An La-aids Analysis of Cassava Food Products Demand in Lagos

The study uses the linear AIDS technique to analyse how consumers of cassava food products in the Lagos metropolitan area react to economic and demographic factors and how consumer reactions can be captured to bring about effective policy formulation for food security and poverty alleviation through value added agricultural production. The results establish that demographic factors such as religion and residential area help to explain perceived variations in the consumption of cassava food products. Given that demand is price-inelastic for all cassava food products examined in the study, declining prices stemming from a bumper cassava crop harvest would lead to corresponding declines in producer revenues. In view of the high expenditure elasticities, therefore, a policy option that would boost productivity and incomes of consumers is considered desirable. Such a policy could be one that saps off excess farm labour through maintaining and promoting investment in the food-processing sector.