ABSTRACT This study provides empirical evidence on economic impact of contract farming on the income of smallholder farmers of non traditional crops. Specifically it analyses the requirements for farmers’ participation, factors that determine income and effect of paprika contract farming on household income and identifies constraints and prospects of contract farming. A cross section research design was adopted and a purposeful sampling procedure was used to select villages and wards and ...
ABSTRACT This study empirically assessed the effects of land lease market on crop production in Enugu State, Nigeria. The specific objectives were to: describe the socio-economic characteristics of crop farmers; identify the land tenure systems available in the study area; identify and describe the structure and conducts of land lease market; ascertain factors influencing land lease market; determine the influence of land lease forms and practices adopted by farmers on their net farm income;...
ABSTRACT Detailed field based structural, fracture and paleostress analysis were carried out on Cenomanian to Maastrichtian units forming the Afikpo syncline structure. Three fracture systems were isolated from analysis of fracture orientations and thier field relationships: Pre-folding (JT), Syn-Folding (JS) and Post Folding (JC) fracture systems. Paleostress analysis carried out on these fracture systems using the TENSOR™ software tool (Delvaux & Sperner, 2003) yielded three paleostress ...
ABSTRACT In recent years, organic agriculture has been gaining considerable importance. Many farmers today show interest all over the world in organic farming. Several of them have begun switching to this traditional method of cultivation as a means to produce safe foodstuffs and preserve the environment. The concept of organic farming is not new, but it has been scantly studied. An organic spice farming is a part of the organic farming which requires to be studied widely. Spice production i...
ABSTRACT Over the years, numerous intervention approaches have been launched to promote improved technologies in order to attain sustainable development. However, extension approaches, which have been the dominant rural development strategy, have been slow in transforming agriculture resulting from low adoption rate of SWC technologies that were aggressively promoted through extension programmes. Thus, this study examines the adoption and sustainability of soil conservation practices looking...
A producer and a buyer enter into a two-party contract when they practice contract farming. A buyer commits to purchasing output from a producer at a predetermined price, quality and timing (Bellemare & Bloem, 2018). In many nations around the globe, contract farming is used to link smallholders’ farmers to profitable markets for higher incomes and better living conditions (Barrett et al., 2012). Early in the nineteenth century, the North American agricultural sector saw the introduction of...
ABSTRACT Significant effort has been put into the development of cost-effective abalone (Haliotis midae; Gastropoda) cultivation systems in South Africa, but the limited availability of suitable seaweed for abalone food is an obstacle to future development. The aim of this study was to investigate whether a land-based recirculating seaweed-abalone integrated aquaculture system using Ulva lactuca was feasible as well as to test the differences between a commercial gravel bed recirculation syst...
ABSTRACT According to the UN, sea surface temperatures (SST) are increasing at alarming rates and the oceans are increasingly polluted by anthropogenic activities. This thesis sought to determine how two pollutants – cadmium (Cd) and pyrene (PY) interacting with sea surface warming affect copepod egg production (EP), mortality and recycling of ingested food through faecal pellet (FP) production. A field study was conducted on transects established on the Western, Central and Eastern Coast T...
EXTENDED ABSTRACT Banana is an important staple food in East Africa and an essential cash crop in the national and local economies. In Kagera and Kilimanjaro regions of Tanzania, banana is cultivated by more than 70% of smallholder farmers as a staple food in home gardens ranging from 0.5 to 2 hectares. Decline in banana yield has been reported in banana farming systems as a result of abiotic constraints (nutrient deficiencies and drought stress) and biotic constraints (pests and diseases)....
Abstract With the increase in vehicle production and world population, more and more parking spaces and facilities are required. In this research a new parking system called Smart Parking System (SPS) is proposed to assist drivers to find vacant spaces in a car park in a shorter time and save effort. The new system uses sensors to detect either car park occupancy or improper parking actions. Features of SPS include display of available parking spaces, payment facilities and different types o...
ABSTRACT Rice is the main food staple in Zanzibar, accounting for about 54 percent of the total caloric intake. Zanzibar imports about 80 percent of its rice requirements. Based on the potential of 3 tons per hector in rain fed and 6 tons per hector in irrigated rice. The government of Zanzibar intends to reduce external dependency from current 80 to 40 percent as part of country’s food self-sufficiency goal. This study intends to inform policy by providing quantitative evidence about farm...
Abstract West African countries are wealthy countries with abundance of both human and natural resources. Some of its member countries are leading member of the OPEC countries. Surprisingly poverty in West African countries is at an alarming rate. Most of its countries are categorized as underdeveloped countries with highest rate of corruption in the world. It is characterized by very weak economies and very low growth rates. There is prevalence of abject poverty as a result of poor economic...
ABSTRACT The adoption and sustained use of Integrated Aquaculture and Agriculture depends strongly on the perception of the farmers which in turn can be largely influenced by the socioeconomic attributes of the farmers. This study therefore examined the socioeconomic characteristics of fish farmers in relation to their perception and willingness to adopt integrated fish-rice and pig production system in south eastern Nigeria. Abia and Imo States were purposely selected for the study because...
ABSTRACT Farming has a huge potential in offering employment to the youth considering its wider labour absorptive capacity. Despite the recognition of employment creation, youth participation in working as a farmer is low due to their attitudes towards farming. The current study describes socio-economic factors that influence formation of youth attitudes in Kuresoi Sub-County, Nakuru County, Kenya. A sample of 120 youths was selected randomly from registered youth groups. Data was collected ...
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 credit...