This research empirically determined the cost efficiency of the farmers that participated in the IFAD/VCD programme in Niger State of Nigeria. The study elicited cross-sectional data of the 2018 cropping season viz. wellstructured questionnaire complemented with interview schedule from a sample size of 110 respondents selected through a multi-stage sampling technique. The sampled data were analysed using the stochastic cost frontier model. The empirical evidence showed that none of the farmers was on the cost frontier surface i.e. inability to attain optimal minimum cost in the cultivation of rice in the studied area. The identified significant idiosyncratic variables militating against cost efficiency were the poor health status of the farm family which led to the extra cost incurred in labour substitution and diseconomies of scale due to their small-scale mode of operation. Therefore, the study recommends that the policymakers should sensitize the farmers on the importance of health preventive measures and should endeavour to improve on the existing basic health centres both in human capital and logistics. In addition, the farmers should be encouraged to explore cooperative marketing so as to take advantage of the bulk discount in input purchase and have bargaining power in the marketing of their output, thus tackling the problem of diseconomies of scale in their farm operations.

The present research empirically determined the effect of IFAD programme on output and input commercialization among rice farmers in Niger State of Nigeria using field survey data elicited from 111 participants and 185 non-participants (90 and 95 non-participants from exposed and control groups respectively) drawn via multi-stage sampling design. The collected data were analyzed using Heckman's model. The empirical finding showed that the programme has no effect on output commercialization due to the poor market outlet as a result of no provision of established off-takers. However, the input support aspect of the programme mandate exerts an effect on the input commercialization among the farmers in the studied area. Furthermore, the poor incentive for extension agents, non-productive large household dominated by weaker people and one-way income traffic affected output commercialization among the rice farmers in the study area. Therefore, based on these, the programme should link the farmers with off-takers so as to sustain the viability of the programme even after its life span. In addition, to tackle poor extension contact, the farmers should effectively and efficiently use their social capital to introduce farmer to farmer extension approach by using private extension service as the technical support unit.

In this paper, Grey system model (GM(1,1)) and Grey-Markov model that forecast Nigeria  annual Rice production have been presented. The data used in the research were collected from  the archive of Central Bank of Nigeria for a period of Six years (2010-2015). The fitted models showed high level of  accuracy. Hence, the models can be used for food security plans of the  nation.

The present research empirically examined the growth performance of soyabean production in Nigeria using time series data which spanned from 1961 to 2017, sourced from FAO database. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, growth model, instability index, Hazell decomposition model, Nerlovian's model and ARIMA model. Empirical evidence showed that the growth in the production trend of soyabean in Nigeria is majorly driven by an increase in the area and not yield which is not favorable for sustainable soyabean food security in the country. Furthermore, risk and uncertainty were observed to be the major source of instability in the production of soyabean in the country. Therein, the risk impacted negatively on the area allocation decision of the soyabean farmers in the studied area. The forecasted production trend showed that the country's soyabean production will observe a paradigm shift from the area as the major driver of production to yield. Thus, technology will be the major driver of soyabean production in Nigeria. The trend if sustained will be a breakthrough for the country's soyabean food security and will curtail the incessant farmers/herders clashes and tenurial conflicts owing to high pressure and competing demand for arable land for other purposes. Therefore, policies which will convert one-quarter of the arable land to other agricultural uses should be welcome as the future production trend of soyabean will be driven by technological advancement. In addition, the government should do more in subsidizing farm inputs in order to enhance farmers' term of trade, thereby wading-off the risks that negatively impacted on the acreage allocation decision of the producers.

The study determined the prospect of the rice milling cottage industry in Nigeria's Niger State using cross-sectional data. The data were collected with the aid of a well-structured questionnaire complemented with an interview scheduled from fifty-five (55) active millers chosen through a multi-stage sampling technique. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used for data analysis. Based on the findings, it can be suggested that the potential of rice milling enterprise in the study area has not been fully explored despite its profitability turnover ratio. The industry is exclusively men enterprise with the majority been low-income earners. Potentials alongside challenges still exist in the rice milling industry as evident by the overwhelming influences of weakness and threat. Millers' age was observed to be the major inducing factor that increases income inequality among the processors. In lieu of the foregoing, the study advised the millers to adopt a defensive strategy to remain afloat in the industry. In addition, there is a need for capacity building enhancement viz. acquisitions of innovative milling skills by the millers, thus enhancing their managerial efficiency.