ABSTRACT This study examined the percentage distribution of benefits obtained from Ibadan urban forest reserves across policy relevant socio-economic classes of the populace in order to draw research and policy implications. Descriptive and inferential statistics were employed to analyse data obtained from a multi-stage random survey of 397 residents of Ibadan metropolis. The results show that benefits obtained from the urban forest reserves do not depend significantly on gender (x2=2.57; p>...
ABSTRACT Rice productivity is low in Nigeria, and NERICA was introduced by West Africa Rice Development Agency (WARDA) to solve this problem. This study focused on NERICA productivity and efficiency in Kaduna State. A three-stage sampling technique was used with Kaduna State being purposively selected. Igabi and Soba Local Government Areas (LGAs) were randomly selected. Five villages were randomly selected from each LGA, with a total of 129 NERICA farmers selected and used for the analysis. ...
ABSTRACT The importance of forests, forest management and related information to human sustainable development cannot be overemphasized. This paper reports the analyses of forestry-related news source and their geographical focus in Guardian and Tribune Newspapers in Nigeria between June, 2009 and May, 2014. Purposive sampling technique was used to select the two National dailies because both have column for environment issues, they are available and their continuous existence for the period...
ABSTRACT This study presents the empirical analysis of the effects of oil exploitation on the efficiency of artisanal fishing households in the Niger Delta region, Nigeria. The selection of respondents was multi-staged and involved purposive sampling as well as random sampling methods. A structured questionnaire and interview schedule were used to elicit information from a randomly selected sample of 160 artisanal households from Delta and Bayelsa States, Nigeria. Descriptive statistics, sto...
ABSTRACT Rice has become a staple food, just like yam, garri and beans. As a result, the marketing of rice has become very important due to increasing demand of the product. The study examined the economics of farm-gate rice marketing in Enugu State, Nigeria. Five objectives and one hypothesis guided the study. The study covered all the communities in the local government areas in the three Agricultural Zones that produce rice in the study area. The population of the study consisted of rice ...
ABSTRACT This study which lasted for 12 weeks investigated the effects of garlic and probiotics additives in the diets of grower pigs. A total of sixteen 16 weeks old grower pigs were randomly assigned to four treatments. Each treatment had 2 replicates of 2 pigs per replicate that were housed in a previously cleaned and disinfected pen measuring 3.2m x2.7m with concrete floor, feeding trough and water drinker. Four treatment diets (T1, T2, T3, and T4) were used in a 2x2 factorial arran...
More than 78% of the households own livestock in South Sudan. Livestock, particularly cattle, goats and sheep, are an important social and economic asset in South Sudan. Goats are important and are predominant in most rural households with estimated population of 12.5 million heads. Despite the vast potential livestock contribution to the rural household development, livestock products (milk and meat) do not meet the local demands due to low productivity. The available seasonal feed reso...
Despite the pertinence of Agriculture to the economy, its potential has not been realized. To address this shortfall, research and training institutions have designed and generated knowledge and technologies. However, the innovations generated have hardly reached the end users. In response, Egerton University established Farm Attachment Programme (FAP) to innovatively engage small-scale farmers in 2014. Despite FAP being in operation since 2014, little is known about its effectiveness an...
ABSTRACT Fishing is a major source of livelihood for rural and peri-urban communities along coastal waters. The operation of artisanal fisherfolks is threatened by increasing overfishing of inshore waters, inadequate credit facilities, insufficient fishing input subsidies and inadequate extension services. These had negative implications on their efficiency hence their well-being. In order to enhance their performance, the efficiency of the fisherfolks, profitability and challenges were ex...
ABSTRACT Indigenous chicken are a valuable asset and form an integral part of many households in Kenya in terms of food security, economic and social roles. Given their value to the agricultural sector, various interventions are being developed and implemented to realize their potential in the sector. Such interventions involve genetic improvement of production traits which directly translate to increased revenues. However, this is likely to be accompanied with increased inputs, especially fe...
ABSTRACT Farm level post harvest milk losses (PHL) in smallholder and pastoral milking herds that occur at milking, pooling, evening storage or at the farm gate delivery may be associated with many farm practices. This study tested the hypotheses that PHL results from milk hygiene practices, that feeding practices influence production and quality of milk, and that milk market outlets influence milk hygiene and PHL. Data was obtained in cross sectional survey, on-farm milk and feed sampling fo...
ABSRACT Tea is a major foreign exchange earner in Kenya and it accounts for about 24% of the total value of the domestic exports for the last 10 years. The sector employs 10% of Kenya’s population directly and indirectly, and contributes to infrastructural development which includes construction of schools and health facilities, rural access roads and rural industries. However, tea suffers frequent droughts with significant yield decline, often accompanied by plant deaths, a condition which...
ABSTRACT Implementation of Farmer Field School (FFS) extension approach in disseminating knowledge and skills on management technologies for crop production, crop pests, soil and water conservation (CPSWC) has had proven successes. To replicate its successes, FFS was extended to smallholder dairy production as an alternative to the conventional extension approaches (NFFS) which had proved ineffective in disseminating knowledge and skills on dairy management technologies (DMTs). However many m...
Weeds interfere with turfgrass growth lowering functional and aesthetic quality of lawns. Conventional weed control using synthetic pesticides is hazardous to lawn users and to the environment while cultivation alone is not sufficient. A study was conducted with the aim of exploring the potential of biofumigation with African spider plant (Cleome gynandra) as an environmentally friendly alternative to use of synthetic herbicides for establishment of weed-free Paspalum notatum turfgrass. ...
ABSTRACT Nature provides ecosystem services (ESs) which benefit humans for socio-economic development. However, ecosystems degradation has impacted negatively on people’s livelihood leading to increasing global concern to rethink on sustainable conservation-livelihood mechanisms. Lake Naivasha basin has been undergoing ecosystem degradation threatening ecological functional capacity to provide ESs. As a result, it has increased food insecurity, poverty levels, decreased income and destabili...