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This study examines how agro-financing impacts on food production in Nigeria supporting Goal 2 of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which aims to "end hunger, achieve food security, improve nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture". The study covers the period 1981-2018 using annual data sourced from the World Development Indicators (WDI) of the World Bank, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Statistical Bulletin. The Johansen and the Canonical Cointegration approaches are employed and findings reveal that agro-financing is statistically significant in explaining the level of food production in Nigeria.The result implies that a 1% increase in farmers' access to agricultural finance is associated with an increase in food production by 0.002%-0.006% depending on the model specification. This result aligns with the 'a priori' expectations as it is expected that more agro-funding at low-interest rates motivates farmers to secure high-yield seedlings, machinery and other farm implements, organic inputs that positively impact on total agricultural yield, leading to more food production. Therefore, the study recommends that more funding be allocated to the agrarian sector with less stringent credit conditions, and more arable land be allotted for farming purposes amongst others.

Background: The problem of poverty eradication has been limited to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) region, which accounts for more than 40% of the world's poor population. The majority of these people are rural farmers who depend solely on agriculture for livelihood. Agriculture in West Africa remains the largest means of employment in which more than 60% of the sub-region’s active labour force is involved. Objective: This study examined the potentials of agriculture to generate employment for the people, thereby reducing the level of poverty in West Africa. Methods: The Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) econometric technique was employed in this study for the panel data covering the period of 17 years (2000 to 2016). Results: Results from the study showed that agriculture provides the opportunity for the poor to increase their earnings to escape the poverty trap, whether the poor can seize these agricultural opportunities depends on their human capital development. Conclusion: The study, therefore, concluded that effective policies (e.g. social protection) should be formulated in the agricultural development plans that will prioritize sustainable land and water management, access to markets, and the food security. To achieve this, the use of modern methods should be encouraged through farm incentives to boost agricultural production and increase farmer’s income which is earned through the sale of agricultural commodities, and thus; in the long run, increase the revenue accruing to the government and reduce the rate of poverty.

Background:It is a known fact that the efficiency of credit facility positively contributes to production base of a sector, especially the Nigerian agricultural sector which is recognised as the heartbeat of the economy by employing over 70% of the country’s labour force; this forms the motivation for this study.Objective:This study examined the potential of agricultural credit facilities in terms of commercial bank credit to agriculture and agricultural credit guarantee scheme fund (ACGSF) and their corresponding interest rates to farmers towards increasing agricultural production as the pathway to food security in Nigeria.Method:The study employed the Autoregressive Distribution Lag (ARDL) econometric approach on the time series data sourced from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) statistical bulletin, Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the World Development Indicators (WDI) for the period 1990-2016.Result:The result from ARDL showed that commercial banks credits and ACGSF increased food security by 8.12% and 0.002% respectively, while population reduces food security by 0.001%.Conclusion:The study concluded that population should be controlled through family planning and adequate financing of the ACFSF by the government and monitor commercial banks leading interest rates on credit facilities.

This study examined the operational characteristics of MSEs and their contributions towards addressing the national challenge of unemployment. The research was based on Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government Area in Ogun State, Nigeria. The study employed descriptive analysis and Ordinary Least Square (OLS) regression technique in estimating the data obtained. The administration of questionnaire was applied to collect the data. The study found out that micro and small-scale enterprises contributed to economic growth through their operational activities, via the job creation in the economy. Thus, the study recommended that government policies should be put in place to encourage micro and small enterprises, and the provision of infrastructures, credit facilities, tax holidays, training program, amongst others, for MSEs. It was also recommended for funding agencies to consider the trends of practicing MSEs towards addressing critical economic and social issues such as job creation, in granting them funding facilities, in order to facilitate continuous participation in job creation among Nigerian MSEs. AcknowledgmentThe authors appreciate the Management of Covenant University for funding the publishing of this manuscript in this journal.