A capability approach to the analysis of rural households' wellbeing in Nigeria

Rural households in Nigeria have been characterized as poor, and with little opportunity for development. Many studies have equated poverty with well being, however empirical literature on well being is less researched. This paper attempts bridge the knowledge gap in the empirical literature of well being studies and specifically the use of the capability approach in its application in the Nigerian well being context which is not as well researched as poverty studies. The study made use of the Nigerian Core welfare indices survey questionnaires of 2006 to provide data relevant to capability well being dimensions. The dimensions include housing, health, nutrition, education, asset ownership/economic, information flow and security. The first part of the study involve developing indices of well being using the fuzzy set in order to generate a composite well being index by the elementary indicators of the well being dimensions. The second part of the study used a logistic regression to explore the variability in achieving the composite well being index value by a set of Conversion factors. The fuzzy set result revealed that the capability to attain a desired state of well being is highest with respect to asset ownership and lowest with respect to security. The logistic analysis shows that the predicted probability of attaining the mean capability well being level increases for male headed rural households, increasing educational level and age of the head, increasing household size, employment in the public sector and residence in any other geopolitical zone except the Northwestern zone.Well being, Capability, Rural Households, Nigeria

Competitiveness of Pineapple Production in Osun State, Nigeria

Pineapple has encouraging potentials for economic development in the country. However, there are little empirical evidences on the Competitiveness and Effect of Government Policies on the commodity. The study therefore assessed the Competitiveness of Pineapple Production in Osun state, Nigeria. A Multistage sampling technique was used in selecting 120 respondents within the study area. The study utilized both primary and secondary data. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Policy Analysis Matrix (PAM). Results revealed that 58.3% of the producers used sucker technique in pineapple production while 46.2% used crown technique. PAM results revealed that the crown and sucker production techniques were privately (N550, 438/ha and N679, 138/ha) and socially profitable (N730, 228/ha and N841, 828/ha) with Sucker production technique having higher competitiveness. Nominal Protection on Input and Output and the Effective Protection Coefficients for the two production systems indicated presence of tax and the producers were not protected by policy. Subsidy Ratio to Producer (SRP) value obtained for crown (-0.16) and sucker (-0.14) techniques and Producer Subsidy Estimate (PSE) value of -0.18 was obtained for Crown and sucker (-0.15) techniques indicating pineapple producers’ income were transferred to consumers and taxpayers which further confirmed that Pineapple production was  taxed by policy. Sensitivity analysis indicated that increase in Free On Board (FOB) price; Farm gate price, Yield and Exchange rate at 20% improved Competitiveness and Comparative advantage of Pineapple production. The study recommends provision of incentive structures that will protect pineapple producers. Key words: Pineapple, Production Techniques, Competitiveness, Policy Analysis Matrix, Osun state

A capability approach to the analysis of rural households' wellbeing in Nigeria

Rural households in Nigeria have been characterized as poor, and with little opportunity for development. Many studies have equated poverty with well being, however empirical literature on well being is less researched. This paper attempts bridge the knowledge gap in the empirical literature of well being studies and specifically the use of the capability approach in its application in the Nigerian well being context which is not as well researched as poverty studies. The study made use of the Nigerian Core welfare indices survey questionnaires of 2006 to provide data relevant to capability well being dimensions. The dimensions include housing, health, nutrition, education, asset ownership/economic, information flow and security. The first part of the study involve developing indices of well being using the fuzzy set in order to generate a composite well being index by the elementary indicators of the well being dimensions. The second part of the study used a logistic regression to explore the variability in achieving the composite well being index value by a set of Conversion factors. The fuzzy set result revealed that the capability to attain a desired state of well being is highest with respect to asset ownership and lowest with respect to security. The logistic analysis shows that the predicted probability of attaining the mean capability well being level increases for male headed rural households, increasing educational level and age of the head, increasing household size, employment in the public sector and residence in any other geopolitical zone except the Northwestern zone

