Abstract The local Government Service Act 203 of L.I 1961, was passed in 2011 and as part of its implementation, extension services at the local level was ceded to the local government service and Departments of Agriculture became units under the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies. Given the importance of extension in agricultural development at the local level, this research aimed to assess the functionality and effectiveness of Departments of Agriculture under the Local Governm...
ABSTRACT The study analysed value addition in commercial catfish (Clarias gariepinus Heterobranchus spp) production in Rivers State. The specific objectives were to: examine the socioeconomic characteristics of catfish producers in the study area, determine the costs, returns and profit to the various actors in the value addition, determine other sources of income to the catfish producers in the area and identify the constraints faced by the catfish producers in the area. Data were collected...
ABSTRACT This study assessed the competitiveness of the High Quality Cassava Flour (HQCF)Value Chain in Imo State, Nigeria. The specific objectives were to; describe the socioeconomic characteristics of HQCF value chain players in the study area, examine the composition as well as functions of the stakeholders in the chain, identify and examine the effect of policies on the HQCF in the study area, assess the factors which influenced access to credit by stakeholders in the HQCF value chain , ...
ABSTRACT The broad objective of this study was to analyse sustainable agricultural resource use in Nigeria using the Ecological Footprint Approach. The specific objectives included to; estimate the global emergy and emergy density, determine the ecological footprint per capita, analyse the per capita bio-capacity, and ascertain the level of agricultural resource use, sustainability status and resource substitution in Nigeria. The total land area, population and thematic data of the country ...
ABSTRACT The study analyzed small-scale cassava-based farmers’ demand and utilization for microfinance banks credit in Imo State, Nigeria. The specific objectives were to: examine the socio-economic characteristics of small-scale cassava-based farmers; determine the amount of credit demanded and obtained by small-scale cassava-based farmers; estimate the factors influencing the amount of credit demanded by small-scale cassava-based farmers; estimate the determinants on the amount of cred...
ABSTRACT This study aims to determine the differences in productivity and technical efficiency levels of maize producers in three ecological zones in Ghana. It also seeks to identify the sources of inefficiency and identify constraints faced by maize farmers within these ecological zones. The study used a cross section of 224 maize producers from the savannah, forest and transition zones in Ghana. This research adopts the Metafrontier and the stochastic frontier models to compute the technic...
ABSTRACT This study examined youth participation and productivity in cocoa farming in the Western North Cocoa Region of Ghana using primary data from 958 respondents through the field assistance of Solidaridad West Africa. Systematic and purposive sampling techniques were used to sample 588 youth (35years) from Sefwi Bekwai, Boako, Akontombra, Bodi and Asempaneye. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the distribution in the roles played by the youth in cocoa farming in the study area...
ABSTRACT The study analyzed the risk management strategies of cassava-based farmers in Imo State, Nigeria. Specifically, the study described the socioeconomic characteristics of the cassavabased farmers, identified their sources of risk, and their risk management strategies, determined the effect of their socioeconomic characteristics on the choice of risk strategies adopted, ascertained and compared their profits in relation to their risk management strategies, and identified the constraint...
ABSTRACT Agriculture in the Jasikan District in recent times is predominantly based on arable crop production, using traditional slash and burn techniques, which encourages extensification. There is the need for the development of sustainable agricultural practices that will not require new land but could still be incorporated into the farm business and be a source of income for farmers. Beekeeping has been identified as one such sustainable agricultural practice in the district. Unfortunatel...
ABSTRACT The importance of non-traditional agricultural commodities, especially pineapple, as a major foreign exchange earner in the diversification of the economy of Ghana has long been realised. It is estimated that $5 million is added to the economy by small farmers annually from pineapple production. Despite the importance and profitability of the pineapple production and export as a good foreign export earner and an a priori expectation that increased production is directly correlated w...
ABSTRACT Rural household welfare remains low in Nigeria, as the traditional capital (physical, natural, human and financial) has not fully led to its improvement. There is increasing shift of attention to social capital as an element that explains household welfare. The nexus between social capital and rural household welfare in southwestern Nigeria has not been fully examined. The effect of social capital on rural household welfare in southwestern Nigeria was therefore investigated. Multis...
ABSTRACT Fishermen face a lot of risk and uncertainty in their fishing operations. One way of dealing with risks and uncertainties in the fishery sector is the adoption of insurance policy. Successful implementation of insurance scheme requires the need for demand analysis. This study therefore investigated fishermen’s willingness to pay for insurance in the Western Region of Ghana. A three stage sampling procedure was used to select 300 fishers and a structured interview guide was used to ...
ABSTRACT This thesis analysed the production, productivity and market participation of smallholder cowpea producers in the Northern Region of Ghana. It estimated the factors influencing cowpea production participation, productivity and market participation decisions. A multi-stage random sampling was employed in selecting four major cowpea producing districts and communities. Purposive and random sampling techniques were employed to select a sample of 300 respondents comprising of 240 cowpea ...
ABSTRACT MiDA, in March 2008, instituted a four year project in the Afram Basin with the aim of enhancing the productivity of the farmers (including maize farmers) in the basin. Although the project ended in February 2012, the question of the effect of the project on the productivity of maize farmers in the zone from the point of view of an independent body remains unknown. Therefore this study assessed the effect of MiDA intervention on the productivity of maize farmers in the Afram basin of...
ABSTRACT The study evaluated the performance of the table egg marketing system in Ghana by analysing the market, structure, price integration processes and the impediments to table egg. marketing efficiency. The methods of analysis employed included descriptive analysis, marketing margin analysis and econometric (regression) analysis. The market structure analysis, using the commodity sub-systems approach, showed that marketing channels for the table egg are moderately organised with the prod...