the late century (2070-2099) particularly during the off-season months. The analysis of water allocation in the scheme show imbalance between the scheme water demand and the available water for supply across the seasons. The scheme is under-supplied from January to March, and over-supplied from April to June during the off-season. In the main-season, there is shortage water supply from July to September, as well as excess supply from October to December, which runs as waste. Evaluation of the newly constructed reservoir in the area, to store excess water for use during water shortage shows that its capacity is inadequate. Therefore, to have effective water allocation in the scheme, provision of the additional reservoir(s) is highly recommended. The developed agro-hydrological model is user-friendly, can visualize and analyze daily, weekly, monthly and seasonal streamflows at various sections of the river, available water for supply into the scheme, scheme water demand and reservoir inflow/release/storage patterns for the baseline and future periods. The model allows water management authorities to explore water allocation alternatives under new realities of climate change

Modeling Future Streamflow for Adaptive Water Allocation under Climate Change for the Tanjung Karang Rice Irrigation Scheme Malaysia

Spatial and temporal climatic variability influence on the productivity of agricultural watershed and irrigation systems. In a large irrigation system, the quantification and regulation of the flow at different locations of the channel is quite difficult manually, leading to a poor delivery of supply and demand. Water shortage is a crucial issue due to mismatch between available water and demand at intake point of Tanjung-Karang Irrigation Scheme. This study assessed the potential impacts of climate change on basin outflow for 2010–2039, 2040–2069, and 2070–2099 to the baseline period (1976–2005) and used it as input hydrograph to simulate river discharge. A Hydrologic Engineering Corps Hydrologic Modeling System (HEC-HMS) model driven by projections from ten global climate models (GCMs) with three scenarios (Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) 4.5, 6.0, and 8.5) used to simulate the outflow and the Hydrologic Engineering Centers River Analysis System (HEC-RAS) model applied for hydraulic modeling. The projected seasonal streamflow showed a decreasing trend for future periods. The average available irrigation supply for historical period is 15.97 m3/s, which would decrease by 12%, 18%, and 21% under RCPs 4.5, 6.0, and 8.5, respectively. Projected irrigation supply showed oversupply and undersupply to the required supply during the growing season. Simulated discharge could therefore be incorporated into cropping practices to boost the sustainable distribution of water under the new realities of climate change in the future

Application of HEC-RAS model for adaptive water allocation in a Large-Scale Rice Irrigation Scheme

Water allocation is a key component of good water management in an irrigation system. Water imbalance between upstream and downstream has been a major issue at Tanjung-Karang Rice Irrigation Scheme Malaysia. This study applied the HEC-RAS model to estimate water for supply and analysed its allocation to the demand in the scheme. Water demand was computed based on water requirement, effective rainfall and seepage/percolation. Results of R2, NSE, PBIAS and RSR during the model calibration and validation were 0.66, 0.64, 0.94 and 0.60; and 0.65, 0.59, 1.77 and 0.64, respectively. The irrigation scheme was under-supplied from January-March and over-supplied from April-June during the off-season. While in the main-season was under-supplied from July-September and over-supplied from October-December. Similarly, the excess water during the off and main seasons for the period was 40.10 and 52.40 Mm3 respectively. Whiles the deficit water during the same seasons was 52.46 and 53.14 Mm3, respectively. This suggests providing an adequate storage facility, which could store excess water during low water demand and use it in the period of water shortage. The developed model could therefore assist in estimating the over/under-supply with respect to the demand thereby storing the excess for use during the period of high demand. &nbsp