Food Demand and Its Differential Effects on Household Food Access in Nigeria

Abstract

This paper aims to examine how urban households’ food demand pattern differs with the extent of urbanization using a cross-sectional survey in southwest Nigeria. Using principal component analysis, sampled households were categorized by urbanicity index. A quadratic almost ideal demand system (QUAIDS) was employed to estimate expenditure and price elasticities. From the result, all seven food groups were normal goods across the urban categories, with the meat group being more expenditure-elastic than the others (1.16–2.42). The own-price elasticities differ among food commodities, with the meat and roots/tubers groups being most elastic at the low (−1.35) and middle (−1.05) urban categories, respectively. Findings suggest that changes in urbanicity levels have a substantial impact on the composition of household food demand and, by extension, the extent of food access in Nigeria. Therefore, the use of aggregate demand estimates for the entire urban population might underestimate the effect of expected changes in the urbanization level on food demand. JEL Classifications: C31, D12, Q18