Aggregate Demand for Micro-insurance among Rural Household Non-farm Enterprises in Nigeria

Although, rural based enterprises are subject to a myriad of risks and economic shocks, insurance uptake has been found to be abysmally low. The aim of this study was to examine the determinants of demand for insurance from the standpoint of the rural based household non-farm enterprises (RHNFE). This study made use of the household non-farm enterprise data from the LSMS- General Household Survey of 2010/2011. Demand for insurance was measured as the monthly expenditure on insurance by the RHNFE. The empirical findings indicate that RHNFE were mainly informal in nature with low level investment, and low labour requirement. Consequently, there is relatively high production/transactions costs relative to revenue. Premium paid for insurance was found to be very low and determined by the value placed on the system, access to market for operation as well as the scope of operation of the businesses. Access to market infrastructure and opportunities for standardizing products area recommended in order for the RNFE to take advantage of insurance targeted towards them. Keywords: Microinsurance, Demand, Rural, Non-farm enterprises, Nigeri

Impact of Agricultural Value Added on Current Account Balances in Nigeria

The aim of this research paper is to explore the relationship between agriculture value added and current account balances in Nigeria. The study therefore examines the agricultural value added on current account balances over 33 years in Nigeria using data from different sources, from 1980 to 2013. The study found that the variables of interest were stationary at first difference. The Engel Granger two step test of co - integration found that the variables have a long run relationship, while the Johansen test found at least one co-integration relationship among the variables. Agriculture value added has a negative relationship with current account balances in the country in both the long run and the short run. Terms of trade and per capita gross domestic product also have negative with the current account position, while net foreign asset, real effective exchange rate and the gross domestic output have positive effects on the current account position. The short run adjustment parameters however showed that agricultural value added as a percentage of the GDP as well as the net foreign assets are the only variables capable of adjusting to their long run equilibrium within the economy. Keywords: Current account, Agriculture, Value added, Time series, Nigeri

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

Value Addition and Productivity Differentials in the Nigerian Cassava System

There is an increasing need to improve value addition in order to get maximum utility from agricultural systems. Using a retrospective panel data from 482 cassava farmers covering the years 2015⁻2017, this study examined the effect of value addition on productivity of farmers in the cassava system in Nigeria. We analysed a non-parametric Data Envelopment Analysis to examine productivity across cassava production systems over the three year period. We also examined the impact of value addition on productivity using an endogenous switching regression to account for unobservables that determine the decision to add value and productivity of the farmers. The study found that cost and revenue outlays increased with value addition. Cassava farmers in general operated below the efficiency frontier, with total productivity declining over the 2015⁻2017 period. However, higher value addition farmers had better efficiency and non-reducing productivity in the periods studied. We found evidence of selection bias in the decision to add value and productivity of the farmers. The conditional and unconditional outcome estimates revealed positive gains in productivity with value addition, confirming the hypothesis that value addition increases farming households’ productivity. We recommend that essential services such as extension services, agricultural training, and ease of enterprise registration that drive agricultural value addition be made available to farmers

Prevalence and correlates of snoring among adults in Nigeria

Introduction: Snoring is a common sleep problem with significant public health concerns. Studies have characterized this in most developed countries. Hitherto there have been no published studies on this subject in Nigeria. Objectives: To determine the prevalence and correlates of snoring in addition to morbidity in an adult population in Nigeria. Design: A cross – sectional survey of 370 young adult and adult living in Abuja, Nigeria.. Data were collected on socio- demographic characteristics, sleep pattern as well as occurrence of snoring, apneas and excessive day time sleepiness was determined using Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS). Body Mass Index (BMI) and blood pressure were measured. Results: Of the 370 respondents, 218 (59%) were females. The overall prevalence of snoring was 31.6%; habitual snoring (14%) and moderate snoring (17%). Apnea was reported in about 2% of the respondents while the prevalence of Clinically Suspected Obstructive Sleep Apneas (CSOSA) was 1%, (1.9% in males, 0.5% in females). Snoring was significantly associated with male sex, old age, increased BMI and cigarette consumption . The severity of snoring was also associated with a higher ESS score, day time symptoms and other morbidities. Conclusions: Snoring among Nigerians is associated with multiple factors. There is a need for more awareness about this condition in order to control measures of factors associated with snoring. African Health Science Vol. 8 (2) 2008: pp. 108-11