A Comparative Analysis of Diet Quality in Urban and Rural Households in Ibadan Zone of Oyo State, Nigeria.

Deficiency in both diet quality and diet quantity is today a global problem. This study has its foundation in the Lancasterian theory of consumer choices as the basis for the study of protein intake in Nigeria. The objectives of this study are to determine the level of protein intake, estimate the expenditure elasticities for protein consumption, compare protein intake between rural and urban areas and examine the effect of location on protein consumption in the study area. Data for the study came from a sample survey of Ibadan zone of Oyo State, Nigeria. Multiple regression analysis was employed to analyze the data. Household nutrient intake functions were estimated under intercept and slope specifications. The total protein consumed by an average rural household (328.95gm) was more than that of an average urban household (268.52gml).The portion of protein from plant source of 54.08 gm for an average rural household was greater than the 51.1 gm available to the average urban household. This source does not satisfy the 70 gm/cap/day recommended intake by FAO (1985) for both the rural and urban areas. The result showed that overall per capita intake of 63.4 gm/cap/day of protein in rural area was greater than the 60.94 gm/cap/day for the urban area. The rural household per capita consumption of the nutrient was lower by 6.6 gm/cap/day than the recommended level while that of the urban area fell short of it by 9.06 gm /cap/day. The Intercept model produced four variables total expenditure (X1) in naira, household size (X2), (number) education of household head in years (X3) and education of wife in a monogamous household or sum of years, education of wives in a polygamous household. (X4) those were positive and significantly related to the consumption of protein. The household head’s education variable (X3) was positive and significant. The location variable was negative and significantly related to protein consumption. It indicated that the average rural household consumes more protein than the average urban household. The slope model showed that the variables total expenditure (X1) in naira, household size (X2), (number) education of household head in years (X3) and education of wife in a monogamous household or sum of years, education of wives in a polygamous household. (X4) were significant and directly related to protein consumption. The variable X1 interacted with the dummy was negative and significant indicating inverse relationship with protein consumption. This means that the elasticity of consumption of the nutrient with respect to X1 is greater for rural than for the urban household. That is, the elasticity value for the urban area was lower. The variables interacted with the dummy are positive. However, the interacted terms with household size (X2) and education of wives in a polygamous household. (X4) were significant while that with education of household head in years (X3) was insignificant. This significance implies that the elasticity with respect to this variable is lower for the rural than the urban household. Based on the findings in this study it is recommended that nutrient consumption awareness campaign, and Nutrition education policies be put in place.Keywords: Diet quality, Protein Consumption, Rural and Urban Nigeri

Nutrient elasticities among Nigerian households differentiated by income

Food calorie intake has been found to have a strong empirical linkage with both human health and productivity. In a study to determine the probable influence of price and income changes on the availability of food nutrients to Nigerian households segmented by income, demand elasticities were obtained for survey respondents and the nutritional effects of changes arising from changes in income and prices were computed using both the AIDS methodology and a technique developed by Huang. The findings show that guinea corn is the food that would have the greatest implications for the nutrient status of low income households. Millet, guinea corn and maize and rice, beans and maize respectively are the food items of note for the households whose heads earn average and high incomes. The study concludes with the implications of the findings on the different income groups and the likely applications of the methodology used to derive nutrient elasticities.Food demand, income, almost ideal demand system (AIDS), Nigeria, Consumer/Household Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

MARKET SUPPLY RESPONSE AND DEMAND FOR LOCAL RICE IN NIGERIA: IMPLICATIONS FOR SELF-SUFFICIENCY POLICY

This study examined the supply response and demand for local rice in Nigeria between 1960 and 2004. A system of equations using secondary data was estimated by OLS and 2SLS techniques. Area planted with local rice is mainly affected by expected price of output, agriculture wage rate and by the partial adjustment coefficient. The short-run response elasticity is 0.077. The implied long-run response elasticity is 1.578. The partial adjustment measure is 0.049. This, points to the difficulty of supply response to changing economic conditions. The price elasticity of demand obtained is 0.841. The demand for local rice is thus price inelastic. Rice income elasticity is 0.3378. It is also inelastic. The ban on rice importation in Nigeria could be said to be a step in the right direction. This policy should be continued and policed. However, price, output and non-price incentives that can exert significant influence on rice supply response and demand are required if the self-sufficiency goal is to be achieved

