Impact of Agricultural Input Supply on Agricultural Growth in Nigeria

Improving the production capacity of agriculture in Nigeria through agricultural input supply is an important policy goal in a country where agriculture represents an important sector in the economy. The agricultural sector provides livelihood to a significant portion of Nigerian population, especially in rural areas, where poverty is more pronounced. Thus, a growing agricultural sector contributes to both overall growth and poverty alleviation. The study specifically examined the effects of agricultural input supply on agricultural growth in Nigeria from 1990 to 2017. The objective of this study is to examine agricultural input supply in Nigeria and its implications on the growth of agricultural growth in Nigeria. The study used time series data covering 1986-2016 obtained from FAOSTAT, World Development Indicator and Central Bank of Nigeria data base. This study utilized Auto-Regressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) approach to investigate the variables. The finding of the study shows that there is co-integration between the variables. The result of the study shows that gross capital formation and Fertilizer supply to agriculture were significant in influencing agricultural growth in Nigeria with coefficient values of (-0.002468), and (0.001506), with P- values of (0.0222) and (0.0171) respectively. Given the robust nature of the result, it is evident that agricultural input supply contributes in great measure to agricultural growth in Nigeria. The study then conclude that agricultural input is essential for the growth of agricultural sector in Nigeria and recommend that given the lean resources available to government, attention should be given to the inputs that contributes significantly to the growth of the sector.

Impact of Agricultural Input Supply on Agricultural Growth in Nigeria

Improving the production capacity of agriculture in Nigeria through agricultural input supply is an important policy goal in a country where agriculture represents an important sector in the economy. The agricultural sector provides livelihood to a significant portion of Nigerian population, especially in rural areas, where poverty is more pronounced. Thus, a growing agricultural sector contributes to both overall growth and poverty alleviation. The study specifically examined the effects of agricultural input supply on agricultural growth in Nigeria from 1990 to 2017. The objective of this study is to examine agricultural input supply in Nigeria and its implications on the growth of agricultural growth in Nigeria. The study used time series data covering 1986-2016 obtained from FAOSTAT, World Development Indicator and Central Bank of Nigeria data base. This study utilized Auto-Regressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) approach to investigate the variables. The finding of the study shows that there is co-integration between the variables. The result of the study shows that gross capital formation and Fertilizer supply to agriculture were significant in influencing agricultural growth in Nigeria with coefficient values of (-0.002468), and (0.001506), with P-values of (0.0222) and (0.0171) respectively. Given the robust nature of the result, it is evident that agricultural input supply contributes in great measure to agricultural growth in Nigeria. The study then conclude that agricultural input is essential for the growth of agricultural sector in Nigeria and recommend that given the lean resources available to government, attention should be given to the inputs that contributes significantly to the growth of the sector.

Accurate Identification of Agricultural Inputs Based on Sensor Monitoring Platform and SSDA-HELM-SOFTMAX Model

The unreliability of traceability information on agricultural inputs has become one of the main factors hindering the development of traceability systems. At present, the major detection techniques of agricultural inputs were residue chemical detection at the postproduction stage. In this paper, a new detection method based on sensors and artificial intelligence algorithm was proposed in the detection of the commonly agricultural inputs in Agastache rugosa cultivation. An agricultural input monitoring platform including software system and hardware circuit was designed and built. A model called stacked sparse denoising autoencoder-hierarchical extreme learning machine-softmax (SSDA-HELM-SOFTMAX) was put forward to achieve accurate and real-time prediction of agricultural input varieties. The experiments showed that the combination of sensors and discriminant model could accurately classify different agricultural inputs. The accuracy of SSDA-HELM-SOFTMAX reached 97.08%, which was 4.08%, 1.78%, and 1.58% higher than a traditional BP neural network, DBN-SOFTMAX, and SAE-SOFTMAX models, respectively. Therefore, the method proposed in this paper was proved to be effective, accurate, and feasible and will provide a new online detection way of agricultural inputs.

Water-Saving Irrigation Promotion and Food Security: A Study for China

In response to water scarcity and food security, most governments in the world have adopted water-saving irrigation promotion policies by increasing the water-saving irrigation area. Many researches focus on water scarcity, but there is a lack of research on the food security effects of water-saving irrigation policies. A two-way fixed effect model was used to identify the effect of water-saving irrigation area on the production of food crops with panel data of 31 Chinese provinces from 2000 to 2019. The study shows: First, water-saving irrigation area not only can save agricultural water use, but also has a significant positive effect on production of food crops; Second, water-saving irrigation area affects production of food crops through agricultural input factors, such as sown area, chemical fertilizer, and mechanized power; Third, there is heterogeneity in the effect of water-saving irrigation area on production of food crops, in which water-saving irrigation area has a greater impact on production of food crops in areas where there is less rainfall, or lower water-saving irrigation rate. Therefore, the water-saving irrigation promotion has a significant role in promoting China’s production of food crops and has made a certain contribution to ensuring food security.

Application of biological and digital technologies in resolving the negative effects of COVID-19 pandemic on crop production in Nigeria

The COVID-19 pandemic has wrecked great havoc in many spheres of life, including education, health, economy, and agriculture. This paper x-rayed the effects of the pandemic on crop production in Nigeria, and efforts made to proffer viable solutions through the application of biological and digital technologies. The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on crop production was palpable in shortage of farm labour and labour immobility, disruption of agricultural input supply chain (e.g., fertilizers, agrochemicals, and seeds) and food distribution network. These irregularities grossly escalated food insecurity challenges, sparked price hikes, increased hunger and food losses. Considering the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on crop production which invariably extends to farmers’ income, food security, family nutrition and health, prompt measures to minimize the onward transmission among key players in crop production and food supply chain are imperative. The application of biological technologies including vaccination, use of natural herbs and spices, organic agriculture options (such as organic manuring, use of botanical protectants, farmers’ own seeds, cover cropping, mulching, biofertilizers, etc.), agricultural mechanization, and the digital technologies (mobile phones, remote sensing services, online platforms, robotics and artificial intelligence) would go a long way in resolving the negative effects of the pandemic on crop production in Nigeria. Strict adherences to the recommended public health safety measures (social distancing, compulsory use of face masks in the public, regular hand hygiene, covering of one’s mouth when sneezing or coughing, disinfection of high touch surfaces) are crucial in curtailing the spread of COVID-19 infection. Key words: COVID-19 pandemic, crop production, food security, bio-and digital technologies, Nigeria

The Formal Agricultural Input Sector: A Missing Asset in Developing Nations?

The formal input supply sector has received little attention in developing nations, including Haiti. We interviewed input store owners in Haiti and collected information on the availability and sources of inputs and challenges facing vendors. Three large suppliers import most inputs available to farmers. Second tier traders, mostly small stores that purchase from the major suppliers, play a critical role in making inputs accessible to rural communities. These formal stores have significant potential to transform the agricultural sector but face three major challenges. (1) Improved seed is a critically needed input, but older cultivars dominate because there is limited breeding in Haiti, few seed importers, and inadequate patent protections that make holders reluctant to move new varieties into Haiti. (2) The types of fertilizers and pesticides available to farmers are limited and many are technologically outdated. (3) In-country transportation is slow and relatively expensive and needed inputs often do not reach farmers in a timely manner. We conclude that approaches that bring together the strengths and assets of the public sector, the non-profit private sector and the for-profit private sector and increased attention to policy measures that benefit all three sectors are requisites for supply chain development in Haiti.