Analyzing Drivers of Food Crop Productivity in Nigeria

Enhanced agricultural productivity is the key issue being presently discussed by agricultural stakeholders as being imperative to the attainment of food security, reducing the present high rate of unemployment and the diversification of Nigeria’s economy from being oil dependent. This study therefore attempts to isolate factors that drive agricultural crop productivity in Nigeria. The study made use of panel data from 36 states and Federal Capital territory between 1995 and 2006. Livestock, Fisheries and forestry data were not readily available and therefore not analyzed in this report. The econometric model used in this paper is a panel data model that takes into consideration OLS random and fixed effects as well as GLS with fixed state effect models. The results indicate that increase in agricultural crop production in Nigeria is based on land expansion. The share of the female labour is positively associated with productivity suggesting higher productivity of the female labour. The results confirm the important role that female farmers play in food production and ensuring food security. Fertilizer use was positively associated with productivity but the association was not significant. The non-significant impact of fertilizer on crop productivity might be due to inadequate use of fertilizer, while the positive association is an indication that it is a yield enhancing technology.The results of the models with year dummies show that crop area has a slightly negative and significant association with value of production. The finding of this paper makes it imperative to suggest the need for adoption of technologies that will bring about productivity gains in crop production through less of land expansion practices. It is also recommended that farmers’ capacity in terms of right quantity use of fertilizer should be enhanced, while female farmers’ participation in crop production should be encouraged.