The Persistence of Small Farms and Poverty Levels in Nigeria: An Empirical Analysis

Small farmers are one of the more disadvantaged and vulnerable groups in Nigeria. Studies have shown that majority of people living in absolute poverty can be found on small farms with half in this group undernourished. The study examined heterogeneity in circumstances and diversity in rural agriculture, the persistence of small farms, poverty and institutional development and facilities. Data for this study came from Nigerian living Standard Survey (NLSS) which covered the two periods 1994/2004. The data set consists of 9550 respondents’ but only 8264 cases were useful for this study. The index of heterogeneity at 29.1 indicated persistence of small farms in the two periods under consideration. Persistence of small farms and poverty are closely related (r = 0.674). The poverty differential in the two surveys data revealed that poverty increased by 14.72%. Disaggregation analysis indicated that institutional development and facilities improved farm outputs, diversification to non-farm and reduction in poverty. Access to these institutional facilities can enable the small farmers to rearticulate their livelihood activities. Policy makers need to show more commitment to develop agriculture through identifying and providing the capacity need of small farmers in order for them to absorb and used whatever modern techniques introduced.Heterogeneity index, Poverty Differential, Institutional Development, Structural Constraints, Nigeria, Agricultural and Food Policy, International Development,

Poverty and Poverty Status in Oil Producing Communities of Ondo State, Nigeria.

This paper examined poverty and poverty status in the oil producing communities of Nigeria; using oil-producing communities of Ondo state, Nigeria as a case study. Multi-stage sampling technique was used to collect data on economic characteristics of the household. In the first stage, oil-producing communities were identified. Three communities from coastalareas and three communities from freshwater areas were purposively selected. In each of this area, one hundred and eighty households were randomly picked. This gave the same size of 360 households and where 300 households were successfully and used for further analysis. Twenty-seven percent of the households' consumed 100% of their farm/fish output. Some 50.34% often sold less than 50% of their outputs and 22.33% sold above 50%. Revenue from farming/fishing was estimated to be N159, 624.00 and loss of N175, 350.00. Households that made incomelosses from farming/fishing activities were 22.66% more than the number of those who did not lose. The results revealed that 60.18 percent of the households fell below the poverty line. Poverty gap index revealed 26.8% and 11.1% for severity of poverty. The majority of the identified poor households depended more on income from farming/fishing livelihoodactivities. The findings thus, revealed that majority of the households that do not diversified to non-farm livelihood activities were in the poor category. The different poverty levels were attributed to the intervention of oil pollution that led to decrease or loss of livelihood activities in farming/fishing, leading to poor incomes earned. Development of non farm rural activities (NFRA), education, improved health care facilities among other things are recommended as a way of alleviating extreme poverty situations in the area of study

Foreign Financial Flows on Financial Efficiency in Sub-Sahara African Countries

The level of financial efficiency in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) remained low and incomparable to that of industrialized nations of the world, despite the supposed advantages of foreign capital inflows. This study examined the relationship between foreign financial inflows and financial efficiency in Sub-Saharan Africa against this backdrop (SSA). This study's specific goals are to look into how remittance inflows affected financial efficiency in SSA and how FDI inflows affected it as well. Out of 49 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, 42 were chosen for the study using a purposive sampling technique and an ex-post facto research design. The study used pooled mean group, mean group, and dynamic fixed effects techniques to estimate the model parameters using panel autoregressive distributed lag (PARDL) methods of estimation. The findings revealed that remittance inflows have significant positive impact on the financial efficiency, while FDI inflows have insignificant influence on the financial efficiency. In addition, the combination of economic growth with remittance inflows yielded negative impact on the financial efficiency while the combination of economic growth with FDI inflows yielded a positive impact on financial efficiency. The study concluded that remittance and FDI inflows play vital roles in guaranteeing improvement in financial efficiency of Sub-Sahara African countries directly and indirectly through inclusive economic growth. The study recommended that financial openness policies, like removing restrictions and encouraging free flow of financial resources between entities in domestic economy and foreign economies to promote further foreign financial inflows and enhance further financial efficiency. It is also recommended that financial openness policy should be pursued alongside inclusive economic growth measures such as economic diversification policies

Determinants of Yield Gap in Lowland Rice Production in North-Central Nigeria.

