AGRICULTURAL SECTOR OUTPUT FINANCING AND FOOD SECURITY IN NIGERIA

The study investigated the relationship between agricultural sector output financing and food security in Nigeria. Food security was measured by food productive index while agricultural financing used proxies such as government expenditure on agriculture, agricultural guarantee scheme fund loan, fertilizer and annual rain fall. The unit root results showed that variables are integrated of order 1 (0), hence fostering the need to conduct the Co-integration tests. The Co-integration tests disclosed a long-run relationship among the variables given the fact that both the Trace statistic Max-Eigen statistic tests proved that are two co-integrating relationship among the variables used. This confirmation of a long run relationship from the Co-integration tests suggests the need to conduct or apply the Error Correction Mechanism to find out if there is a short run relationship among the variables within the period under investigation. The Error Correction Mechanism results revealed that there is a short run equilibrium relationship among the variables with an adjustment speed of - 0.615400 or 61 % from its long run equilibrium to its short run equilibrium within the reviewed period. The study concludes by considering how food security is influenced by the agriculture financing in Nigeria. The study thus recommends that farmers should search for alternative funding mechanisms for agriculture while the government should strengthens existing financial institutions funding agriculture and rural roads connectivity between rural areas and urban markets should be encouraged for the well-being of Nigeria.