ABSTRACT In western Uluguru Mountains, professionals have introduced soil and water conservation (SWC) practices which, if properly followed, would conserve the soil and promote agriculture. Various high value crops (HVC) promotion interventions and others which could serve as incentives were executed to aid attainment of this objective. Despite these efforts, today, in most fields we see more of annual ridges, the conventional farming practice which is not effective in SWC and other forms o...
ABSTRACT The role of the media in development issues cannot be over emphasized. The media is the vehicle through which masses are mobilized and policies are explained. Famine is basically an agricultural question, agriculture being a sector that has not been effectively and reliably investigated through the media. The basic tenets of the social responsibility theory emphasizes that the media has certain obligations to society. Apart from acting as a people's watchdog, the media should mainta...
Abstract Background Climate is a key input of rain-fed agriculture. Climate variability and change has been the most important determinant of crop yields in Kenya and other parts of the world. However, there has been not much research on local understanding of the effect of climate variability on maize yields in Arid and Semi arid Lands (ASALs) of lower eastern Kenya counties. The effect of three climatic parameters on maize yields on different temporal and spatial scales was evaluated in or...
Abstract: An extension of human activities including agriculture into the natural vegetation was resulting negative impacts like decreasing population of the wildlife inhabited the natural habitat. This study was conducted to assess and document diversity, distribution, relative abundance of medium and large size mammals in Chukala Mountain Forest. Preliminary survey was conducted and three habitat types montane forest with grassland, woodland and Bush land were identified. A line transect s...
Abstract: The effects of climate change have hit the agriculture sector in Africa hard. Making adjustments to adapt to the changing environment is critical for countries like Ethiopia, whose primary source of income is subsistence agriculture, which is heavily reliant on rainfall. As a result, establishing context-specific adaptation approaches is crucial for reducing the adverse effects of climate change. This study was conducted at Sofi district, Harari Regional State, Ethiopia, to compare...
ABSTRACT Agriculture plays a vital role in the Kenyan economy. It helps in poverty mitigation and ensuring food security. In agriculture, women constitute the majority of small-scale farmers in Kenya, providing 89% of subsistence farming labor force and 70% of the cash crop labor force. However, they have limited access to land which hinders them from making the most constructive use of their time and energy in the agricultural sector and thus affecting household nutritional outcomes. Therefo...
Abstract: In Botswana crop production has been the most vulnerable component of the agricultural sector due to its heavy reliance on rainfed agriculture. At the same time, the availability of rainfall is uncertain due to natural climatic variability which is worsened by climate change. Already the local farmers have knowledge of the climatic conditions around them, and from time to time, they have been adjusting their farming practices in line with the prevailing climatic conditions. Climate...
ABSTRACT This study investigated the interface between neoliberal reform and food security in Ebonyi State, between 1999 and 2013. While observing that agriculture had in the past contributed to both national and state prosperity and food security, the study also noted sharp decline in the performance which coincided with the Nigeria’s implementation of neoliberal policies under civil rule in 1999. Most of the policies targeted the agricultural sector, include: deregulation of agricultural...
ABSTRACT Current soil management strategies are mainly dependent on inorganic chemical-based fertilizers, which caused a serious threat to human health and environment. The exploitation of beneficial microbes as a biofertilizer has become paramount importance in agriculture sector for their potential role in food safety and sustainable crop production. The eco-friendly approaches inspire a wide range of application of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPRs), endo- and ectomycorrhizal f...
ABSTRACT In West Africa, artisanal gold mining competes with agriculture, more specifically crop farming and livestock keeping. Mali is not an exceptional to this observation. In Sikasso region, women and youths have been reported to abandon agricultural activities for artisanal gold mining. It is against this background that this study was conducted to assess the factors that influenced households to be engaged in artisanal gold mining, to evaluate its impacts on water quality, subsistence ...
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 The study was done to ascertain the role of commercial banks in financing small-scale agriculture in selected areas of enugu agricultural zone. The aim was to determine the extent to which commercial banks have given out loans for small scale agriculture in comparison with other source of credit, and to look into the problem faced by both the small holder farmers and the banks as regard credit flow to farmers. The problems of loans repayment and reasons for loan default were...
ABSTRACT The assessment of the K.C.S.E agriculture project work has been plagued by disparities between the school and the external based assessments; with the inception of the 8-4-4 education system in Kenya the problem has become worse. The purpose of this study was to investigate the Determinants of Quality Assessment of Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education Agriculture Projects in selected secondary schools of Kakamega County from 1999 to 2003. The study endeavored to achieve the foll...
ABSTRACT Coastal areas around the world are increasingly facing devastating disasters due to land use and land cover changes. Same can be said of Keta Municipality which experiences series of challenges such as unplanned urbanisation, intensive agriculture, flooding and coastal erosions. To design better solutions to these recurring problems, there is the need to understand the landscape and its interaction with its inhabitants. To achieve this, this study employed remote sensing techniques...
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...