Although Nigeria has comparative resource advantage in terms of favourable climatic, edaphic and ecological conditions in the production of rice, local production has not been able to meet the growing demand. The inability of the Nigerian rice economy to satisfy the domestic demand and the consequent growth of rice import quantity and value remains a cause of concern. The study analyzed the difference between potential and actual yield of rice in North Central Nigeria. Employing a multi-stage sampling technique, data were obtained through the use of structured questionnaire administered to a sample of one hundred and forty four rice farmers in Niger state, Nigeria. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and regression models. Results indicated that rice farmers in the area cultivated four improved rice varieties WITA 4, FARO 15, FARO 35 and FARO 44 with average yield gaps of 1.48, 2.85, 3.03 and 3.20 tons per hectare respectively. This makes these rice varieties under-exploited as farmers operate at levels where they obtain an average of 49% of the potential yield. Factors which contribute to the reduction in the magnitude of rice yield gap include increase in the frequency of contacts between farmers and extension workers, increase in fertilizer use per hectare and higher intensity of tractor use. It was recommended that the yield potential of cultivated rice varieties should be fully exploited as a first option to meeting the current level of national rice demand because increased rice production towards the attainment of self-sufficiency may well hinge upon the ability of farmers to narrow the gap between current rice yields and yield potentials.Keywords: Lowland rice, Yield gap, Nigeria

Scale Efficiency and Determinants of Productivity of New Rice for Africa (NERICA) Farmers in Kaduna State, Nigeria

Rice productivity is low in Nigeria, and NERICA was introduced by West Africa Rice Development Agency (WARDA) to solve this problem. This study focused on NERICA productivity and efficiency in Kaduna State. A three-stage sampling technique was used with Kaduna State being purposively selected. Igabi and Soba Local Government Areas (LGAs) were randomly selected. Five villages were randomly selected from each LGA, with a total of 129 NERICA farmers selected and used for the analysis. There were technical and managerial inefficiencies among the farmers. NERICA production is characterized by increasing returns to scale with a value of 1.4954. The farmers were cost inefficient, hence there was room for improvement in NERICA production in the study area. The average productivity (AP) was 26.30. The average marginal productivity (MP) is 9.213. The average total factor productivity (TFP) is 12.87. Farmer’s age and access to credit had negative influence on both AP and MP. Extension contact and adoption of NERICA technology positively influenced the AP and MP. Farmer’s age had negative influence on total factor productivity. Formal education, farming experience, extension contact, farm commercialization and adoption of NERICA technology had positive influence on the total factor productivity of the NERICA farmers. Improvements in the supply of NERICA seed, extension services and level of farm commercialization are recommended.Keywords: Scale efficiency, productivity, NERICA, Kaduna State, Nigeri

An Analysis of the Determinants of the Adoption of Improved Plantain Technologies in Anambra State, Nigeria

The study examined farmers' adoption of improved plantain technologies in Anambra State, Nigeria. A structured questionnaire was administered on one hundred and eighty six (186) adopters of the technologies. A multistage random sampling technique was employed in selecting the adopters. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics, multiple regression analysis and Pearson product moment correlation (PPMC). The study showed a high level of awareness among the farmers. The adoption of these technologies was relatively low. The results revealed that farmers' age, farm size, household size, educational status, farmers' income and extension visit are significantly related to the farmers' level of adoption of the technologies. The socio-economic characteristics of plantain farmers were thus found to have significant effect on the adoption of the technologies. Farmers' awareness level was significantly related to the adoption of the technologies. Based on the findings, the study therefore recommends aggressive awareness campaign, farmers adult education programme and farm income expansion policy be put in place