Food prices and household conditional food expenditure perspectives of greenhouse gas emission in Edo State, Nigeria

Abstract

Empirical studies on climate-warming greenhouse gas (GHG) emission from the perspectives of food consumer parameters are sparse in literature, and non-existent in Edo state. The study examined the outcomes of food prices and household conditional food expenditure changes on GHG in Edo State, Nigeria. It estimated a complete conditional GHG emission share system equation, the price and conditional xpenditure elasticites of GHG emission due to food demand. Three-stage sampling procedure was used to select a cross-section of 252 households. The micro-data obtained were analysed using the Quadratic Almost Ideal Demand System (QUAIDS) model. The results show that 87.5% of the conditional GHG emission in the State is caused by protein foods consumption, consisting of meat (73.8%), fish (12.7%) and beans (1.0%). The results of the QUAIDS show that GHG emission in the state has inverse relationship with price. GHG emission is price and expenditure elastic. There is no strong complementarity and substitutability among the GHG emission due to food commodities consumption in the State. GHG emission from fish (1.112) and beans (1.029) consumption increase more than proportionate increase in household conditional food expenditure, but less than proportionate increase with household conditional food expenditure for plantain (0.889), rice (0.939), meat (0.993), potato (0.737) and tomato (0.667) consumption. Though, GHG emission due to beans (1.029) and meat (0.993) consumption will increase with increase in household conditional food expenditure, it decreases in share due to beans and meat consumption. Similarly, GHG emission due to fish consumption decrease with increase in household income, but increases in share due to fish commodities consumption. GHG emissions in the State are food prices and household conditional food expenditure related with conditional food expenditure having greater weight than food prices effects.

Keywords: food, greenhouse gas emission, prices, income, elasticity