Understanding Market Participation Choices and Decisions of Maize and Cowpea Farmers in Northern Nigeria

Alleviating poverty and reducing food insecurity have received close critical attention from many researchers in sub-Saharan Africa. Farmers' participation in agricultural markets has been seen as a potent strategy for improving their livelihoods. This paper applies econometrics to farm survey data from Bauchi and Kano states as major maize and cowpea growing areas hit by one of the most important root parasites known as Striga to determine the factors behind farmers' decisions about participation in the agricultural market and the volume of their output to be marketed. Relevant data was collected from 600 households in both states and results from the Double-Hurdle model indicated that price and non-price constraints played significant roles in determining decisions on participation in the markets for both maize and cowpea. Household and total farm sizes, price and ease of transportation through access to motorized equipment were positively related to decision to participate in the maize market. However, the volume of sale of traded produce was influenced by location-specific variable which underscores socio-economic and population-related factors favoring market access that are present more in Kano than in Bauchi. Age of the household head and total farm size were significantly related to decision to participate in the cowpea market while results of the second stage of the model indicate that access to mobile phone and location variable affect positively the volume of cowpea sold. The role of price was conspicuous in both produce markets as the main incentive for households' participation. The paper concludes with policy implications aimed at providing better market opportunities to farmers thereby improving their welfare in northern Nigeria and other areas with similar socio-economic and bio-physical conditions in West Africa

A Two-stage Empirical Analysis of Market Participation in Yam-growing Areas of West Africa

The transition from semi-subsistence to commercialized agriculture has been subject of global debates in Africa for more than a half century. This is the reminiscence of the necessity to formulate policies and programs to increase the yields and stimulate the investments in agriculture. Participation in agricultural markets could be a viable channel to transform subsistence agriculture thereby lifting millions of poor farmers out of hunger and poverty traps. Unfortunately, most of the potential beneficiaries are hindered by several factors in their quest to participate in yam market. This study investigated the underpinning drivers of market participation among small-scale farmers in the yam belt of West Africa. Using a multistage random sample of 1,400 households form Nigeria and Ghana, the study tested the hypothesis that factors affecting the farmers' decision to participate are not necessarily the same as those affecting the level of participation. Non-price constraints played a significant role in decision-making concerning market participation. Creation of an enabling environment and strengthening the social institutions should be considered in order to generate adequate marketable surplus to make market participation possible and valuable. Policies that reduce transaction costs and encourage farmers to commercialise their production could be alternatives to price-based policies. Moreover, improving the productivity of farmers will not only increase the likelihood of market participation but also the volumes offered for sale

A Microeconometric Analysis of Household Consumption Expenditure Determinants in Yam-growing Areas of Nigeria and Ghana

This paper provides an analysis of microeconomic factors that explain household consumption expenditure in rural areas using cross-sectional data obtained from 1,400 randomly selected yam-producing households of Nigeria and Ghana. The correlates of consumption expenditure were examined using two techniques: ordinary least squares (OLS) and a quantile regression (QR) approach for a more comprehensive picture at different points of the distribution. Determinants of consumption expenditure are markedly different between the regressions and across the conditional quantiles of the expenditure in both countries. Results further indicate that age, education, and household size were important in explaining consumption expenditure using OLS. However, via conditional QR, the following additional factors became evident: membership of formal and informal institutions, main occupation, family structure, and farm size. Only education was consistently significant in both regressions and across the conditional quantiles, suggesting that responses to investments in education lead to increase in expenditure that will stimulate other sectors of the economy