Thesis and Dissertation for the Department of Agricultural Economics

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    COMMERCIALISATION OF UNDER-UTILISED EDIBLE INSECTS IN BENUE STATE, NIGERIA
    (UNIVERSITY OF ILORIN, 2020-03) GODWIN, Rosemary
    Under-utilised edible insects’ species have enormous potentials for entrepreneurial opportunities in Nigeria. In addition, they provide an essential component of human diet for sustainable livelihood. Formulating sound policies on harnessing the full potentials of under-utilised edible insects requires a deep knowledge of their current commercialisation level. This study examined the extent of commercialisation of under-utilised edible insects in Benue State. The objectives of the study were to: (i) enumerate under-utilised edible insects harvested by the rural households in the study area; (ii) determine the level of commercialisation of under-utilised edible insects among rural households; (iii) examine factors affecting the extent of commercialisation of under-utilised edible insects; (iv) evaluate the returns generated from the commercialisation of under-utilised edible insects; and (v) determine the contribution of commercialisation of under-utilised edible insects to the livelihood status of rural households. The study was a cross sectional survey using two-stage sampling procedure. Primary data were obtained from 156 rural households that were involved in the commercialisation of under-utilised edible insects in Benue State. The data collection using a structured interview schedule started in August, 2018 and ended in May, 2019. First stage of the sampling procedure involved the purposive selection of 5% out of the 368 rural communities in Benue State. The second stage involved a snowball sampling of rural households. Household Commercialisation Index, descriptive statistics, Tobit regression model, marketing margin and Ordinary Least Square regression model were employed to analyse the data. The findings of the study were that: (i) the proportion of crickets, termites, caterpillars, grasshoppers and palm weevils harvested by the rural households in the study area were 30.13%, 44.87%, 12.18%, 5.13% and 7.13%, respectively; (ii) the majority (81%) of the rural households commercialised most of the under-utilised edible insects harvested at 85.19%, 81.89%, 81.60%, 85.12%, and 85.92% extent of commercialisation for cricket, termite, caterpillar, grasshopper and palm weevil respectively; (iii) the factors affecting the extent of the commercialisation of under-utilised edible insects using Tobit regression model were gender (p = 0.1), marital status (p = 0.05), years of schooling of household head (p = 0.1), annual income (p = 0.01), and household size (p = 0.01); (iv) a total of 138 kg of crickets, 104 kg of termites, 102 kg of caterpillars, 103 kg of grasshoppers and 122 kg of palm weevils were commercialised with the net returns of ₦47,931.00, ₦41,106.00, ₦40,461.00, ₦42,063.00 and ₦44,917.00 per season respectively; and (v) commercialisation of under-utilised edible insects significantly enhanced the livelihood status of the rural households (R2 = 67.4%). Other significant variables of the Ordinary Least Square regression result were primary occupation of the household head (p = 0.1), distance of home to nearest village market (p = 0.05), and amount of credit received by the household head (p = 0.05). The study concluded that commercialisation of harvested under-utilised edible insects has positive impact on the livelihood status of the rural households in the study area. The study rec
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    EFFECT OF CONNECT POTATO VARIETY ON FARM PRODUCTIVITY IN PLATEAU STATE, NIGERIA
    (UNIVERSITY OF ILORIN, 2020-03) OJEDIRAN, Ezekiel Olamide
    productivity in Nigeria, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) project in collaboration with the National Root Crops Research Institute, introduced the Connect potato variety. The Connect potato variety is high yielding, blight resistant with a large tuber size and highly palatable. However, there is dearth of information on whether it has had any impact on potato farming or not. This study therefore examined the effect of the Connect potato variety on farm productivity in Plateau State, Nigeria. The objectives of the study were to: (i) estimate the level of usage of the Connect potato variety; (ii) identify the factors affecting the usage of the variety; (iii) compare the level of farm productivity of the two categories of farmers; (iv) compare the production efficiency of Connect potato variety with the local variety; (v) estimate the costs and return to potato production between the Connect users and non-users; and (vi) determine the effect of the Connect potato usage on farm productivity. The target population was potato farmers in the state. A two-stage sampling technique was used to draw a sample of 302 respondents from a total population of 10,213 potato farmers in the eight producing Local Government Areas. From the selected 302 respondents, 74 of them were users of the Connect variety while 228 were non-users. Cross-sectional data was used and were