Rural Farmer Productivity in the Tropics: The Nigerian Experience

Abstract

The dilemma posed by the poverty and low agricultural productivity of rural farmers in tropical countries in spite of generous natural resource endowments has continuously baffled their agricultural policy makers. This paper contends that this perplexing situation has been due primarily to the omission of a crucial determinant —producer's health capital — in the usual agricultural development models applied to these countries. This contention is analyzed through a deterministic model designed to relate rural farmers' health and the quality and level of nutrition to physical work output, farm work efficiency and rural farming profitability. To account for the full effects of all nutritional variables without encountering problems of multicollinearity and model mis‐specification, principal component analysis is used to transform these variables into a single proxy which is linearly independent of the original variables but which adequately represents them and retains their effects in the analysis. The results are presented in four tables and show, among other things, that there is an asymmetric response inform profits with respect to being ill vis‐à‐vis being healthy because of the quality of nutrition, so that rural farmers lose farm profits much faster during sickness than they can make these profits during healthy days. La pauvreté el la faible productivité agricole des paysans dans les pays tropicaux, bien que ces derniers soient riches en ressources naturelles, sont des dilemmes qui n'ont cessé de déconcerter les responsables en politique agricole. Cette communication affirme que cette situation déconcertante est causée avant tout par le fait qu'on néglige un determinant crucial (le capital que represénte la santé des producteurs) dans les schemas de d'eveloppement agricole que l'on applique à ces mèmes pays. Cette thèse est analysée au moyen d'un modè le dèterministe qui met en relation la santè des paysans, la qualité et le niveau de leur alimentation avec leur rendement physique, la productivité et la rentabililé agricoles. Pour expliquer pleinemenl tous les effets des variables nutritionnelles sans se heurter aux probfemes de multicolinearité et d'erreurs de spécification dans le modele, on utilise l'analyse des composantes principalespour transformer ces variables en un seul substitut; ce dernier est lineairement indepéndant des variables originelles, mais les représente adéquatement et maintient leurs effets dans l'analyse. Les résultats apparaissent dans quatre tableaux et montrent, entre autres, une réponse asymétrique dans les profits agricoles suivant l'ét at de santé des paysans et la qualité de leur alimentation; un paysan malade perd ses profits agricoles plus vite qu'il les acquiert quand il est bien portant.

Occupational Hazards Prevalence and Agricultural Workers’ Job Performance of Agricultural Organisations in Oyo State, Nigeria

“…Therefore, farming activities exposed workers to hazardous assortment which subsequently leads to paces of injuries and ailments. Ngambeki & Ikpi (1982) and Arcury et al, (2010) claimed that hazards are causing those who are actively involved in agricultural production not to make maximum use of all the inputs at their disposal, decreasing productivity and negatively impacting farm income rates. Injured agricultural workers are of no use especially to private organisations, their appointments are terminated.…”

Perceived Effects of Occupational Hazards on Farmers’ Productivity in Kwara State, Nigeria

“…A study in Nigeria, for example, found that the vast majority of women farmers practicing mixed cropping system suffered from intense muscular fatigue, heat exhaustion, and skin disorders, forcing them to take days off from attending to their crops [9]. Ngambeki & Ikpi stated that these hazards make farmers not to utilize fully all inputs at their disposal, reduces productivity, and equally impacts negatively on farm profit levels [10]. This study was therefore borne out of the need to ensure that farmers, most especially small scale farmers, in the study area become aware of the potential effects of farm hazards on agricultural productivity.…”