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

An Evaluation of Rural Electrification and Households' Poverty in Ikole Local Government Area, Ekiti State, Nigeria: An FGT Approach

The rural areas in Nigeria have witnessed intense neglect and inadequate rural infrastructural development. This is contrary to the backdrop experienced in emerging cities where the provision of rural infrastructure was critical for improving the quality of rural life and opening up the areas for development. This study evaluated the relevance of rural electrification on households' poverty using structured questionnaire and a multistage sampling procedure to obtain cross sectional data. A total of 114 rural households were randomly selected, out of which 60 had access to electricity and 54 did not. The Foster-Greer-Thorbecke technique was used to evaluate the poverty incidence among the households. The results revealed that the mean age of the respondents was 52years. The mean household size and farm size was 8 and 28.9 percent of the respondents had no formal education with majority engaging in farming as main occupation. The households in electrified communities spent more averagely, N4,017.90/Month on the alternative sources of energy than their counterpart in non-electrified communities who averagely spent N2,890.90/Month. The results further revealed that households in non-electrified communities were poorer than their counterpart in electrified communities. Therefore, rural electrification can actually curb poverty and improve standard of living in rural Nigerian areas. Keywords: Electrification, Households, Infrastructure, Poverty, Rural Nigeria    JEL Classifications: I32, O18, R

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