Rice Production, Consumption and Economic Development in Nigeria

In recent times, rice production has become a topical issue in national discourse in Nigeria. Rice is a major staple food in all the regions of Nigeria. Over the years, Nigeria has imported rice from different countries to supplement local production, thereby putting pressure on the Nigeria foreign exchange.  Since 2018, the Central Bank of Nigeria made policies aimed at curtailing the importation of some agricultural products including rice, by ordering the closure of land borders till further notice. The aim of the policy was to restrict the dumping of products such as rice into the country, which could generate an unfair competition with local rice producers. It is against this backdrop that this work investigated the effect of rice production and consumption on economic development in Nigeria, from 1986 to 2018. The data were sourced from the Central Bank of Nigeria Statistical Bulletin. To establish the empirical nexus between rice production, consumption and economic development in Nigeria, the work used the following econometrics tools of data analysis OLS, Unit root test, Johansen Cointegration and Vector Error Correction Model (VECM). The findings of the study prove that there is a significant relationship between rice production, consumption and economic development in Nigeria. In addition, the OLS result established that the relationship between rice import and the gross domestic product in Nigeria is statistically significant. The unit root test results justifies that all the model variables were non-stable at levels but gained stationarity after first difference. The Johansen Cointegration test empirically established that there is a long run convergence between the variables in the model, while the VECM result attested that the model variables are jointly instrumental in eliciting long-run equilibrium. From the foregoing, government is encouraged to support the mechanization and modernisation of rice production in Nigeria, including the introduction of modern equipment, pesticides and improved seedlings needed by rice farmers to increase rice production.  This may be achieved through the provision of cheap credits to rice farmers

Credit and thrift co-operatives in Nigeria : a potential source of capital formation and employment

Unemployment is a major challenge in Nigeria and many other developing countries. There is unemployment among professionals and non-professionals alike, there is unemployment among young school graduates, experienced professionals, tradesmen, and non-skilled workers in Nigeria. The consequences of unemployment in Nigeria are grave and may be classified as social and private. They include increase in crime rates, loss of potential output, poverty, and loss of potential tax revenue due government, professional studentship and family instability. In Nigeria, as in some other developing countries, job losses by households’ heads have negatively affected some homes, leading to family disintegration. Unemployment can explain the rising trends of female headed households in Nigeria. One major source of unemployment in Nigeria is insufficient capital for investments. The Harrod-Domar (neo-classical) theory encourages savings as a source of capital formation for investments with the consequent employment generation. This work identifies co-operative credits and thrift associations as a veritable source of capital formation which is required for investment purposes. The thrift cooperative as a micro finance agency is also a direct source of employment for those engaged in its management or coordination

Rural development projects in Nigeria : the case of Rivers State

The recent over flooding in about 20 States in Nigeria, throws up the age old question of the rural development efforts. Many of the affected areas are rural and many of the displaced are residents of rural areas. Many of these displaced people are more likely to migrate to the urban areas, therefore compounding the challenges of the over populated urban areas. The levels of destruction in these rural areas also reinforce the need to question public efforts towards rural development. This work examined rural development efforts in Rivers state, Nigeria and observed that though governments had made concerted efforts to address challenges confronting rural areas, there are still major difficulties. To sum up some of these are social, economic, psychological, attitudinal and natural. Governments should always appraise and concert efforts to complete any project it initiates

Democracy and development in Rivers State of Nigeria

Democracy is popularly defined as the government of the people by the people for the people. In other words, it is a peoples’ government informed by the majority for the interest of the greatest number in society. Such a government must therefore aspire to improve the welfare of the greatest number in society to remain relevant. Nigerians clamoured for the return to democratic governance for a long time and that clamour was not without conflicts and injuries. However, since 1999, democracy has been in the country and currently is about 13 years old. The question is: are the expectations being realized? This work compares the pre-democratic and democratic dispensations in Rivers State using the unbalanced growth theory. The work observed that the cost of democracy in Nigeria at this time is relatively high compared to the military era. There is a need for more efficiency in governance in Nigeria now

Innovation through global collaboration : a new source of competitive advantage (a study of Nigerian Breweries PLC)

Recent studies on innovation portray traditional approaches to innovation, wherein firms focus solely on their centralized Research and Development team in their pursuit and creation of innovation, as fast becoming outdated; bringing about the need to rethink the way firms managed innovation. This study was motivated by the need to understand the strategies and practices used by firms that have achieved greater success in their collaborative innovative efforts, and how this gave them a competitive advantage, using Nigerian Breweries Plc., as a case study. The research objectives are to: ascertain ways of measuring and developing innovation capabilities for business growth; provide an insight into the concept of global innovative collaboration and how it leads to organizational efficiency; and find out how an effective collaborative network can enhance innovativeness as a springboard for attaining competitive advantage. The research design adopted was the survey method. Primary data were collected using the questionnaire; our hypotheses were tested using the Chi-square, and our respondents comprise of the Management staff, and other category of workers at Nigerian Breweries Plc., which resulted in the following findings: that Nigerian Breweries Plc. was able to achieve efficiency and an immense growth in business by developing adequate collaborative innovative capabilities which have positive impact on the competitive advantage of the organisation. Therefore, the effective collaborative innovative network is the springboard of Nigerian Breweries Plc.’s attainment of competitive advantage; and a corporate collaborative innovation environment helps reinforce and amplify employee morale, build leadership and career opportunities by helping employees work better together. It was concluded that, collaborative innovation is an effective and efficient way to achieve competitive advantage. It is recommended that organisations should, critically assess their collaborative innovation strategies alongside those of other players in preparing for collaboration, tactfully address the issue of trust, focus on efficient use of firm’s resources, and continually foster an organisational climate that promotes the processes of collaborative innovation

Financial sector performance and economic growth in Nigeria

Towards the end of 2010, banking halls in Nigeria were crowded with people. Following the Central Bank of Nigeria’s advice, banks were updating records of their clients. The essence was for the banks to be better informed about their clients and their sources of funds with a view to eliminating or limiting the problem of money laundering in Nigeria. This is only one of several policies or reforms that the financial sector in Nigeria has gone through in recent times. The numbers of banks were pruned down through the recapitalization programme, non-performing microfinance banks were weeded out, and five bank chiefs were accused of mismanagement and replaced. The Nigerian Stock Exchange also experienced difficulties leading to the exit of its Chief Executive Officer. Practically, every aspect of the Nigerian financial system has in recent times experienced one form of reform or challenge but these are the sources of capital formation for the real sector in Nigeria. In view of these how well has the sector performed its role as a driver of economic growth? This work using data obtained from the Central Bank spanning 24 years was able to establish that there is a positive relationship between the performance of the sector and economic growth in Nigeria