Cross border trade in grain between Nigeria and neighbouring Niger: Risk management assessment along Sokoto Illela-Konni border land

Figures & data

Table 1. Cereal yield in Nigeria, neighbouring Niger and rest of Africa, 2000–2010

Year	Nigeria	Neighbouring Niger	West Africa	Southern Africa
Yield (ton/hectare)
2000	1.11	0.29	0.91	2.76
2001	1.18	0.40	0.95	2.42
2002	1.20	0.41	0.95	2.77
2003	1.25	0.44	1.01	2.54
2004	1.31	0.34	1.01	2.78
2005	1.36	0.43	1.09	3.31
2006	1.44	0.45	1.12	3.16
2007	1.35	0.42	1.04	2.79
2008	1.52	0.49	1.17	4.06
2009	1.45	0.38	1.10	4.41
2010	1.34	0.49	1.08	4.16
2011	N/a	N/a	N/a	N/a
2012	N/a	N/a	N/a	N/a
Average	1.32	0.41	1.04	3.20
Growth (%)	1.88	6.27	1.70	4.21
Fertilizer (kg/ha) 1993–2002	121.76	6.35	123.93	1,541.43

Source: FAO (2012).

Figure 1. Grain market chain in the borderland.

Source: Adapted from Gerken et al. (2009) and Author.

Table 2. Distribution of farmers by input use, storage methods and causes of storage loses in Illéla border land, Sokoto state

Input use	Mean distribution (%)
Fertilizer	31.2
Agricultural insurance	0.1
Irrigation	3.8
Draught animal	12.1
Tractor	0.7
Remittances	1.4
Formal credit unions/cooperatives	0.9
Informal credit unions (esusu)	4.1
Storage methods	Mean distribution (%)
Rhumbus	96.2
Others	3.5
Causes of storage spoilage	Mean distribution (%)
Insects	54.9
Rodents/pests	37.4
Flood	6.2
Transportation mode to input market	Mean distribution (%)
On foot	29.2
Commercial bicycle	4.1
Own bicycle/animal cart	25
Motorcycle	5.7
Truck/bus	27.6
Others	8.3
Transportation mode to output market	Mean distribution (%)
On foot	2.5
Commercial bicycle	1.6
Own bicycle/animal cart	4.9
Motorcycle	75.4
Truck/bus	15.6
Others	0

Source: Author’s estimate.

Figure 2. Open air grain trade activity in Illéla regional market, Sokoto state, Nigeria.

Source: Author.

Table 3. Percentage distribution of traders by their characteristics

Traders age group	%	Markets were grain is purchased	%	Purchasing arrangement	%
35–50	61.4	Illéla regional market	31.1	Trader to seller	4.5
> 50	39.6	Farmer’s field	4.4	Seller to trader	9.1
Mean age	50 years	Rural markets	37.8	Trader’s employee to seller	34.1
Trading experience		Urban markets	26.7	Traders’ transporter to seller	25.0
10–21	62.2	Villages were grains come from		Buying agent to seller	4.5
> 21 years	37.7	Bajoga	4.05	Traders and sellers meet in the market	15.9
Mean years of trading	21	Darazau	8.2	Commission agent	6.8
Educational level		Dawanu	10.22	Sources of grain price information
< Primary	40	Dukku	4.05	Send employee to markets	2.2
Primary	40	Illéla	28.64	From fellow traders	17.8
> Primary	20	Kebbi	2.0	From transporters	40.0
Type of trader		Mafara	16.4	From radio or news paper	4.4
Wholesale	68.9	Potiskum	14.3	From GSM	28.9
Retail	17.8	Gussau	2.0	Use of credit
Wholesale/retailer	11.1	Paiko	2.0	Yes	57.7
Wholesale/retail/agent	2.2	Bida	2.0	No	42.3
Sources of grain stock		Sokoto	2.0	Belong to association
Own production	18.6	Konni	4.05	Yes	100
Farmers	22.1			Benefits provided by association
Cooperative groups	21.2	Amount borrowed		Loans	23.3
Traders	31.8	< N200,000	33.6	Information on prices	33.3
Government stock	0.06	> N200,000	66.7	Cooperative buying	6.7
Most important grain stocked		Duration of loan		Transportation	10.0
Guinea corn(sorghum)	20	2 months	16.7	Agreement on selling price	26.7
Millet	28.9	3–6 months	38.9
Maize	46.7	1–2 years	44.4
Rice	4.4	Sources of credit
Second most important grain stocked		Bank	5.6
Guinea corn	26.7	Cooperative society	22.2
Millet	26.7	Traders association	66.7
Maize	35.6	Money lender	5.6
Rice	6.7
Sorghum	2.2

