CHAPTER
ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1
Background of the study
Agriculture
in Nigeria is dominated by small-scale farmers who produce about 80% of the
total food requirement (Fayinka, 2004). These farmers are characterized by
strong dependence on agricultural labour market, little or no forms of savings
or storage facilities and cultural practices adopted are highly labour
intensive (Festus, 2005; Fakayodeet al., 2008). A review of the past performance
of agriculture since 1970 in Nigeria clearly shows that it contributes more
than 30% of the annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP), employs about about 68% of
the labour force, account for over 70% of non-oil exports, and provides over
80% of the food needs of the country (Adegboye, 2004). In Nigeria, Agricultural
contribution to the GDP and exports has been low since the 1980s and food
imports continued to rise in value. In terms of relative importance, food
import as a percentage of total imports rose from 3.5% in 1991 to 11.8% in the
year 2000 (Central Bank of Nigeria, 2000; Akosile, 2003; Nyanko, 2006). Nigeria
has witnessed a considerable decline in foodproduction and a widening gap in
the supply and demand brought about by population growth of about 3.5% per
annum relative to food production growth of about 15% per annum (Gulati, 2000;
Yai‘aisheModuetal., 2010). By 2014, the agricultural growth rate was
6.23% (FAO, 2014), yet this growth rate is still lower than expected. Although,
opinions differ on the magnitude of Nigeria‘s food problem, at the national
level, the main food problems are food supply deficits, poverty and uneven
distribution of income in terms of ability to buy food (Ohajianya, 2004). This
brought about a distortion of the labour market and distribution effects on the
production of food and cash crops in the country.
The
production and socio-economic characteristics of the farmers, inconsistent
government policies, the poor infrastructural base, all interact and affect the
agricultural sector, resulting in low production, high price of food items,
inflation, under-development and poverty. If Nigeria is ready to go back to
agriculture, the problem of poverty, hunger and malnutrition could be
alleviated. Adequate production of Nigeria most staple crops such as sorghum
which is consumed in many parts of the country, will contribute positively to
the agricultural sector. Cowpea is a popular leguminous crop in Africa which is
known as beans‘ in Nigeria and niebe‘ in francophone countries. The largest
production is in the moist and dry savannah of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), where
it is intensively grown as an intercrop with other cereal crops like millet,
sorghum and maize as well as rice fallows (Ishiyakuet al., 2010). Nigeria
is the world‘s leading cowpea (VignaUnguiculata), producing country,
producing over 2.91 million ton of dry grain in 2008 (Food and Agricultural
Organization Statistics, 2010). Countries in Africa such as Niger (1.57 million
tons) Ghana, Burkina Faso, Senegal and Cameroon are significant producers.
Outside Africa, the major production areas are Asia, North and South
America.Cowpea is highly nutritious. The seed contains about 25% protein
together with several other nutrients (Frank-petersideet al., 2002). In
addition, cowpea contains bioactive antioxidants such as: vitamin C,
carotenoids and phenolic compounds (Caiet al., 2003; Dobaldoet al., 2005).
Apart from having much protein content than the cereals, cowpea is also a good
source of dietary fiber and starch (Osorio – Diaz et al., 2005),
minerals and vitamins (Kutoset al., 2002). They are staple food and
low-cost source of protein in developing countries where Protein Energy
Malnutrition is prevalent (Van Heerden and Schonfelft, 2004).Many reports claim
that inclusion in the daily diet has many physiological benefits in controlling
and preventing various metabolic diseases such as: Diabetes Mellitus, Coronary
Heart Diseases and Colon Cancer (Thoronathan and Mehadenvarnma, 2003). Protein
content of the leafy cowpea parts consumed annually in Africa and Asia are
equivalent to 5million tones of dry cowpea seeds and this represents as much as
30% of the total food legume production in the lowland tropics (Steele et
al., 1985). The tender shoot tips and leaves can be consumed as the plant
reach the seeding stage and immature pods and seeds can be consumed during the
fruiting stage (Fery, 2002).
