Browsing by Subject "Nigeria"

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Digital innovations and institutional barriers in agricultural input subsidy programmes in sub‐Saharan Africa: evidence from Nigeria
(2026) Adetoyinbo, Ayobami; Gupta, Saurabh; Okoruwa, Victor; Adetoyinbo, Ayobami; Department of Agricultural Economics, Agrifood Chain Management, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany; Gupta, Saurabh; Centre for Development Policy and Management (CDPM), Indian Institute of Management, Udaipur (IIMU), Udaipur, India; Okoruwa, Victor; Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria
Motivation: Agricultural input subsidy programmes are crucial for improving agricultural productivity in sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA). However, there is little empirical evidence on how second‐generation input subsidy programmes (SISPs) based on information and communication technology (ICT) are implemented and the institutional challenges that undermine their effectiveness. Purpose: This article assesses the implementation of ICT‐based SISPs and their challenges in SSA using the Nigerian e‐wallet input subsidy programme as a case study. We draw on a conceptual framework that integrates the national innovation system (NIS), contingency theory, and new institutional economics. Approach and methods: We analysed expert interviews and participatory qualitative data from Process Net‐Maps and focus group discussions (FGDs) using content and Process Net‐Map analyses. Findings: The results show that over 20 public, private and community actors were involved in implementing the e‐wallet SISP across five stages. The programme increased private‐sector participation, reduced corruption, improved recipient targeting, and speeded up input delivery compared to first‐generation input programmes. However, weak institutional arrangements (such as poor funding, restricted institutional collaborations, and stakeholder capability gaps) undermined the innovation aspect of the e‐wallet SISP. The programme also faced five main challenges: policy inconsistency, poor information flow and weak reporting, moral hazards such as “round‐tripping,” input leakage and diversion, and elite capture. The study concludes that institutional constraints, rigid organizational structures, and a narrow focus on solving first‐generation programme challenges limited the ability of actors to adapt to new and evolving challenges. Policy implications: Effective SISPs and input policies require supportive institutional environments that allow actors from all sectors to function effectively. Programmes should thus be designed and managed with flexible and organic structures that foster collaboration among private, public, and community stakeholders. Continuous, stage‐specific evaluations and smart governance tools, such as real‐time mobile data collection and buy‐back initiatives, can strengthen monitoring, input tracking, accountability, and input use incentives.
Phylogenetic analysis and public health implications of Salmonella Strains in southwestern states of Nigeria using InvA gene sequences
(2025) Fadipe, Emmanuel O.; Hölzle, Ludwig E.; Hölzle, Ludwig E.; Department of Livestock Infectiology and Environmental Hygiene, Institute of Animal Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Hohenheim, 70599 Stuttgart, Germany; Da Silveira, Júlia Angélica Gonçalves; Department of Livestock Infectiology and Environmental Hygiene, Institute of Animal Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Hohenheim, 70599 Stuttgart, Germany; Salvarani, Felipe M.; Department of Livestock Infectiology and Environmental Hygiene, Institute of Animal Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Hohenheim, 70599 Stuttgart, Germany; Domingues, Sheyla Farhayldes Souza; Department of Livestock Infectiology and Environmental Hygiene, Institute of Animal Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Hohenheim, 70599 Stuttgart, Germany; Da Silveira, Júlia Angélica Gonçalves; Salvarani, Felipe M.; Domingues, Sheyla Farhayldes Souza
Salmonella is a significant public health concern in Nigeria causing foodborne illnesses. Genetic diversity and prevalence of Salmonella is poorly understood in Nigeria. This study assessed the occurrence of Salmonella in various poultry houses in Nigeria and explored the evolutionary relationships among the isolates by analysis on invA gene. A total number of 314 samples (feces, feed, dust, waters, and palm swab) were collected from 49 farms in Abeokuta (18), Ibadan (20) and Oshogbo (11). Salmonella was detected with a prevalence of 2.75% in Ogun, 6.0% in Osun and 5.71%, in Oyo States, respectively. The overall prevalence of Salmonella in poultry farms sampled was 15/314 (4.78%). Sequence analysis revealed two sequences 01 and 02 to have 99.59% and 89.04 homologies with sequence of Paratyphi serovar (LC320032) and Enteritidis serovar (LC318423) in GenBank, respectively. Sequence 01 clustered with S. serovar Enteritidis from the USA, whereas Sequence 02 formed a distinct clade near S. serovar Typhimurium from Egypt. These findings underscore the public health significance of S. enterica in Nigeria, particularly in relation to food animals. The study highlights the need for improved farm management practices, stringent food safety regulations, and robust surveillance systems to mitigate the risk of Salmonella outbreaks.
