Journal of Economics, Management and Trade

External debts can have either positive or negative effects on the economic growth of country’s economy. If external debts are used for development expenditure then the country may benefit because development expenditure like infrastructure may have a multiplier effect on boosting economic growth. This paper examines the impact of public debt on economic growth in Tanzania for the period 1970 to 2015. The study utilized co-integration and Vector Error Correction Mechanism (VECM) Approach to test the relationship between public debt and economic growth and granger causality test to examine the causal relationship between variable. The unit root tests showed that all variables were integrated after taking the first difference, the Johansen co-integration result showed that the variables were co-integrated. The VECM estimate showed that there is a negative relationship between public debt and economic growth in Tanzania over the study period. In addition, granger causality test revealed that there is no causal relationship between public debt and economic growth. Based on these findings, this study recommended that Government and policy makers should stop the accumulation of external debt stock overtime and prevent concealing of the motive behind external debt; external debts should be used only for productive investment of highest priorities that would help in yielding returns for economic reasons (productive purposes) and not for social or political reasons.

Aims: This study examines maize and cassava farmers’ attitudes towards risk and risk combating strategies in Southwest, Nigeria.

Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted in Ondo State, Nigeria between February, 2015 and August, 2015.

Methodology: A multistage sampling procedure was employed to select 320 respondents for the study. The collected data were analysed using descriptive statistics and ordered probit regression model.

Results: The results show that 46.8% and 50.9% of cassava and maize farmers respectively were risk averse, while about 25.3% and 22.4% of cassava and maize farmers respectively were risk taker. The remaining 27.9% and 26.7% of the respondents in cassava and maize enterprise respectively were risk neutral. Also, findings from the study on cassava enterprise revealed that gender, age, farming experience, membership of association, non-farm income and extension agent visits had significant relationship with farmers’ risk attitude. On maize enterprise, the study indicated that age, household size, educational status, membership of association, storage availability and farm size had significant relationship with farmers’ risk attitude. The results of respondents’ strategies at combating risks in cassava and maize production showed that majority of the farmers indicated multiple cropping, engagement in less risky enterprises and income diversification as strategies used at combating risks while the least strategy used was insurance. Therefore, the impact of Agricultural Insurance Industry still needs to be felt more in order to encourage farmers who are risk averse to be risk taker. The agricultural insurance industry in Nigeria should be further strengthened and empowered to service risky farm businesses.

Aims: To study the different sources of paddy seed, share of different varieties, seed replacement rate and management of paddy seed by the farmers in Eastern Uttar Pradesh.

Study Design:  The present study is based on primary data and information. One development block was selected randomly from the Mau district, and five villages were again selected randomly from the selected block. From each selected village, the data and information were collected from 20 randomly selected farmers on the basis of probability proportional to the total number of farmers in each farm category.

Place and Duration of Study: The present study was conducted in Mau district of Uttar Pradesh during the agricultural year 2013-14.

Methodology: The Seed Replacement Rate (SRR) in paddy was worked out both in case of certified and quality seed separately. Certified seed meant that each bag of seed used by the farmers has certification tag and label. Quality seed includes both seed, i.e. certified seed and truthfully labelled seed (TLS). TLS production is entirely free from government certification scheme, but Labelling is also compulsory in case of TLS.

Results: The analysis of data for procurement of paddy seed from different sources shows that farmers used the maximum quantity (31.65 per cent) of farm-saved seed followed by private seed dealers (22.70 per cent), Research Institute (20.06 per cent), Department of agriculture/ Co-operatives (12.71 per cent) and authorized dealers (9.75 per cent). The farmers were using 26.47 kg paddy seed per ha in comparison to the recommended level of 30 kg/ha. Seed replacement rate for paddy was 42.99 and was 63.46 per cent with respect to certified seed and quality seed respectively. The ratio of public and private sector paddy varieties regarding area covered in the study area was 77:23. It was found that 51.00 per cent farmers paid attention to the crop in the field itself to select the crop to be used as seed. Past experience of the farmers was the main criteria for judgments on purity and quality of paddy seed.

Conclusion: The study suggests that farmers may be motivated and educated for the use of quality seed and seed replacement from authentic sources. Also, seed agencies need to strengthen their distribution network for easy and timely availability of quality seed to the farmers. 

The study sought to estimate the causal and dynamic relationship between macroeconomic variables and FPI in West Africa using System GMM techniques over the period of 1990 to 2016. The annual panel data were employed to achieve the objectives of the study. The results are in different form. Using system-GMM, the results provide useful evidence that variables of interest (portfolio equity and bond) do not exert any significant influence on the macroeconomic variables implying the underperformance of FPI. On the side of the short run and long run, portfolio equity and bond are insignificant in influencing real gross domestic product implying the underperformance of FPI. In sum, there is evidence of mixed result in portfolio equity/bond relationship with unemployment and balance of payment respectively. Portfolio equity has negative and statistically insignificant while portfolio bond has positive and insignificant. The policy implication is that the non-causality between FPI and macroeconomic variables could be attributed to poor economic activities among this developing countries and less developed nature of financial market important revelation for policy implication.

This study examined the impact of export diversification on economic growth in Nigeria from 1980 to 2016. The ARDL bound testing approach to cointegration was employed as a methodology for the study. The results showed that export diversification had a positive and insignificant relationship with economic growth in Nigeria. However, exports of goods and services and the growth rate of exports had a positive and statistically significant effect on the country’s economic growth, whereas openness to trade had a negative and insignificant influence. Furthermore, investment proxied by gross fixed capital formation exerted a positive and statistically significant relationship with economic growth. Nevertheless, the study concluded that trade openness was not a determinant of economic growth in Nigeria. The findings had important policy implications for economic policy and recommended that constructive attention should be given to exports of primary products which have persistently suffered from declining terms of trade in order to enhance economic growth. In addition, the current government should sustain the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP), an export-led economic growth and development strategy. However, the country is encouraged to create the institutional capacity to ensure adherence to International Export Quality Assurance Standards, embark on value-addition to exportable goods through investment in technologies for the processing of primary export commodities to boost export quality and revenues and diversify the economy away from primary exports production for the ERGP to bear fruits. Furthermore, the enabling environment for the attraction of foreign direct investment in the export sector should be created by encouraging independent power supply providers through further liberalization of the power sector, for the country to realize its economic growth and development aspirations.