Cowpea
has wide soil type adaptability and is considered more drought tolerant than
groundnut in Niger (Fery, 2002).Tolerance to drought reduces the use of
irrigation and subsequently the cost of production. It is used as a cover crop
(Frank-Petersideet al., 2002) and as fodder for livestock (Erkut and
Congiz, 2004). Another advantage of cowpeas is the addition of nitrogen to soil
through nitrogen fixation and even benefitting a succeeding cereal crop.
Cowpea
production is beset by an array of pests and diseases that can cause serious
devastation, thus leading to reduced yield and low profitability. Several
foliage defoliators‘ insects, chiefly among which are: Acrididae, have been
reported to cause severe defoliation of cowpea. A considerable number of
Lepidoptera larvae have been reported to feed on cowpea leaves, skeletonizing
and sometimes defoliating the plant. Other major defoliators belong to the
family Chrysomelidae (Allen et al., 1996). NFRA (2008) revealed that the
total land area cultivated by small holderfarmers and their output of cowpea in
Nigeria has dropped drastically inrecent times. The low yield obtained in most
cowpea producing areas of West Africa islargely due to field insect pests which
feed on reproductive plant parts causing mosteconomic damage thereby
necessitating appropriate control measure Karungiet al.,(2000).
Effective
control of pest infestation on cowpea can only be achieved through the use
of convectional insecticides. The efficacy of pesticides (which include
insecticides) depends mainly on their level of use which in turn depends on
their market prices. Prices are particularly important since most of the
pesticides are imported into the country (Tijani and Oshotimehin, 2007). With
the low exchange rate of the Nigerian currency against major currencies of the
world, the prices of the pesticides are becoming comparatively high. It
is expected therefore that farmers would respond to changes in prices by
adjusting the level ofuse of the resource alongside changes in its market
prices. Scientist has attributed the low output per hectare of cowpea to the
attack of pest and diseases.
1.2
Problem Statement
Food
is a basic human need. It‘s important for human survival as well as growth and
good health. It enables us to be able to live decent and fulfilling lives.
Kruger et al., (2008) emphasised that freedom from hunger is the most
fundamental human right that can be attained. This right can only be enjoyed if
an individual is food secured and poverty is alleviated.
Production
of cowpea in Nigeria is expected to be of high value; this flows from the fact
that cowpea is low cost crop to produce because they require minimum input.
Cowpea tends to have higher output to input ratio as compared to crops such as
maize (Auko, 2006). This implies that cowpea should have high market value in
terms of profitability.
However,
little is known about the profitability of cowpea production in Nigeria and
more especially on how to use it to alleviate poverty among cowpea farmers.
This is because despite the great potentials, cowpea has received little
attention in terms of agricultural policy thrust and economic research (Auko,
2006). Most research on the crop focused on characteristics such as yield
enhancement through breeding, soil management and agronomical practices
(Tenywa, 1999).
Hence,
other factors concerning pulse and in particular cowpea are important such as
production efficiency, market dynamics, consumer preference and indeed
profitability because these factors have an influence on production. According
to a study that was conducted on profitability of beans production in Honduras,
some factors that are found to influence profitability are farmers
characteristics, input use, land use, cost, whether the farmer produce for sale
or for home consumption as well as method of production (Tschering, 2002). However,
as there are no national data on food security and poverty, information on
rural food security and poverty are not readily available especially in Nigeria
(Omotosho, 2010). Hence, And there are limited study on how increasing farmers
efficiency in cowpea production as a means of reducing poverty among farmers in
Kwara state Nigeria. This study is designed to provide answers to the following
research questions:
i.
What are the socio economic characteristics of cowpea farmers in the study
area?
ii.
What are the technical, allocative and economic efficiency of cowpea production
in the study area?
iii.
What are the costs and return associated with cowpea production in the study
area?
iv.
What are the problems faced by farmers involved in the production of cowpea in
the study area?
Department: Agricultural Economics
Format: Microsoft Word
Format: Microsoft Word
Chapters: 1 - 5, Preliminary Pages, Abstract, References, Questionnaire
Delivery: Email
Delivery: Email
No. of Pages: 88
Price: 3000 NGN
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