Despite recent studies on improved seed varieties estimating the adoption rates of maize in 1998 at 40 percent (Manyong et al. 2000) and rice at 60 percent (Larsson 2005), true adoption rates appear to be unknown. This knowledge gap exists due to the ambiguity surrounding what constitutes...

This paper reviews the constraints hindering growth of agricultural productivity in Nigeria by providing an overview of the policy environment that affects agricultural productivity, establishing how the policy environment affects productivity improvement, and proposing lessons relevant for...

Low fertilizer use is professed to be among the many reasons for low agricultural productivity in Nigeria. Fertilizer application, estimated at 13 kg/ha in 2009 by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, is far lower than the 200 kg/ha recommended by the United Nations Food...

Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa. The 2006 provisional census counted over 140 million people (United Nations 2007), 64 percent of whom live in rural areas. These rural areas are undergoing radical, noticeable change, particularly in the agricultural sector. The agricultural sector...

Malnutrition rates among children 0-36 months and women of reproductive age in Nigeria are high and vary significantly across rural-urban locations, geopolitical regions, and agroecological zones, constituting a significant public health challenge. Using National Demographic Health Survey (NDHS)...

Small-scale private irrigation (SPRI) schemes make up most of the irrigated area in Nigeria, although they constitute only about three percent of the cultivated area in the country. Farmers' demand for SPRI is potentially affected by diverse sets of agroecological, socioeconomic and risk...

This study analyzes the application of an input voucher program implemented in 2009 in two Nigerian states, Kano and Taraba. Using primary data collected from 1000 households, we explore the effect of the voucher program on the quantity and quality of fertilizer received, the timeliness of...

Nigeria is still characterized by high reliance on food imports. Malnutrition is widespread in the entire country and rural areas are especially vulnerable to chronic food shortages, malnutrition, unbalanced nutrition, erratic food supply, poor quality foods, high food costs, and even total lack...

Poverty in Nigeria is pervasive although the country is rich in human and material resources that should translate into better living standards. According to the most recent survey (2004 National Living Standards Survey) presented by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS 2007, about 69 million...

This study assesses public investment required for agricultural growth and poverty reduction in Nigeria. Using time series data for public spending and agricultural total factor productivity (TFP) growth, the econometrically estimated results show that one percent of growth in agricultural...