The Financing Problems Facing the Agricultural Sector in Nigeria and the Prospect of Waqf-Muzaraah-Supply Chain Model (WMSCM)

Agriculture sector becomes important sector in many developing countries including in Nigeria. The contribution of agricultural sector to the development of Nigeria is considerable. This important sector was the economic backbone upon which the government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria relied for its foreign exchange and revenue. A country was once a net exporter of agricultural products. However, since the discovery of oil in the early 1960, agricultural productivity has continually decreased due to many problems, especially related to financial aspect. Several programmes and policies have been adopted by various administrations to find solution to the dwindling agricultural productivity but to no avail. These solutions have mainly focused on alleviating the financial problems the farmers face. Usually financial intermediaries including banks would provide micro-financing to the farmers but with high interest rates coupled with collateral requirements. Hence, this mode of financing has not produced any significant result. This study will therefore examine problems facing agricultural sector in Nigeria with special emphasis on its financial aspect and propose a Waqf-MuzaraahSupply Chain model (WMSCM). Under this model, Waqf fund will be used for providing financial facility of the farmers. The relationship between farmers and financial institutions is based on partnership where profit and loss will be shared by both parties. This will enhance commitment by and cooperation among both parties to ensure the success of the business. Furthermore, the issues of collateral and high interest rate that constrain the financial ability of the farmers and their agricultural output are inherently solved by the model. Moreover, the model has features of investment and risk diversification for both the financial institutions and the farmers that will lead to high agricultural productivity and employment generation in the economy

Determinant of criminal activities by some Nigerians residing in Malaysia: a socio-economic perspective

Crimes pose a threat to any society. Considering its implication for the socio-economic activities and development of any country, the cost of crime is therefore burdensome not only to the government but also to the citizen. Controlling criminal activities is therefore imperative to prevent the many resulting negative consequences. Effective control of criminal activities unequivocally depends on proper understanding of crimes and the factors contributing to criminal behaviour. Given the rising number of reported Nigerian criminal activities in Malaysia, the need arises as to understand the underlying motives for such behaviour as part of any attempt to reduce such criminal activities. The current study therefore explores the factors contributing to the criminal behaviour of some Nigerians residing in Malaysia. In view of the prominence of socio-economic factors in explaining criminal behaviour, this study therefore explores this rising phenomena from a socio-economic perspective. Accordingly, this study seeks to identify the major socio-economic factors that contribute to high crime rates among some Nigerians living in Malaysia. In addressing this objective, this study employs the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) whereby the socio-economic factors are ranked according to their contribution to the crime rate. It is expected that the findings of this study will shed light on the root causes of this menace thereby offering policy makers greater information and insights through which to better curb such criminal activities

Factors affecting investors’ intention to invest in a peer-to peer lending platform in Malaysia: an extended technology acceptance model

There has been significant growth in peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platforms in recent years, given the advancement of information and online technologies. Because this type of platform is gaining in importance and popularity, it becomes necessary to examine the factors that influence the behavioral intention of investors to invest in a P2P lending platform. Based on an extended technology acceptance model and using a structured survey questionnaire, this study examines the factors that influence retail investors to invest in a P2P lending platform in Klang Valley, Malaysia. The results show that intention to invest is mainly influenced or driven by trust. Other variables, namely perceived risk, perceived ease of use, and security, are found to have no impact on investors’ decisions. The study findings provide managerial implications and theoretical contributions

Assessing the efficiency of Malaysian banks: A data envelopment analysis approach

The purposes of this study are two-fold: firstly, to evaluate the efficiency of the Malaysian banks and secondly to examine the factors that influence the efficiency levels of those banks. Accordingly, 23 Malaysian banks covering the period between 2006 and 2010 are considered in this study. The findings of the DEA approach indicate that in general the Malaysian banks are efficient over the studied period. Furthermore, exchange rate, GDP, and inflation rate are found to be significant determinants of Malaysian banks' efficiency. As such, the present study contributes to the existing literatures on banks efficiency. The finding might be useful to the regulators as well as the practitioners

Determinants of off-balance sheet (OBS) activities: a case of selected retail banks in Malaysia / Nafiu Olaniyi Oladokun, Shamsul Kamariah Abdullah and Charmele Ayadurai.

The present paper examines factors influencing the Off-Balance Sheet activities of selected commercial banks in Malaysia for the period 2004-2014. OBS activities are an integral part of financial institutions in response to the needs of businesses for different types of guarantee that have conflicting implications on the stability of financial institutions. Data collected on selected banks from the Bankscope database was analyzed using the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) regression. Specifically, the study built its analysis on three main recognized determining factors namely: (1) liquidity motives, (2) credit risk transfer motive, (3) profitability motives, and (4) capital arbitrage motive. The findings thus suggest that the selected banks mainly used OBS instruments for capital arbitrage purpose, enhancing operational efficiency and managing loan portfolio risks. The findings further suggested that its usage for capital arbitrage purposes may undermine the regulatory measures of accurately estimating and monitoring the risk of banks. The findings thus offer significant practical and policy implications that can help to enhance financial stability

The problems facing the agricultural sector in Nigeria and the prospect of Muzara'ah & supply chain model

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop a Muzara’ah–supply chain model for the purpose of enhancing agricultural financing and productivity in Nigeria. Design/methodology/approach – In this paper, an expert survey approach was employed to validate the newly developed model. Findings – A survey result on the model reveals that majority of the respondents agreed with the Muzara’ah–supply chain model and preferred it to the existing models. Research limitations/implications – The main limitation of this study is limited number of respondents. Practical implications – With this newly developed financing model that is based risk sharing principles, the application of this model could help to reduce moral hazard and enhance agricultural productivity. Originality/value – To the best knowledge of the researchers, such kind of study for financing agriculture does not exists in the case of Nigeria

Justice and nature of contract as determinants of abandoned housing projects

This study aims at exploring the perception of stakeholders, particularly the home buyers, about the causes of abandoned housing project (AHP) in Malaysia. In terms of approach, assessing the determinants of AHP could assist in mitigating the effect of AHP in Malaysia. In this study, we employed factor analysis and structural equation modelling (SEM) to achieve the stated objective. The total sample size of the study comprises of 328 respondents that cut across all states in Malaysia. Two main constructs, namely justice and nature of contract are considered in this study. Furthermore, the results of the SEM revealed that lack of justice and weak regulatory system, coupled with the nature of the contract of financing significantly contribute to the problem of AHPs. Hence, it is suggested that fairness in the contract (e.g., risk sharing) and sound regulatory system could help in mitigating the effect of abandoned housing problems. The samples of this study are confined to Malaysians in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur. Further testing of the proposed model across different states is needed to determine the generalisability of this study’s findings. The current study only examines two factors, which may limit its generalisation. Further testing on other factors is also needed to extend the findings. Concerning the research implications, the results obtained provide directions to policymakers to deal with the issue of AHPs in Malaysia. On the same note, results obtained provide better guidelines to improve the working practice for housing projects among developers. For originality, this study examines the determinants of AHPs in Malaysia. A framework developed captures the importance of justice and nature of the contract to mitigate the AHPs in Malaysia