Seeing through two lenses: applying actor-centred and structural perspectives to understand farmer innovation and technological change
(2022) Pircher, Thomas; Knierim, Andrea
Science and technology can make a major contribution to ending hunger, achieving food security and improving nutrition. Developing and spreading of innovations in agriculture and nutrition therefore is a main objective of international agricultural research. Despite decades of research, understanding the complex processes around technological change by small-scale farmers remains a challenge for researchers. Whereas behavioural approaches often neglect the influence of the wider innovation systems, approaches that focus on larger systemic challenges tend to downplay human agency. Research approaches that analytically differentiate structural and actor-centred perspectives and their interplay hold potential for more nuanced understanding of farmer innovation and technological change. This thesis reviewed and explored the application of approaches that aim to understand farmer innovation and technological change through the interplay of two analytical lenses: actor-centred and structural. The three empirical research studies addressed different aspects of agriculture and nutrition, and included multiple study locations. Although each of the studies had its own objectives, they all relate to analytical dualism. In this regard, the study approaches separately focused on actor-centred and structural perspectives, and analysed how these influenced each other. Data collection and analysis in the empirical chapters followed these principles by developing and applying adapted conceptualisations of seed systems and agricultural innovation systems. The systematic literature review in Chapter 2 provided an overview on methods for studying farmers’ choices and demand for seed of roots, tuber and banana crops. The review identified 46 studies in which researchers studied various aspects and types of farmers’ demand for seed of five crops in 18 countries. The qualitative analysis and categorization of the identified studies have led into a classification scheme. In one type of studies farmers expressed their preferences and choices through surveys or engagements in trials, auctions, choice experiments and interviews (explicit demand articulation). In another types of studies, researchers characterized farmers’ use of varieties through determinants of adoption, current seed management practices or the functioning of their seed and farming systems (implicit demand articulation). The study of the cassava seed system in Chapter 3 developed and applied a research approach that recognizes the interplay between farmer’s demand for seed and the seed supply functions of the cassava seed system in Nigeria. The farmers maintained and gradually replaced a portfolio of varieties from multiple sources that reflected individual trait preferences. The national agriculture development program alone did not have the capacity to supply farmers with sufficient seed of desired varieties. Exchange between farmers and informal seed sellers contributed to the distribution of seed and new varieties. Informal seed sellers and decentralized seed multipliers have the potential to respond to farmers’ heterogeneous demands. However, they would need continuous support from formal seed system actors to reach underserved markets. The study of innovation and scaling in Kenya and Uganda in Chapter 4 analysed innovation processes in agriculture and nutrition through farmer-centred and structural perspectives. In an international research and development project, researchers introduced farmers to new agriculture and nutrition practices in action learning activities. The farmers selected, adapted and combined the promoted practices according to their individual preferences and needs. In addition to the researchers from the project, a wide range of innovation support providers encouraged farmers to develop innovations in farming, marketing, and nutrition. Promoting farmer innovation processes beyond the project sites and duration would require the engagement of multiple innovation support providers in creating an enabling environment for experimentation and demand articulation. Analysing the empirical chapters with the overarching theoretical framework of the thesis highlights how structural conditions of seed systems and agricultural innovation systems influenced farmer innovation or technological change processes. The cases also illustrate how farmers reacted upon these conditions through social interactions. As a major finding, the analysis points out that the process of structural elaboration – how the agency of farmers influenced structural conditions - remains limited across the empirical chapters. This indicates a need to empower actors in articulating their demands for research and extension services and shaping their institutional environments.