Source: Author’s estimates.

Table 4. Number of pick-up lorries crossing the border over four market operations between June and July 2012

	Week 1	Week 2	Week 3	Week 4	June/July
Pick-up lorries leaving	41	113	147	148	449
Pick-up lorries entering	19	23	19	13	74
Prices in Nigeria (N/kg)	71	78	72	71	73
Prices in Niger (N/kg)	79	83	79	77	79

Source: Author’s computation.

Table 5. Estimate of grain traded over the period

	Naira	$
At 40 bags/pick-up lorry
Export to Niger	131,108,000	874,053.3
Import to Nigeria	21,608,000	144,053.3
Total trade	152,716,000	1,018,107
Trade balance	109,500,000	730,000
At 60 bags/pick-up lorry scenario
Export to Niger	196,662,000	1,311,080
Import to Nigeria	32,412,000	216,080
Total trade	229,074,000	1,527,160
Trade balance	164,250,000	1,095,000

Source: Author’s computation, exchange rate at N150/$ caution is required since the observational approach is limited in accuracy.

Figure 3. Risk factors as perceived by traders.

Note: Field survey 2012. Source: Author.

Table 6. Weighting results of the five retained principal component

Farmers and traders	PC1	PC2	PC3	PC4	PC5
Does the agency buy grain at a good price	0.41	0.15			0.24
Does Agency cushion shocks	0.15	0.17	0.37		0.22
Does Agency provide extension services and price information	0.32		0.29
Does Agency buy more grain from women than men		0.26	0.43
Does Agency sets price without consulting farmers			0.37		0.19
Is Agency well known to farmers		0.19		0.25	0.42
Does agency buys grains during harvest		0.29		0.31	0.20
Does Agency offers price higher than market price	0.23			0.27
Is price setting transparent		0.28		0.24
Is price setting politicized and influenced by big farmers		0.17		0.44
Does Agency give good quality service to farmers	0.29			0.21
Does Agency informs farmers of when to buy	0.36	0.18	0.20	0.15
Is grain silo adequate			0.29
Does Agency meet farmers expectation	0.24		0.27
Does Agency acts in the best interest of farmers	0.39			0.20
Does Agency stabilizes prices			0.19		0.25
Does Agency takes farmers expectation into consideration		0.31		0.24	0.24
Is the Agency reliable and trustworthy					0.48
Does the Agency Operate under strict supervision				0.19
Do you envisage problem with agency		0.18	0.25
Are you satisfied with the services of the agency		0.20			0.17
Satisfied with delivery payment	0.23	0.15	0.22
Satisfied with agency in keeping promises	0.15	0.34		0.20	0.16
Satisfied with staff conduct		0.37
Satisfied with the way payments are made	0.24				0.22
Satisfied with the way grain are distributed to the public		0.26		0.36	0.17
Satisfied with the price the agency buys					0.34

Source: Author’s computation.

Gerken, A., Bese, D., Düchting, A., Gebauer, H., Rupschus, C., & Starosta, S. E. (2009). Promoting regional trade to enhance food security. A case study on the border region of Tanzania and Zambia. Berlin: SLE Publication Series – S 239.

 Google Scholar