African Journal of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development

African Journal of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development ISSN 2375-0693 Vol. 14 (4), pp. 001-007, April, 2026. Available online at www.internationalscholarsjournals.org © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Economic Analysis of the Competitiveness of Saudi Arabian Dates in International Trade

F. Al-Shreed¹, M. Al-Jamal¹, A. Al-Abbad¹, Z. Al-Elaiw¹, A. Ben Abdallah²* and H. Belaifa²

¹National Date Palm Research Centre (NDPRC), P. O. Box 43, Al-Hassa-31982, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
²FAO Project (UTFN/SAU/015/SAU), NDPRC, P. O. Box 43, Al-Hassa-31982, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Accepted 7 November, 2025

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is among the leading producers of quality dates where the per capita consumption of dates is highest in the world. We studied the global markets in terms of date importing and date exporting countries. Among the five groups of importing countries, the first group comprised of European Union, North America, Australia and New Zealand, group two comprised of Eastern Europe, Turkey and Russia, group three of the Gulf countries in the Middle-East including the States of Bahrain, Qatar, UAE and Kuwait, group four of the Arab States of Jordan, Syria, Morocco, Lebanon and Yemen while the fifth group from South Asia comprised of India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. The date exporting countries were categorized into three groups namely, the first group being USA, Mexico, South Africa and Israel, the second comprising of Egypt, Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Iraq and Oman while the third group of exporting countries being Tunisia and Algeria. We calculated the average price of dates for each of the groups of importing and exporting countries and studied the status of Saudi Arabian dates in the global markets and their suitability for exports. Five potential strengths of Saudi Arabian dates were identified that may be used either individually or collectively to strengthen the exports of dates from the Kingdom in each of the five date importing groups of countries where we also determined the potential market opportunities.

Key words: Dates, Saudi Arabia, exports, imports, global markets, strengths, opportunities.
 

African Journal of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development ISSN 2375-0693 Vol. 14 (3), pp. 001-006, March, 2026. Available online at www.internationalscholarsjournals.org © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Price Volatility of a Staple: A Comparative Study of Rural and Urban Garri Markets in Edo State, Nigeria

S. I. Orewa1* and R. A. Egware2

1Department of Agriculture, Benson Idahosa University, Benin City, Nigeria.
2Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension Services, University of Benin, Benin City, Nigeria.

Accepted 2 November, 2025

This study compared the prices of garri in both rural and urban markets of Edo State, Nigeria covering the period 1990 to 2005. Specifically, the study examined the nature and trend of price movement of garri in both markets (rural and urban), determined the annual rate of increase in the price of garri in the markets and tested if the differences in the price of garri in the rural and urban markets were significant. The prices used for the study were derived from the daily prices of garri collected by staff of the Edo State Agricultural Development Programme (EADP, 1990) from the various markets in Edo State, Nigeria. The data were analyzed using simple descriptive statistics (such as means, standard deviations, tables, graphs, etc) and the Student t-test. The study revealed that the price of garri for both markets were cheapest in the third quarter (months of July to September) and most expensive from the 4th to the 1st quarters (from December to around April). Generally, urban market prices for garri were higher than that of the rural markets for the period considered. The observed mean annual price increases (that is, growth rate) was 20.50 and 43.02% for rural and urban markets, respectively. When the differences in price of garri for both markets were tested on a four yearly basis, they were significantly different from each other implying a wide gap between the rural and urban markets occasioned by rising fuel prices over the years. The significant t-values obtained for the period on a four-yearly basis at the 5% level of significance were 1.342, 1.382, 2.250, and 2.321, respectively. Due to the disparity in prices between the rural and urban markets, it is recommended that government should direct her efforts towards stabilizing the price of fuel and create motorable roads in the rural areas where garri is produced in order to close up the wide price margin between the rural and urban markets.

Key words: Garri, market prices, comparative analysis, food security.
 

African Journal of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development ISSN 2375-0693 Vol. 14 (3), pp. 001-007, March, 2026. Available online at www.internationalscholarsjournals.org © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Efficiency Impacts of Agricultural Innovation: Assessing Imazapyr-Resistant Maize for Striga Control in Western Kenya

D. B. Mignouna1,2*, V. M. Manyong2, K. D. S. Mutabazi1, E. M. Senkondo1 and J. M. Oleke1,2

1Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness, Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA), P.O. Box 3007 Morogoro, Tanzania.
2International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), P.O. Box 34441, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Accepted 12 November, 2025

Imazapyr-Resistant Maize (IRM) is a weed control technology, not yet well adopted in the Striga prone area in Western Kenya. The adoption may expand in the future because it enhances maize production via efficiency gains. As to help farmers maximize the maize output affected by Striga for so long in time, research and development initiatives with substantial participation of the private sector to shift to this novel technology have been made in Western Kenya. A multistage random sampling technique was used to select a total of 600 households from Nyanza and Western provinces for this study. Stochastic production frontier analysis was the analytical method and the study revealed that the mean technical efficiency in the maize production sector is 70% indicating some inefficiencies of maize production. Technical inefficiency effects were influenced by household size along with farm size. Enhancing the technical efficiency will increase net returns of maize production enterprises, hence, improving livelihoods of maize producers.