collected using a well-structured questionnaire. The statistical tools used for analysis were Heckman selection model, stochastic frontier model, total factor productivity index, gross margin analysis and the propensity score matching. The findings of the study were that: i. the average quantity of Connect potato variety planted by the users was 1485kg/ha which is low when compared to the required 3000kg per hectare; ii. the amount of credit (t-value = 3.39; p < 0.01), Connect seed price (t-value = 1.69; p < 0.1), membership of association (t-value = 1.91; p < 0.05), off-farm income (t-value = 1.66; p < 0.1), perception of variety’s relative importance (t-value = 2.33; p < 0.05) and availability (t-value = 8.67; p < 0.01) were the factors affecting the usage of Connect potato variety; iii. the Connect users had a significantly (t-stat = 2.37; p < 0.05) higher total factor productivity index (4.94) than the non-users (3.92); iv. the mean technical efficiency of the Connect users (88%) was significantly higher than that of the non-users (77%) (t-stat = 4.516; p < 0.01); v. the profitability estimates showed that the users and non-users have a gross margin of ₦1,869,122.1 and ₦722,040.79 per hectare, respectively; and vi. the users were better off in productivity by 1.09 units (t-stat = 2.00; p < 0.05); technical efficiency by 12% (t-stat = 4.16; p < 0.01) and returns on capital invested by ₦1.34 (t-stat = 3.86; p < 0.01). The study concluded that the use of Connect potato variety improved the productivity of potato farms and therefore recommended that farmers be encouraged to adopt the variety through effective sensitization programmes by the Ministry of Agriculture and other relevant agencies.
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    PRODUCTIVITY AND WELFARE EFFECTS OF CLIMATESMART ADAPTATION PRACTICES OF CROP FARMING HOUSEHOLDS IN THE SAVANNA REGION OF NIGERIA
    (UNIVERSITY OF ILORIN, 2021-03) EDEH, Hyacinth Onuorah
    Climate change distorts agricultural production and impacts negatively on the welfare of farming households in Nigeria. The climate-smart adaptation (CSA) strategies have the potential to mitigate the effects of climate change while preserving the natural resourcebase. However, there is limited empirical knowledge on the impacts of usage of such strategies on the productivity and welfare of farmers. The study assessed the productivity and welfare effects of CSA practices on crop farming households in the savanna region of Nigeria. Theobjectives of the study were to: (i) identify crop specific CSA strategies; (ii) examine the factors that influence the choice of CSA strategies; (iii) assess the determinants of the use intensity of CSA; (iv) determine the productivity and welfare effects of the usage of CSA strategies; and (v) identify the constraints to the use of CSA strategies. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data for the study through a three-stage sampling technique involving the selection of 391 households from 33 Enumeration Areas (EAs) constituting about 6% of the rural-based EAs in Benue and Niger States. Descriptive statistics, tetrachoric correlation, multivariate probit regression, Ordinary Least Square (OLS) regression, heterogenous treatment effects (HTE), conditional recursive mixed process (CMP) for sequential joint estimations, and Garrett ranking score were used to analyse the data at 5% level of significance. The findings of the study were that: i. crop rotation and intercropping with legumes, green manure, and farmyard manure were the common CSA strategies used in the production of cereals, pulses as well as roots and tubers. In addition, minimum tillage and improved varieties of seeds were used for cereals; ii. tetrachoric correlation coefficients showed that 80% of the pairs of CSA strategies have between 17 and 74% relationships in the simultaneity of usage; iii. farmer’s age and education, group membership, credit constraint, risk perception, risk experience and household perception of effectiveness of strategiesare factors that influence the choice of the CSA strategies; iv. usage of the CSA strategies reduced with age of the farmers, but increased with farm size, soil fertility perception, market distance, number of livestock owned, and years of continuous use of farm; v. usage of fertilizer deep placement and cover cropping increased the yields of cerealsby 65% and 31% respectively, while improved crop varieties as well as crop rotation with legumes increased yield of pulses by 43%and 63% respectively. Mulching increased yield of roots and tubers by 43%; vi. Based on CMP estimate, a percentage increase in yields of cereals, pulses, and roots and tubers improved household welfare by 340%, 1.15% and 0.43% respectively; and vii. the use of CSA strategies is constrained by the initial establishment and labour costs, farm tenure security status,and market distance to purchase of relevant CSA inputs. The study concluded that CSA strategies had positive impacts on crop productivity and household welfare. The study recommended the use of farmer groups as platform for promotion of the use of CSA and provision of on-lending facilities for farmers.