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

Increasing fruit and vegetable intake on low-income population in Vietnam and Nigeria through food systems innovations - Nigeria Market Level Assessment Report

The project is coordinated by Wageningen University in collaboration with CGIAR Centers Bioversity International, the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), the University of Ibadan, Hanoi Medical University, the National Institute of Nutrition (NIN, Vietnam), and RikoltoUsing retailer sample from two market (180 retailers) and two neighborhood (87 retailers) locations, this Market Level Assessment (MLA) reveals overlaps and parallels in retailer characteristics, business modules as well as returns on investment. The MLA was carried out across four fruit and vegetable groups peculiar to the Nigerian environment namely Dark Green Leafy Vegetables (DGLV), Vitamin A Rich Fruits (VARF), Other Fruits (OF) and Other vegetables (OV)

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

ON THE STRENGTH AND WEAKNESS OF BINOMIAL MODEL FOR PRICING VANILLA OPTIONS

This paper presents binomial model for pricing vanilla options. Binomial model can be used to accurately price American style options than the Black-Scholes model as it takes into consideration the possibilities of early exercise and other factors like dividends. The strength and weakness of this model were considered. This model is both computationally efficient and accurate but not adequate to deal with path dependent options

Determinants of Intensity of Biomass Utilization: Evidence from Cassava Smallholders in Nigeria

The paradigm shift from value chains to value webs in the emerging bioeconomy has necessitated a review on how agricultural systems transit to value web production systems. This study examines how smallholders in the cassava system in Nigeria have been able to increase utilization of biomass in their production systems. Using a sample of 541 households, the study employed cluster analysis and ordered probit regression to examine the intensity of cassava utilization and the determinants of the intensity of utilization. The study found that over 50% of the respondents were classified as low-intensity utilization households, while ~13% were high-intensity utilization households. Land, social capital, farming experience, and asset ownership increased the probability of intensifying cassava utilization among smallholders. The study recommends strengthening assets acquisition, improving land quality and encouraging social capital development among smallholders

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

Table_5_SDG 2 – ending hunger: the effect of Nigeria’s land titling on production output and food security of farming households.pdf

Achieving zero hunger is intricately linked to sustainable agricultural production and the workings of a farming system. With land being the most important resource in smallholder agriculture in developing countries; including Nigeria; the effect of legal land ownership is a sine qua non for the process of achieving zero hunger in Nigeria. This study examined Nigeria’s attempt at making agricultural land both accessible and utilizable for smallholders in Nigeria through the Presidential Technical Steering Committee on Land Reforms in 2009. The aim was to explore the extent to which land ownership had become legalized; so that it had positive investment incentives for smallholder farmers to improve their investment portfolio on their holdings. A secondary dataset of 4,032 respondents obtained from the Living Standard Survey Integrated Survey on Agriculture (LSMS/ISA) of the 2018/2019 season, was used for the study. Data analysis included descriptive statistics and a 2-stage least square model. The apriori being that legal land ownership provided a perception of security that would enhance farm-level investment; which would therefore increase production output and hence food security. The findings revealed that although land titling was low (~12%) within the agricultural system; its return on production output was highly significant (5.3; p < 0.05). The possession of land title would also increase per capita food consumption expenditure (0.35; p < 0.05) among the farming households. On average, households with access to land titles had a significantly higher (at p < 0.01) food expenditure (N9, 868.00) than those without land titles (N6171.72). Other farm-level investment variables such as credit use, and mechanization through tractor use were significant in improving food security amidst the security presented by possession of land title. Thus, expediting the implementation and coverage of formal land registration and titling may be a first step to contributing meaningfully to the food security drive of the SDGs in Nigeria.</p