Health Outcomes and Agricultural Output in Nigeria

Attaining sustainable agricultural development in any economy indubitably points towards ensuring improved quality of life and enough food for both present and future generations. The need to understand the links between agricultural output and health outcomes necessitates an inquiry to ascertain the extent the changes in health outcomes can influence agricultural output. This study using the dynamic error correction built an econometric model such that mortality rate and life expectancy are proxies for health outcomes while agricultural output is the dependent variable; HIV/AIDS is the dummy. Results showed that HIV/AIDS has lethal effects on health outcomes and aggregate output. It revealed that health outcomes also have significant impact on agricultural output potentials; and there is a causal relationship between health outcomes and agricultural output in Nigeria. This implies that if the healthcare system in Nigeria can be taken as a policy priority, a tremendous increase in the agricultural sector is unarguably expected. A simultaneous front involving both the public and private sectors in extending the healthcare services is necessary to enable workers and prospective workers access to healthcare delivery; this will invariably boost the agricultural output.