Demand Response for Caborhydrate and Food Insecurity Dynamics in Imo State, Nigeria

Abstract

Demand for cabohydrate food stuffs responds its accesibility and unsteady price regime, thus food insecurity dynamics in Imo State. The study investigated a cheap and steady market demand for carbohydate foodstuffs in the state using 50 weekly observations on mean own prices, quantities demanded of both gari and rice as substitute from the management of Owerri Market Traders Assocition (OMATA) between January to December 2012. Data were analysed using simple decriptive statistics, charts and econometric tools. In general terms gari had a normal demand behaviour between June and August but abnonormal during festival periods. All the Error correction vectors -0.0545, -0.444 and -0.425 for Ekeonunwa, Relief and Ihiagwa demand models respectively were statistically significant ( ). Therefore, the speed of adjustment of lagged prices to long-run actual demand were completed in the next period, hence food insecurity flunctuates. Lagged own price of gari is negative and inelastic in all the models except that of Ihiagwa market (1.277). Gari is thus a normal goods in all the markets but has a more than 0.28% proportionate increase in demand with a unit decrease in its own price in Ihiagwa market. Therefore, food security will be achieved if there is a more effort to reduce the price of gari in Ihiagwa market. Rice is better subtitute to gari in Relief than the rest of the markets, hence increase in supply of rice in Relief market is imperative for food security in the area. The study therefore, recommends a steady reduced price conditions in both Relief and Ihiagwa markets for rice and gari respectively to ensure increased returns and supply for sellers and steady food security in the state.

Keywords: Demand, Response, Food Security, Carbohydrate, Markets and Error Correction Vector