ABSTRACT The limitations of conventional technology development gave birth to Farming Systems Research perspective which look at farming practices from a holistic view. This however has innate flaws in its implementation. Recent emphasis therefore is strengthening the need to appreciate a hitherto neglected indigenous knowledge systems. This indigenous knowledge for instance, has been influencing the indigenous practices associated with small-scale plantain production. Before now Plantain has...
ABSTRACT The study was carried out to assess the influence of Colletotrichum dematium one of the major causes of pepper diseases on the declining yield of pepper in the Ajumako Enyan Essiam district of the Central Region and to find the extent of transmission through different inoculation methods. Three fruit types (riped, unriped and dropped) were collected from six farms across four locations (Akuamase, Nkodwo, Esikado and Mando) and another sample which was made up of only riped fruits was...
ABSTRACT Lack of credit, especially among small-scale farmers. has been one of the factors that impede the adoption of numerous innovations recommended by Agricultural Extension services in MALI. The situation has been mainly attributed to inadequate establishment of services in areas where poor and marginalized farmers (especially women) live. An unfortunate assumption has been that poor farmers do not save and, therefore. constitute a high credit risk. To address this state of affairs, Sasa...
ABSTRACT Pasture shortage during March to July is the main constraint in cattle productivity in Niger. To alleviate this pasture shortage, farmers use dual purpose sorghum varieties where the grain is used as food and the nutritionally low quality stover as feed for their cattle during dry season. Consequently, cattle productivity is reduced. One sustainable means is to pave the way for better stover quality availability through incorporation of the brown midrib trait, which is known to impro...
ABSTRACT The study examined farmers’ perceived effect of urban vegetable production on their livelihoods in the Kumasi Metropolis of Ashanti Region of Ghana. Descriptive survey design was used for the study. Based on a simple random sampling technique, 300 urban vegetable farmers were selected and interviewed for the primary data from mid June to July 2010. The data was analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 15. From the study, lettuce was the most cultivated ...
ABSTRACT There have been investments in the infant food sector in Ghana in recent times. This is as a result of the introduction of cereal foods fortified appropriately for children aged five and below aimed at eradicating or reducing malnutrition. However, competition from transnational and multinational companies with branded and certified products is hindering progress of local companies in the sector. This study seeks to assess local processors’ willingness to pay (WTP) for product qual...
ABSTRACT Biochemical studies were carried out on ten cocoa types to find out their 4iffeJelit levels of resistance to Cocoa Swollen Shoot Virus. The beans were inoculated via viruliferous nymphs of mealy bugs, and observed after planting for 3 months. Patches of barks of severe symptom bearing cocoa types were also tested through grafting on healthy Amelonado plants and observed for 3 months. Significant differences were observed in the cocoa types in terms of symptoms appearance and in sever...
ABSTRACT Studies were carried out on the reaction o f some oil palm tenera progenies to Fusarium oxysporum f sp elaeidis (FOFSE) isolates isolated from the Crops Research Institute and Oil Palm Research Institute plantations, in Akumadan and Kusi respectively. Four isolates, P. 38, P.50, P.459 and P.568 were obtained from Akumadan and the remaining one, P. 93 from Kusi. The growth and cultural characteristics of the isolates were studied on Dehydrated Potato Dextrose Agar (PDA), Fresh P...
ABSTRACT The study was conducted to analyse production risk and technical efficiency of lowland rice farms in Ashanti region using adjusted stochastic production frontier. Cross sectional data for 2014 cropping season was collected from 200 sampled rice farms using multistage sampling technique. The results of the study revealed very low utilization of improved seed (42.8 kg/ha) by famers as against the standard quantity of 100kg/ha. Among the farm inputs used, fertilizer and improved seed we...
ABSTRACT The negative effect of Climate Change (CC) on agriculture across Africa has been well established. This underscores its global policy interest. In Nigeria, crop farming is climate dependent and farmholders often employ measures that are sub-optimal against climate risk. This raises the vulnerability of farming to CC uncertainty. For a long time, knowledge of CC perception by farmholders dominated the existing literature. However, information on economic estimates of damages and resp...
ABSTRACT The Oban Division of the Cross River National Park, Nigeria, is a globally renowned biodiversity hotspot. The area is experiencing rapid land use changes and little efforts have been made to document the effects of the changes on biodiversity. The study investigated the effects of different land use types on flora composition, distribution and diversity in the area with a view to generating data that will support conservation decisions. The area was stratified into four: primary fore...
ABSTRACT A 12-week feeding trial was conducted in 27-cm3 circular plastic tanks (50 × 34 cm) to assess the performance of juvenile African catfish (Clarias gariepinus) fed diets containing African yam bean meals (Sphenostylis stenocarpa) processed by different techniques. Five 35% crude protein diets were formulated containing no yam bean meal (control) or 34% fishmeal and 66% yam bean meal. The yam bean meals were processed in four manners: (a) ‘cooked’, sun-dried, and ground, (b) ‘to...
ABSTRACT T he s t u dy qu a nt it a t iv el y d et er min e t h e i mp a ct of p ol ic y cha n g es o n t ech n ica l eff ic i ency of s ma ll s ca l e fo o d cr op far mer s in O n do S t a t e, N ige r ia , us ing t h e s t ocha s t ic fr ont i er met h od o lo g y. G iv e n t h e s p eci fica t io ns of t h e C ob b -D ou gl a s S t ocha s t ic fr ont i er mod els , t h e r es u lt s s h o w t ha t t h e ela s t icit y of mea n va lu e of fa r m ou t p u t is a n incr ea s in g fu n ct io ...
ABSTRACT A study was carried out to determine the physico-chemical and heavy metal contents of the water and heavy sediments of Ekole River in Bayelsa State, Nigeria. Water and sediment samples were collected in the dry (December/ January) and wet (June/July) seasons during 1003 and 7004. Surface water up to 15cm depth and sediments were sampled at nine locations: 100, 200,400.500m upstream; 0. l00,100, 300.400111 downstream of an oil flow station. The samples were analyzed for total suspende...
ABSTRACT In Nigeria several small scale farmers make use of organic materials such as compost and manure to maintain soil organic matter and as sources of nutrients. The advantages of organic farming could include increased productivity and enhanced biodiversity of the farm lands and surrounding environment. This paper examined the utilization of organic of practices and materials, with highlight on farmers' demographics, knowledge of organic farming, attitude and constraint to use of organic...