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...
ABSTRACT The main objective of the research was to examine the prospects and challenges of developing and implementing precision agriculture (PA) in cocoa production in Ghana. Correlational research design was used to collect data using a multistage sampling technique from major stakeholders including scientists (n=12), cocoa extension agents (CEAs) (n=63) and cocoa farmers (n=416) in the cocoa industry in Ghana. Content-validated questionnaires and structured interview schedules were used fo...
ABSTRACT Animal Scientists, through extensive research works have made tremendous achievements on reclaiming the nutrients contained in poultry waste by using it as feed ingredient for different classes of animals thereby reducing feed cost. Despite the many ways o f its utility, ‘ the slurry nature o f poultry droppings, most often complicates its handling and renders it totally useless. Four graded levels of dietary sodium chloride (0.30%, 0.45%, 0.60%, 0.75%) in an iso-nitrogenous and is...
ABSTRACT The Kakum Conservation Area (KCA) was part of a system of social cohesion within a culture. That environment created a sub-culture providing for the people food, clothing and shelter among others. By the creation of the conservation area, restrictions were imposed on the communities around it. There is therefore a persistent attempt by the communities to illegally enter the restricted area in the quest to satisfy their livelihood needs. This work examined the conservation and livelih...
Abstract The study was carried out to investigate the prevalence and utilization of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) plant species in Omo and Shasha Forest Reserves, Southwestern Nigeria. Data were obtained through the use of structured questionnaires administered to households in forest communities. To complement information from the household survey, focus group discussions (FGDs) were also carried out in each of the sampled communities. In-depth interview (IDI) of forestry staff was fur...
ABSTRACT This study was conducted to assess field maintenance practices on production of Coffea arabica among farmers in Sardauna Local Government Area of Taraba State, Nigeria during 2007. Data for the study were obtained from a systematic random sampling of eighty-eight coffee farmers through the use of well structured questionnaire. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and chi-square. Most (44.3%) of the respondents were 50-69 years old while 56.8 % of them belonged to 3-12 rang...
ABSTRACT Causes and effects of indiscriminate waste disposal within the Tema Metropolitan Assembly area is the topic of study. What prompted the study has been the realization of generally poor state of sanitation within the municipality. The objective of the study therefore was to examine the causes and effects of indiscriminate waste disposal in the Tema Metropolis. The descriptive survey design was adopted for the study with its population being all residents of Tema aged 15 years and abov...
ABSTRACT Sustainable forest management, when backed with appropriate policy instruments and legal administration will promote improved livelihoods of forest dependants without sacrificing inherited forest biodiversity and its future potential. These are contradictory demands from different stakeholders. While meeting livelihood expectations of forest dependants may seem an affective issue, it may become substantive when their needs are not adequately planned for and they have to meet it withi...
ABSTRACT The preservative treatment of non-durable lignocellulosic materials, such as Bambusa vulgaris (bamboo) enhances its service life. Thermally modified lignocellulosic biomaterial is better than chemically treated products because it is environmentally friendly. However, there is a dearth of information on the characterisation properties of thermally modified Bambusa vulgaris. This study was therefore conducted to characterise the properties of thermally modified Bambusa vulgaris. One ...
ABSTRACT Population growth and unregulated settlement pattern impede biodiversity conservation especially in urban areas. This paper investigated the perception of urban residents in Ibadan metropolis, Nigeria on improving the environment through urban greening and renewal. Respondents were drawn from residents of two educational institutions (University of Ibadan and The Polytechnic, Ibadan) and their respective adjoining communities (Agbowo and Apete). Relevant information was obtained fro...
ABSTRACT Social capital is trust and willingness to live by the norms of one’s associates. This household welfare asset has the potential to break the poverty cycle. However, there is little evidence on gender sensitivity of the effect of social capital on welfare status in Nigeria. Hence, gender dimension of social capital and its effects on rural household welfare in Osun and Ondo states, Nigeria were investigated. A multistage random sampling technique was employed for the study. Osun a...
ABSTRACT The capacity to promote sustainable use of Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) and facilitate increased financial benefits to local users as incentives for forest conservation is low due to neglect by governments particularly in Nigeria. Such capacity is however imperative to stemming rural poverty and can be enhanced by incorporating NTFP collection and commercialization research into forest management development programs. But sustainable production and conservation of forest produ...
ABSTRACT Inconsistent trade policies have characterised Nigeria’s rice importation, leading to planning and decision-making challenges for producers and consumers, and with fluctuating consequences on welfare status. However, studies on Rice Trade Policy (RTP) have been carried out within the partial equilibrium framework which do not reveal the welfare effects on all sectors and households in the economy. For effective RTP, an understanding of the economy-wide welfare effects is necessary...
ABSTRACT This study was focused on farmers’ perception of the relevance of technologies generated by research institutes in south-western Nigeria in the area of agroforestry , land evaluation, improved varieties and machinery And equipment. A multistage random sampling technique was used to select the sample size. Two zones were purposively selected (Ogbomoso and Oyo) for they are the food basket of the state. The existing total numbers of farmer groups was obtained (120), out of this; ten...