We document that structural change accounts for approximately one-fifth of the total change in labor productivity in Nigeria between 1996 and 2009. Labor moved out of the agricultural and wholesale and retail trade sectors into manufacturing, transportation and communications, business services,...

Despite the rapid pace of urbanization taking place in Nigeria, half of Nigerians (approximately 70 million individuals) still live in rural areas; most of them engaged in smallholder semi-subsistence agriculture. Agriculture remains a crucial sector in the Nigerian economy, being a major source...

This paper presents the findings of a case study on land governance in the Ondo State of Nigeria. A conceptual framework based on concepts of organizational theory is presented to guide the study. The empirical part of the study focuses on two cases of land registration and two cases of land...

Nigerian farmers have been slow in adopting improved seeds due to constraints in both supply and demand. Demand-side constraints pertain to farmers’ characteristics, while supply-side constraints are related to capacity. Farmers’ seed demand is complex, and empirical information on...

Despite recent studies on improved seed varieties estimating the adoption rates of maize in 1998 at 40 percent (Manyong et al. 2000) and rice at 60 percent (Larsson 2005), true adoption rates appear to be unknown. This knowledge gap exists due to the ambiguity surrounding what constitutes...

Low fertilizer use is professed to be among the many reasons for low agricultural productivity in Nigeria. Fertilizer application, estimated at 13 kg/ha in 2009 by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, is far lower than the 200 kg/ha recommended by the United Nations Food...

Small-scale private irrigation (SPRI) schemes make up most of the irrigated area in Nigeria, although they constitute only about three percent of the cultivated area in the country. Farmers' demand for SPRI is potentially affected by diverse sets of agroecological, socioeconomic and risk...

This study analyzes the application of an input voucher program implemented in 2009 in two Nigerian states, Kano and Taraba. Using primary data collected from 1000 households, we explore the effect of the voucher program on the quantity and quality of fertilizer received, the timeliness of...

Small-scale private irrigation schemes (SPRI) have been the driving force behind the expansion of irrigated areas in Nigeria, despite government efforts to promote large-scale public irrigation schemes. SPRI allows adjustment of irrigation schedules in accordance with observed crop needs. The...