A capability approach to the analysis of rural households' wellbeing in Nigeria

Rural households in Nigeria have been characterized as poor, and with little opportunity for development. Many studies have equated poverty with well being, however empirical literature on well being is less researched. This paper attempts bridge the knowledge gap in the empirical literature of well being studies and specifically the use of the capability approach in its application in the Nigerian well being context which is not as well researched as poverty studies. The study made use of the Nigerian Core welfare indices survey questionnaires of 2006 to provide data relevant to capability well being dimensions. The dimensions include housing, health, nutrition, education, asset ownership/economic, information flow and security. The first part of the study involve developing indices of well being using the fuzzy set in order to generate a composite well being index by the elementary indicators of the well being dimensions. The second part of the study used a logistic regression to explore the variability in achieving the composite well being index value by a set of Conversion factors. The fuzzy set result revealed that the capability to attain a desired state of well being is highest with respect to asset ownership and lowest with respect to security. The logistic analysis shows that the predicted probability of attaining the mean capability well being level increases for male headed rural households, increasing educational level and age of the head, increasing household size, employment in the public sector and residence in any other geopolitical zone except the Northwestern zone

Effects of Wheat and Fish Trade Restriction Policies on Households’ Vulnerability to Poverty in Nigeria

Against the expected trade liberalization policies as enunciated under the World Trade Organization (WTO) agreement, Nigeria currently uses trade restriction policies through tariffs and quotas to protect local producers and ensure self-sufficiency in staple food especially wheat and fish, which constitute 56% of annual food import. However, the general equilibrium effects of restrictive policy instruments are yet to be fully understood especially for the poor and the vulnerable. Living Standard (HNLSS) survey data for 2009/2010 and the NISER’s 2011 Social Accounting Matrix (SAM) were used. An 80% wheat and 50% fish tariff increase as currently implemented in Nigeria were used for the simulations. Data were analyzed using computable general equilibrium (CGE) technique and Vulnerability To Poverty (VTP) measure. Prior to policy simulations, vulnerable rural and urban households in NW had the highest observed poverty (68.2% and 71.2%) while, while the rural and urban households in the south-south zone had the least (53.0% and 45.5%) respectively. The expected poverty was highest in simulation three across vulnerable and non-vulnerable households. Consequently, the ratio of expected to observed poverty indicates that vulnerable rural and urban households have the highest likelihood of sinking deeper into poverty particularly with the combined policies in simulation three. It is therefore recommended that government should strengthen domestic production of food import substitutes backed with strong value addition. Keywords:Computable general equilibrium, Per-capita consumption expenditure, Social accounting matrix, Trade restrictions, Vulnerability to poverty DOI: 10.7176/JPID/50-06 Publication date:June 30th 201

Plantain Value Chain Mapping in Southwestern Nigeria

Understanding relationships, opportunities and bottlenecks in a commodity value chain is crucial to the determination of the contribution of a commodity to economic development. The objective of the study was to Map Plantain Value Chain in order to identify the key players, their roles, value added along the chain as well as constraints. Personal Interview and Focus group discussions were used to collect primary data from the actors along the chain. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Value added analysis. The study identified conventional and peculiar actors such as Input suppliers, Producers, Farm-Gate Assemblers, Market-Arena Assemblers, Insitu Wholesalers, Transit Wholesalers, Processors, Retailers and Consumers. The study revealed tremendous dominance of the Midstream sector in the commodity value chain and that Value addition, volume of trade and geographical coverage indices were highest at the midstream sector. The result revealed also that Plantains were traded mostly in unprocessed form and there was low level of export of the commodity. Producers sold most of their product (55%) at the farm gate.  Horizontal flow of the commodity was prominent among the actors. Value added at processing level was estimated at ?111/kg of processed product. The cross cutting constraints among the actors were inadequate credit accessibility, high transportation cost, inadequate market access and inadequate storage facilities amongst others. The study recommends intervention in the area of linking actors in the value chain to prospective markets for them to benefit from the various activities.  Keywords:Plantain, Value Chain Map, Value Chain Actors, Value Added, Southwestern Nigeria

Household Level Factors Responsible for Gender Poverty Among Cassava Farmers in Odeda Local Government Area of Ogun State

