Drivers of rice price variation in Nigeria: A two-stage iterative ridge regression approach

• Published in: Journal of agricultural sciences (Belgrade, Serbia) Vol. 61; no. 1; pp. 79 - 92
• Main Authors: Ayinde, Opeyemi, Aina, Victor, Ayinde, Kayode, Lukman, Adewale
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: University of Belgrade - Faculty of Agriculture, Belgrade 2016
• Subjects: price variation; rice; ridge regression and Nigeria
• ISSN: 1450-8109; 2406-0968
• DOI: 10.2298/JAS1601079A

Most studies on local rice in Nigeria were centred on increasing production,
consumption or competitiveness with very few of them addressing the
determinants of the price of rice in an economy. Filling this gap requires a
study on the various factors that influence the price of rice. Food price
instability is a frequent forerunner of macroeconomic shocks and political
turmoil that can discourage long-run investment and curtail growth. In this
study, secondary data were employed. The study used descriptive statistics
tools to analyse the pattern of price variation over the period of 42 years
in the study area. Similarly, various factors affecting price variation of
rice were examined. The following recommendations were made: appropriate tax
collection measures on producers should be implemented so as to curtail
farmers from exploiting the masses by making excessive gains. Since the
decrease in export results in an increase in price, the government should
keep a balance between import and export to maintain the price of rice at a
reasonable level. The price of rice can be reduced by the government when
they implement measures to control the inflation rate in the economy. The
government should put measures to regulate the quantity of land used by rice
producers as well as to control the price of rice, since they both have a
positive relationship.
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