ABSTRACT The study examined cocoyam marketing in Rivers State, Nigeria. The specific objectives were to describe the systems of cocoyam marketing in the area; identify the market structure and conduct for cocoyam; determine marketing margin along with the profit efficiencies of cocoyam middlemen; determine the influence of socio-economic attributes of cocoyam marketers on their profit efficiencies; assess the effects of marketing costs and other factors on price of cocoyam at the wholesale a...
ABSTRACT Despite Ethiopia possessing the highest number of livestock in Africa, its benefit to the country and smallholder farmers is small. This is to a large extent attributed to the dominance of low producing local cattle breeds. Though the government introduced Artificial Insemination (AI) technology to improve this condition, the adoption rate by smallholder farmers is still low. The main objective of this study was, therefore, to examine the adoption of AI technology by smallholder dair...
ABSTRACT Despite Ethiopia possessing the highest number of livestock in Africa, its benefit to the country and smallholder farmers is small. This is to a large extent attributed to the dominance of low producing local cattle breeds. Though the government introduced Artificial Insemination (AI) technology to improve this condition, the adoption rate by smallholder farmers is still low. The main objective of this study was, therefore, to examine the adoption of AI technology by smallholder dair...
ABSTRACT Increasing demand for food and the diminishing agricultural land has resulted in farmers putting great efforts to increase crop yields by using more fertilizer and pesticides. Pesticide use in agricultural production has, however, produced undesirable effects on human health and the environment. Thus, the study aimed at contributing to sustainable agricultural intensification through safe pesticide use and uptake of alternative pest control methods among small-scale tomato farmers in...
ABSTRACT Credit constraints hinder development of agriculture in developing countries, yet access is mainly associated with increased farm productivity and crop incomes. For over a decade, Mozambican smallholders have accessed a decoupled credit subsidy under the seven million program for agricultural development. However, little is known about the influence of the program on crop productivity and farm incomes in rural areas. This study therefore, examined whether there are productivity and i...
ABSTRACT This study was conducted to examine the possibilities of integrating smallholder broiler producers into the niche market supply chains for improving their efficiency and incomes. Specifically the study: i) characterize the broiler supply chains with particular emphasis on requirements of participating in the niche market supply chain; ii) analyse technical and cost efficiency of broiler producers; iii) compare the level of benefits realized by broiler producers supplying to niche an...
ABSTRACT Rice is staple food in Liberia and therefore self-sufficiency in rice production remains a major concern. However, Liberia is experiencing insufficiency in rice production due to high production cost and low national average output of 1.2 t/ha, which is significantly low as compared to other West African countries. This has resulted in the increased importation of rice in the country consequently taking significant portion of the nation’s foreign exchange. Rice production and suppl...
ABSTRACT Climate variability and change pose serious challenges to smallholder farmers and agro-pastoralists. Nonetheless, their trends and impacts on rain-fed farming system (RFFS) in semi-arid areas of Tanzania have not sufficiently been explored. This study was conducted in Iramba and Meatu districts to contribute to this knowledge gap. The study specifically (i) assessed meteorological data trends of rainfall and temperature between 1994 and 2011; (ii) determined farmers’ perception of ...
ABSTRACT Market liberalization has been one of the most important and widely implemented aspects of the Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs) in sub –Saharan Africa (SSA). The general objective of the study was to investigate the effect of cotton market liberalization on the smallholder cotton farmers’ livelihoods in two districts in Shinyanga region, Tanzania. Specificically the study sought to assess cotton production and marketing, examine income change, and establish wellbeing of sm...
ABSTRACT THIS STUDY WILL ATTEMPT TO IDENTIFY THE VARIOUS ACTIVITIES THAT BROUGHT ABOUT THE DIVERSIFICATION IN NYERI COUNTY,MATHIRA SUB-COUNTY.THE SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY ARE:TO DETERMINE WHETHER DIVERSIFICATION IS BENEFICIAL TO FARMERS,TO FIND OUT THE DIFFICULTIES IN THE EFFORT TO DIVERSIFY COFFEE PRODUCTION TO OTHER ALTERNATIVES AND TO FIND OUT HOW DIVERSIFICATION HELPS IN MARKETING OF OTHER PRODUCTS.THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS STUDY IS THAT THE FINDINGS COULD BE OF GREAT IMPORTANCE T...
ABSTRACT Dairy production is a biologically efficient system that converts large quantities of roughage in the tropics to milk. Milk production levels are determined by the levels of technologies applied to the dairy enterprise. However, information on levels of adoption of dairy technologies especially in the arid and semi-arid areas (ASALs) of Kenya is scanty. This study thus sought to evaluate the extent of adoption of modern dairy technologies and its impact on milk production in Nzaui Su...
Abstract Chemelil Sugar Company is located along the Awasi nyando road.It started in the year 1965 as a private company. The original shareholding was 57%, private and 43% government ownership. Low cane yields and low cane quality due to low performance of most agricultural activities in land preparation, planting, cane husbandry and harvesting and transport. Cane shortage has been a major limiting factor in the performance of the company crushing capacity The general objective is to analys...
ABSTRACT Regional projects hereby refer to projects implemented in more than one country. The countries of focus are Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda. The purpose of the study was to build the thesis that regional projects generated more impacts and significantly contributed to: increased agricultural production and productivity; enhanced stakeholders’ access to financial services; increased incomes; profitable land uses; and up-scaling of technologies, innovations, and manageme...
ABSTRACT Declining size of the farm holdings in most high agricultural potential areas as a result of continuous land fragmentation is currently a major policy concern in Kenya. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of land fragmentation and agro-ecological zones (AEZs) on food security and farm efficiency in Kenya. The study used data collected from 384 farm-households that were randomly selected from three AEZs in the Embu County, using a multistage stratified sampling techni...
ABSTRACT In the early 1990’s, the Kenyan government implemented reforms in the agricultural sector that affected the volatility of agricultural product prices. However, there is lack of empirical evidence on the effects of these reforms on the level and volatility of Irish potato prices. This study evaluates the effects of market reform policies involving the decontrol of input and output prices on the evolution and volatility of Irish potato prices in Nyandarua district. The purpose of thi...