Determinants of Rising Price of Yam in Nigeria: Times-Series Approach

With a contribution of up to 71 % to world output of yam, Nigeria remains the largest producing country with rural farmers having yam as second most commonly harvested tuber crop. Given its nutritional superiority to most roots and tubers in terms of digestible proteins and minerals and its relevance as a source of income for the poor majority of rural-farmers, the impo"rtance of yam in Nigeria cannot be overemphasized. There has however been a persistent price increasein yam, as well as other food· commodities, in Nigeria. This study was therefore designed to investigate the determinants of rising yam price in Nigeria over the period 1970-2015. The study relied on timeseries data sourced from FAOSTAT, Federal Bureau of Statistics and CBN Bulletin. Inferential statistics including unit-root test, cointegration and error correction model were employed in analysis. Autocorrelation was present in the model hence necessitating Cochrane-Orcutt approach. Results indicated that variables were non-stationary but became ·stationary after first differencing.At 5% signific.ance level, on the long run, price of yam was determined by annual production (coef.=- 0.8095), GDP (coef.=-3.009) and annual money supply (coef.=:0.829). It is consequently recommended that programmes and strategies implemented to boost food production in Nigeria should be carried on viz-a-viz robust economic planning that keeps the significant macroeconomic variables at optimal levels in order to maintain the balance required for stabilization in food commodity prices. Likewise, efforts should be concerted in putting insurgency in Nigeria under checks considering the ill effect it has on farming and trading activities.