In this study, we contribute to such efforts to enhance the use of tractors in Africa by describing the key characteristics of markets for tractors in Nigeria. Nigeria is among a set of countries in Africa that has both low agricultural productivity and low agricultural mechanization growth (Malabo Montpellier Panel 2018). Current understanding of the tractor market in Nigeria mainly highlights only specific aspects of mechanization issues or only delves into the application of specific emergent mechanization technologies. Consequently, many stakeholders do not have sufficient understanding of how tractor markets in Nigeria are organized both in vertical and in geographic terms.

Research paper on food policy, wheat import and food security of bread and the resultant dependence in Nigeria - shows how bread has become a cheap staple for low income groups; examines changing consumer behaviour, role of USA and of milling industry-related agribusiness; finds that baking is flexible with regard to choice of technology; criticises capital intensive import substitution based on large scale irrigation. Bibliography, maps, statistical tables.

This framework presents ten interrelated principles/elements to guide Sustainable Agricultural Mechanization in Africa (SAMA). Further, it presents the technical issues to be considered under SAMA and the options to be analysed at the country and sub regional levels. The ten key elements required in a framework for SAMA are as follows: The analysis in the framework calls for a specific approach, involving learning from other parts of the world where significant transformation of the agricultural mechanization sector has already occurred within a three-to-four decade time frame, and developing policies and programmes to realize Africa’s aspirations of Zero Hunger by 2025. This approach entails the identification and prioritization of relevant and interrelated elements to help countries develop strategies and practical development plans that create synergies in line with their agricultural transformation plans. Given the unique characteristics of each country and the diverse needs of Africa due to the ecological heterogeneity and the wide range of farm sizes, the framework avoids being prescriptive.

This paper combines pre-pandemic face-to-face survey data with follow up phone surveys collected in April-May 2020 to quantify the overall and differential impacts of COVID-19 on household food security, labor market participation and local food prices in Nigeria. We exploit spatial variation in exposure to COVID-19 related infections and lockdown measures along with temporal differences in our outcomes of interest using a difference-in-difference approach. We find that those households exposed to higher COVID-19 cases or mobility lockdowns experience a significant increase in measures of food insecurity. Examining possible transmission channels for this effect, we find that COVID-19 significantly reduces labor market participation and increases food prices. We find that impacts differ by economic activities and households. For instance, lockdown measures increased households' experience of food insecurity by 12 percentage points and reduced the probability of participation in non-farm business activities by 13 percentage points. These lockdown measures have smaller impacts on wage-related activities and farming activities. In terms of food security, households relying on non-farm businesses, poorer households, those with school-aged children, and those living in remote and conflicted-affected zones have experienced relatively larger deteriorations in food insecurity. These findings can help inform immediate and medium-term policy responses, including social protection policies aiming at ameliorating the impacts of the pandemic, as well as guide targeting strategies of governments and international donor agencies by identifying the most impacted sub-populations.

Poverty and a lack of awareness seem to be at the heart of the problem of childhood malnutrition in Nigeria. Until the socioeconomic status of the vast majority of Nigerians improves significantly, malnutrition will continue to pose a serious threat to the growth and development of Nigerian children and the future of national development. Significant variations exist in the level of child and maternal malnutrition across rural/urban settings, geopolitical zones, and agro-ecological bands in Nigeria. Malnutrition rates are higher among rural households who depend more on agriculture than on other sectors for their livelihoods. A range of socioeconomic, demographic, and public health related factors work together to influence maternal and child nutrition outcomes among rural and urban dwellers across the geopolitical zones and agro-ecological zones in Nigeria.

Discusses the role of small towns as agents for rural improvement and focuses on the links provided by small towns to both rural areas and larger towns. Reviews the role of selected indigenous nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in supporting the activities of small enterprises in small towns and rural areas. Covers trends from the 1960s.

This open access book discusses the current role of smallholders in connection with food security and poverty reduction in developing countries. It addresses the opportunities they enjoy, and the constraints they face, by analysing the availability, access to and utilization of production factors. Due to the relevance of smallholder farms, enhancing their production capacities and economic and social resilience could produce positive impacts on food security and nutrition at a number of levels. In addition to the role of small farmers as food suppliers, the book considers their role as consumers and their level of nutrition security. It investigates the link between agriculture and nutrition in order to better understand how agriculture affects human health and dietary patterns. Given the importance of smallholdings, strategies to increase their productivity are essential to improving food and nutrition security, as well as food diversity.

Eaten by both humans and animals, and with more than 20 derivative products, cassava offers considerable opportunities for income and advantages for food security. This versatile shrub is widely used in the food, textiles and other industries. For example, cassava tubers may be sold for preparation into pastries, tapioca, food pasta or chips, while the plant’s by-products include paper, glues and alcohol. Attractively laid out, with step-by-step guides and a wealth of colourful figures, illustrations and tables, this handbook makes simple techniques available to cassava producers, improving production, storage and processing.

Environmental issues are all too often treated separately from politics and social change. This volume tries to redress the balance. Common to the essays is a search for the interrelationship between ecological stress and politics.

Agricultural mechanization in Africa south of the Sahara — especially for small farms and businesses — requires a new paradigm to meet the needs of the continent’s evolving farming systems. Can Asia, with its recent success in adopting mechanization, offer a model for Africa? An Evolving Paradigm of Agricultural Mechanization Development analyzes the experiences of eight Asian and five African countries. The authors explore crucial government roles in boosting and supporting mechanization, from import policies to promotion policies to public good policies. Potential approaches presented to facilitating mechanization in Africa include prioritizing market-led hiring services, eliminating distortions, and developing appropriate technologies for the African context. The role of agricultural mechanization within overall agricultural and rural transformation strategies in Africa is also discussed. The book’s recommendations and insights should be useful to national policymakers and the development community, who can adapt this knowledge to local contexts and use it as a foundation for further research.