Response of nigerian cassava expansion initiatives to climate changes, economic growth and some policy instrument (1970-2012)

This study considered the limiting response of Nigeria cassava expansion initiative
to climate changes, economic growth and some policy instruments. The presidential initiative to make cassava a foreign exchange earner as well as ensuring that national demand are satisfied has made cassava a significant economic crop and resource input of industrial and international status . Currently, its derivatives such as animal feed, starch, ethanol, cassava chip, cassava flour, cassava liquoretc are in high demand. Having gained international recognition some factors need be examined to ascertain the limiting response of this economic crop some exogenous factors. The specific objectives of interest were to ascertain the response of cassava output expansion to rainfall, temperature, imports, exports,credit allocation to agribusiness, exchange rate, nominal interest rate, inflation and GDP from 1970–2012. Also, it examined the short and long run effects of these variables to cassava output so as to know how much adjustment it makes to reach the equilibrium. Secondary data were used for this research work. The technique of data analysis was auto-regressive modeling regression. To capture the long run and short run dynamics of cassava output behavior, the error correction model (ECM) using the Engle-Granger methodology was adopted . The result revealed a very high rate of adjustment to long run equilibrium and the variables are correlated which means that impact of each variable on cassava output behavior in the economy is inseparable . The Error correction coefficient of-0.975 measures the speed of adjustment towards long run equilibrium earned the expected negative sign and is statistically significant at 1% risk level. Thus, this study recommends that the emerging cassava economy of Nigeria would be adequately empo wered for efficient productivity if the Government stipulate policies that will encourage domestic output expansion to meet then ational and foreign demands while avoiding increase in inflation, importation of goods and services and proper checks and balances of the increase and decrease of temperature and rainfall using effective and efficient metrological centre.

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Climate change ,

economic growth ,

cassava expansion ,