ABSTRACT Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) have been identified to contribute to community livelihoods. Such contributions are people as well as site specific and may be shortlived if continuous availability cannot be guaranteed. Information on the role of NTFPs in community livelihoods is crucial to their sustainable management; however, this role has not been properly documented in Taraba State. Therefore, contributions of selected NTFPs to community livelihoods in Taraba State were inves...
ABSTRACT This study was conducted to investigate the potential of tamarind fruits in jam production with a view to improving utilization efficiency of the fruits thereby adding value to the tree and encouraging its cultivation and sustainable management. The fruits for the study were collected from Bishop Ajayi Crowther University, in Atiba Local Government Area of Oyo town, Oyo State and Taironi Local Government Area of Kano State, Nigeria. The jam was prepared using variable proportions of...
ABSTRACT This study investigated agricultural students' knowledge and perception of biotechnology issues. The study was carried out at the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry of the University of Ibadan. Proportionate sampling method was used to select a sample size of two hundred and sixty four (264) respondents. Variables measured included respondents' demographics, biotechnology information sources, knowledge and perception. The data were analyzed using frequencies, percentages and mean fo...
ABSTRACT Adoption of yield increasing technologies among farming households is one way of reducing poverty and food insecurity. In Nigeria, Root and Tuber Expansion Programme (RTEP) was implemented to develop improved technology of root and tuber crops. However, the impact of RTEP technology on poverty and food security has not been fully established. Therefore, the effect of RTEP technology on poverty and food security status of cassava-farming households in southwestern Nigeria was investi...
ABSTRACT Medicinal plants and plant-based medicines are widely used in traditional cultures all over Ghana and they are becoming increasingly popular in modern society as natural alternatives to synthetic chemicals. This paper studied the ethnobotany of medicinal plants through a socio-economic survey. Seed germination experiments were also carried out on selected medicinal plant species. It was found that the herbal medicine industry was a major source of income for 82% of the respondents. A...
ABSTRACT Upsurge in population has resulted in pressure on many tree species including Vitellaria paradoxa C.F.Gaertn.and Parkia biglobosa (Jacq.) Benth. These species are highly valued for their socio economic potentials. The study therefore assessed the contribution of V. paradoxa and P. biglobosa to rural livelihood in Oyo State, Nigeria with a view to generating information on the socio-economic values of the species to the rural communities. Stratified sampling technique was used to div...
ABSTRACT Output price risk has been a perennial challenge to cassava farmers due to their inability to foresee and quantify the level of risk associated with the price of their produce. It was against this background that the study analysed output price risk of cassava in the Volta region of Ghana. Primary data were collected from 500 sampled cassava farmers using structured interview schedule and analysed using descriptive statistics whilst secondary data were analysed using procedures suc...
ABSTRACT Project sustainability on eliminating child labour in cocoa growing areas in Ghana has received less attention. Issues confronting sustainability have rendered most projects not meeting project goals and needs of future generations. This study therefore assessed the sustainability of OASIS Foundation International child labour monitoring system project in Twifo Hemang LowerDenkyira District, Central Region in Ghana. Survey design was employed to select 130 household whose member(s) ...
ABSTRACT Studies on aspects of the biology of the Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus L.) were undertaken in a man-made lake, the Weija reservoir in Ghana from September 2007 to August 2008. A total of 657 specimens of O. niloticus from commercial landings were examined of which 357 were males and 300 were females (sex ratio of 1: 0.84; P < 0.05). GSI was low in December 2007 and August 2008 and highest in March and May 2008. Fluctuations in the GSI, suggested that O. niloticus spawned thro...
ABSTRACT The study examined farmers and development agents’ (DAs) perceived effectiveness of the Public Agricultural Extension Service (PAES) in Soddozuria Woreda, Southern Ethiopia. Hence, 225 farmers and 85 DAs were randomly selected; pretested and validated questionnaires were used; and data were analyzed using Software Package for Statistics and Simulation (SPSS). Farmers and DAs’ perceived effectiveness levels of the PAES were found to be low though the mean difference between the ...
ABSTRACT This study sought to find out the effect of the Integrated Coastal Fisheries Governance programme on the food security status of households in shama districts. A multistage sampling technique was used to select 140 fishermen in shama district and structured interviews schedules were used to collect data from the respondents. The data collected from the respondents were analysed using descriptive statistics, and binary logistic regression analysis. A description of the Integrated Co...
ABSTRACT The main objective of this research was to examine Stakeholders’ preference and adoption of improved cowpea varieties in the Northern region of Ghana. A cross-sectional quantitative research design was used to collect data using a multistage, snowball, and convenience sampling techniques from farmers (n=415), marketers (n=60), and consumers (n=120) respectively. Contentvalidated questionnaires and structured interview schedules were used to collect the data. Descriptive statistics...
ABSTRACT Thirty-six 5-6 weeks old, local mixed crossbred rabbits (526.7 ± 0.2 g) were allocated to four treatments according to their initial weight. They were caged individually and recovered ad libitum during 7 weeks, one of the 4 diets in which maize offal was replaced by 0, 2, 5 or 10 % dried palm oil mill effluent (Pome), respectively diets 1 to 4. The diets were fed as mash. The mean voluntary feed intake were not significantly different as the level of palm oil mill effluent in the di...
ABSTRACT Grain marketing requires considerable investment of fund but traders are often plagued with inadequate capital to run their enterprises. The inadequacy of fund prevents traders from expanding their businesses resulting in low profit margin. However, social capital is increasingly recognised as a bridge for the gap in credit availability which can help in business expansion and profitability. There is little empirical evidence on the extent of the effectiveness of social capital and ...
ABSTRACT Offa Local Government Area is one of the major sweet-potato growing areas of Nigeria . Sweet potato is grown mainly on smallholder farms and concentrated particularly in communities in Offa Local GovernmentArea. This study randomly selected 90 small scale farmers purposively from 9 communities to investigate constraints to production, processing and marketing of sweet-potato. Data were collected using an interview schedule. Results indicated that yields of 4-7 tonnes per hectare obt...