Social Protection Policies and Agricultural Output in Nigeria: Empirical Investigation Using Household Survey Data

Abstract

This study investigates the relationship between social protection policies and agricultural output in Nigeria using data from Living Standard Measurement Study-Integrated Survey on Agriculture (LSMS-ISA) conducted in August-October 2012 and February-April 2013 for post planting interview and post-harvest interview respectively, for a sample of 4,210 farming community level households. The method of analysis employed is the Propensity Score Matching (PSM) index. The results from the PSM show that households who benefit from social protection programs in the form of agricultural credits experience three times yield more than their counterparts who do not. In the aftermath of a shock, those farmers without social protection suffer deprivation, which results to lowering consumption that deepens their poverty. To the knowledge of the authors, the PSM technique has not been applied in the study of social protection interventions on the agricultural sector in Nigeria. This study will enable policy makers to understand the impact of social protection on agricultural productivity, which is capable of raising the output capacity of the rural farmer.

Keywords: Social Protection; Agricultural Output; Household Farming; Propensity Score Matching (PSM), Nigeria

JEL Classification: I30; J43; Q10