Key words: Kenya, technical efficiency, stochastic production frontier.
 

African Journal of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development ISSN 2375-0693 Vol. 14 (2), pp. 001-007, February, 2026. Available online at www.internationalscholarsjournals.org © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Gender Disparities in Resource Accessibility and Their Effects on Agricultural Productivity and Livelihoods in Ogun State

Nosiru, M. O.1* and M. A. Y. Rahji2

1Department of Agricultural Production and Management Science, Tai Solarin University of Education, Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State, Nigeria.
2Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria.

Accepted 20 November, 2025

This paper aims at making a point that reducing gender disparities would promote agricultural productivity in the country. The study was carried out through a survey of 140 small-scale plantain farming households in Remo Division of Ogun State, Nigeria. This comprised of 62 female-farmers and 78 male-farmers heading households. The female-headed households suffered less access to credit facilities and farm land; however, they experienced averagely higher productivity and farm revenue. Some of the productivity indices were discovered to be statistically significantly different when comparisons are carried out between the female farmers heading households and their male counterparts. These are achieved through the use of descriptive statistics, t-test, Chow test and double logarithm regression analysis.

Key words: Gender disparities, productivity, farming households, revenue.

African Journal of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development ISSN 2375-0693 Vol. 14 (1), pp. 001-012, January, 2026. Available online at www.internationalscholarsjournals.org © International Scholars Journals

Review

Does Currency Devaluation Improve the Trade Balance in the Long Run? Evidence from Malawi

Samson Kwalingana, Kisu Simwaka, Thomas Munthali and Austin Chiumia*

Reserve Bank of Malawi, P. O. Box 30063, Lilongwe 3, Malawi.

Accepted 07 September, 2025

The objective of this paper has been to examine the short-run and long-run effects of real exchange rate changes on the trade balance in Malawi. The model was estimated using the multivariate cointegration framework proposed by Johansen (1988). The results from the study show that the impact of a real depreciation on the trade balance is not significant enough to change the trade pattern in the long-run. Further, while a J-curve pattern is observed in the short to medium term, the improvement that follows a deterioration is not significantly different from the old equilibrium levels. On the other hand, the trade balance seems to respond more positively to shocks in domestic income. These findings have important policy implications for policy-makers. The long-run insignificance of the real exchange rate movements on the trade balance and the importance of domestic income in determining trade patterns suggest that policies aimed at improving the country’s trade competitiveness should first focus on internal supply-side policies that give a conducive environment for the production of exportables and import-substitutes. Focusing on the external approach (that is, currency devaluation) may not bring effective results as Malawi is mostly a price-taker on the international market, and would thus not be able to influence external demand for her exports through price incentives that arise from exchange rate changes.

Key words: J-curve, trade balance, exchange rate.

African Journal of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development ISSN 2375-0693 Vol. 14 (1), pp. 001-009, January, 2026. Available online at www.internationalscholarsjournals.org © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Economic Analysis of Dry Season Vegetable Production in the Sokoto Fadama Area, Nigeria

B. A. Tsoho¹ and S. A. Salau²*

¹Department of Agricultural Economics and Farm Management, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Ilorin, Nigeria.
²Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension Services, College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Kwara State University, Malete, Nigeria.

Accepted 17 October, 2025

Many developing countries face major challenges to achieve food security in a sustainable manner, considering the increasing population, limited availability of land and water resources. Thus, the study centered on analysis of profitability of small-scale dry season vegetable production under fadama in Sudan savannah ecological zone of Sokoto State, Nigeria. A three-stage sampling technique was employed to collect data from one hundred and sixty respondents distributed in eighteen villages in the study area. Descriptive statistics and farm budgeting were employed to analyze the data for the study. The study revealed that vegetable farmers obtained an average gross margin and net farm income of N190, 024.36/ha and N173, 465.58/ha, respectively. While the return to owner’s labor and management is N84, 951.88, the rate of returns to investment is 97.20%. This indicates that small-scale dry season vegetable production under fadama in the area is profitable. From the viewpoint of this study, certain crops and crop mixture are more rewarding. It is therefore recommended that quite a substantial proportion of land should be devoted to the cultivation of these crops.

Key words: Profitability, constraints, dry season vegetable farming, Sudan savannah, fadama.