Poverty is multidimensional, enduring and is prevailing not only globally, but also particular cultural, political and economic features of a specific country increasing it. The gulf between haves and have-nots has lingered. Gender disparities, inequality, spatial dimensions, political instability, week institutions and lack of spiritual capital causes the poverty. The objective of this study was to examine the determinants of poverty among cassava producing households by gender of household heads in Odeda local government area of Ogun state. A total of 120 cassava farming household comprising of 76 male headed households and 46 female headed households were interviewed using structured questionnaire, in obtaining information from them. The study revealed that there is a positive relationship between the household size and poverty status for both the female headed households and male headed households and also the age of the household head has a negative relationship with the poverty status of the female household while farm experience and off farm activities were negatively related to the poverty status among the male household. Also, it was found out that neither of the households dominates one another in the poverty analysis. It was concluded that the household size of both the male and female households is an important determinant of poverty status as it was significant to the poverty status of the respondents.&nbsp

Food Poverty and Livelihoods Issues in Rural Nigeria

The Nigerian food insecurity situation is still described as appalling despite a number of efforts geared towards addressing the problem. Fundamental to the phenomenon of poverty and food insecurity in Nigeria at national, community and household levels are issues of livelihood and agro-ecological diversity. This study investigates the linkage between food poverty and livelihood activities, capabilities and assets; and socio-economic factors; and agro-ecological variations at the household level in rural Nigeria. The study makes use of nation-wide cross-sectional data of the Nigerian Living Standard Survey (NLSS). Results show that, on the whole, farming is the predominant livelihood activity. The distribution of livelihood activities clearly shows that the primary sector of livelihood activities (farming and mining - extraction) is predominantly occupied by men, while the secondary sector (manufacturing - processing) and the tertiary sector (services - trade) are quite favoured by women. Female-headed households are more food secure than their male counterpart. The main determinants of rural household food poverty in Nigeria are: livelihood activities-farming; livelihood capabilities- credit access; socio-economic factors - household size, years of formal education, marital status and age of household head; and agro-ecological variation. The study, therefore, suggests that food security policy that is agro-ecologically specific, with gender-oriented development of primary livelihood (farming) activities should be given paramount attention in the rural sector of Nigeria

A Functioning Approach to Well Being Analysis in Rural Nigeria

The Nigerian rural population is described by low productivity, little formal education and poverty. The need for more studies on the issue of wellbeing of rural population is hinged on the continued development of approaches that give better understanding of the phenomenon. This paper attempted to use Amartya Sen’s capability approach to assess multidimensional well being in rural Nigeria in six functioning dimensions obtained from the Nigerian Core Welfare Indices Survey using the fuzzy set theory. A binary logistic regression was also carried out to isolate the factors that determine the attainment of a pre determined level of well being after computation with the fuzzy set analysis. The results showed that rural Nigeria is an agrarian society; the functioning with the highest level of achievement out of the six dimensions studied was Housing, while asset ownership/income was the least achieved dimension in rural Nigeria. Results further revealed that belonging to female headed households, increasing age and being employed in the private (formal) sector as well as having some form of post secondary education enhances well being while being employed within the agricultural sector significantly reduced the well being of rural households in Nigeria

An Analysis of Poverty Status of Fadama II and Non Fadama II Beneficiaries in Rural Oyo State, Nigeria

This paper analyzes the poverty status of Fadama II and non-Fadama II beneficiaries in rural Oyo State, Southwestern Nigeria. The sample survey data were collected from 450 rural households comprising of purposively selected 150 beneficiaries of Fadama II, 150 non-beneficiaries within Fadama II local government and 150 non-beneficiaries outside the local government. Propensity Score Matching technique was used to select comparable observations which reduced the sample size to 412 observations. The prevalence of poverty was found to be highest among the non-beneficiaries within fadama II LGA (73%), followed by non-beneficiaries outside fadama (69%) and Fadama II beneficiaries (38%). Key factors that influence poverty were household size, educational status, credit utilization and being a Fadama II beneficiary. To reduce poverty, this study suggests that the project should be extended to the non-benefiting communities since findings have shown that being a beneficiary reduces the probability of being poor. There is also a need to promote birth control programme among respondents since findings have shown that higher household size increases the probability of being poor, while acquiring formal education should also be promoted among respondents