Master's Thesis from the year 2007 in the subject Business economics - Miscellaneous, grade: A, , course: Agric Economics, language: English, abstract: This study examined the dynamism of price movement between markets and its implication on pricing efficiency in maize markets. Primary data were collected using interview guides. A total of 240 respondents were selected using stratified random sampling technique in 6 rural and 6 urban markets in Ogun State. Weekly retail prices of yellow and white maize for five years (January 1999-December 2003) were analysed using the Bivariate Cointegration test and the Granger causality test to detect the presence and level of price integration. In Ogun State, domestic production of maize increased by 9 percent a year between 1990 – 2001. Although the growth in maize production may be attributed to cultivating more crop area and/or the adoption of improved open pollinated and hybrid maize varieties which provide the major stimulus for increased yield on the average. Annual growth rate of maize yields was 9.08 percent during 1990 - 2001. Most of the growth came from yellow maize, which increased at 8.92 percent annually, compared with 3.57 percent for white maize. In comparison with other states in South-West however, the Ogun state average yield of 1.41 metric tons per hectare is the lowest. i. How integrated are the maize markets in the study area? ii. Are there evidences of lead-lag relationship among spatial maize markets in Ogun State? iii. Are there evidences of communication of information to integrate spatial markets? iv. How long does it take information to become common knowledge across spatially dispersed markets (temporal effect)? v. Are the market systems competitive or not?

This book provides fresh insights into concepts, methods and new research findings on the causes of excessive food price volatility. It also discusses the implications for food security and policy responses to mitigate excessive volatility. The approaches applied by the contributors range from on-the-ground surveys, to panel econometrics and innovative high-frequency time series analysis as well as computational economics methods. It offers policy analysts and decision-makers guidance on dealing with extreme volatility.

This handbook examines agricultural and rural development in Africa from theoretical, empirical and policy stand points. It discusses the challenges of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and assesses how poverty and other development concerns can be addressed in rural communities through agricultural transformation. Additionally, the handbook extends the Post-2015 Development Agenda and it emphasizes the importance of the agricultural sector as it is closely related to the issues of food sustainability, poverty reduction, and employment creation. The contributors suggest multiple evidence-based policies to develop the rural areas through the transformation of the agricultural sector which can significantly benefit the African continent.

George Ayittey’s Indigenous African Institutions presents a detailed and convincing picture of pre-colonial and post-colonial Africa - its cultures, traditions, and indigenous institutions, including participatory democracy.

The ninth edition of "Marketing of Agricultural Products" contains completely updated content, tables, figures, and references including the 1997 Census of Agriculture and Business, as well as Trade data, and U.S. Department of Agriculture studies. It blends marketing and economic theory with real world analytical tools to assist readers in better understanding the food system and making profitable marketing decisions. This edition includes increased treatment of food value-adding and marketing management, including advertising, new product development, sales promotion, pricing, and logistics. For farmers, consumers, or those in food marketing.

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.