Monetary Policy Channels and Agricultural Performance: Evidence from Nigeria

The implications of monetary policy on agricultural performance have not been given adequate attention in literature to date, especially in connection with employment and export in the agricultural sector. Determining the right channels of monetary policy can help to achieve sustainable growth in developing economies. This study examines the impact of monetary policy channels on agricultural performance in Nigeria using structural vector autoregression (SVAR) and dynamic ordinary least squares (DOLS). The study uses output employment and export as metrics for agricultural performance, and the channels of monetary policy considered are credit, interest rate, money and exchange rate. The SVAR variance decomposition findings show that the forecast error shocks of monetary policy channels affect agricultural performance. Likewise, the long-run equations from the DOLS show that output has a positive relationship with money supply, a negative relationship between employment and interest rate, and a negative relationship between exchange rate and export. Based on the findings, the study suggests that the Nigerian government should look beyond the primary objective of stabilizing the economy via money supply and interest rate and consider the secondary benefits of bolstering output and employment in the agricultural sector

Macroeconomic Reforms and Labour Market Performance: Evidence from Nigeria

The Nigerian government has introduced various macroeconomic reforms, policies and programmes that are not consistent and have not yielded the desired result, given the high unemployment rate. This study investigates macroeconomic reforms on labour market performance in pre and postreform eras using statistical analysis and Vector Error Correction Model. The findings show that using the ‘comparison of the mean employment ratio analysis’ between the pre-reform era and post-reform, the macroeconomic reforms targeting key variables have not promoted employment. More so, evidence from the long-run employment equation indicates that employment has a negative relationship with output in the long-run. However, the study shows joint long and short-run causality using employment as a dependent variable. Also, the forecast error shock from government expenditure affects output more than any other variable, with minimal employment effect. Mismanagement of resource is mainly an indicator of a fundamental weakness in policies and institutions. Therefore, to improve the situation, the study suggests that among others, strengthening fiscal capacities and institutions to ensure the restructuring of property rights and to ensure political stability regarding economic reforms.

Electricity Supply and Business Performance in a Nigerian Private University

There has been a consistent argument in the literature as regards the impact of electricity consumption on economic growth with most studies focused on developed economies. However, little is known on impact of electricity consumption on business performance in a university system. This study examines the short-run and long-run impact of electricity supply on business performance in a Nigerian private university. The study adopted Engle and Granger approach to co-integration. The result reveals that in the long run, a negative relationship exist between electricity supply and turnover. However, cost of sales and wages have positive relationship with turnover. In the short-run, electricity supply has negative relationship with business performance. In addition, the cost of sales is not statistically significance with turnover. The findings of the study are in line with the principle of labour marginal productivity both in the short and long-run. Therefore, the study recommended need to consider alternative source of power supply most especially in the long-run in order to maximize the aggregate benefit on the business performanc

Metal nanoparticles restrict the growth of protozoan parasites

TheTrypanosomaandToxoplasma spp, are etiological agents of diseases capable of causing significantmorbidity, mortality and economic burden, predominantly in developing countries. Currently, there areno effective vaccines for the diseases caused by these parasites; therefore, therapy relies heavily onantiprotozoal drugs. However, the treatment options for these parasitic diseases are limited, thusunderscoring the need for new anti-protozoal agents. Here, we investigated the anti-parasite action ofnanoparticles. We found that the nanoparticles have strong and selectivein vitroactivity againstT. b. bruceibut moderatein vitroactivity againstT. congolenseandT. evansi. An estimation of thein vitroanti-Trypanosomaefficacy showed that the nanoparticles had�200-fold selective activityagainst the parasite versus mammalian cells. Moreover, the nanoparticle alloys moderately suppressedthein vitrogrowth ofT. gondiiby�60%. In ourin vivostudy, the nanoparticles appeared to exhibit atrypanostatic effect, but did not totally suppress the rat parasite burden, thereby failing to appreciablyextend the survival time of infected animals compared with the untreated control. In conclusion, this isthe first study to demonstrate the selectivein vitroanti-Trypanosomaaction of nanoparticles and thussupports the potential of nanoparticles as alternative anti-parasitic agents

Cypermethrin and chlorpyrifos raises serum urea level and causes abnormal sperm morphology in Wistar rats

Chlorpyrifos (organophosphate) and cypermethrin (pyrethroid) are insecticides, which are widely used for agricultural as well as for domestic purposes. This study investigated the toxicological effect of chlorpyrifos and cypermethrin on selected organs and tissues of male Wistar rats. Nine (9) male Wistar rats were randomly grouped into three and were orally given chlorpyrifos or cypermethrin, while the control group was given distilled water for 28 days. The results revealed a significant increase (p<0.05) in rat serum AST activity for the chlorpyrifos and cypermethrin groups. Also, there was significant elevation in serum urea following oral exposure to either chlorpyrifos or cypermethrin. Conversely, a reduction in the rat liver ALP activity for treatment with cypermethrin or chlorpyrifos was recorded. Thehistology results revealed that the administration of chlorpyrifos but not cypermethrin for 28 days has no significant effecton the biochemical properties and sperm morphology of the rats. Taken together, findings indicate that cypermethrin and chlorpyrifos exposure in rats predisposes to renal injury, while altering sperm morpholog