ABSTRACT In Nigeria several small scale farmers make use of organic materials such as compost and manure to maintain soil organic matter and as sources of nutrients. The advantages of organic farming could include increased productivity and enhanced biodiversity of the farm lands and surrounding environment. This paper examined the utilization of organic of practices and materials, with highlight on farmers' demographics, knowledge of organic farming, attitude and constraint to use of organic...
ABSTRACT Smallholder farmers of Apac District received advice from extension agents on the production of high quality cassava flour from 2009 to 2015. Despite training, production remained low at 4000kg ha-1 compared to the expected output of 8000kg ha-1 , which called for an investigation conceived to establish the effectiveness of the group extension methods used in training for high output. A crosssectional survey design was used. Interviews, questionnaires, observations and focused group...
ABSTRACT Weather and climate variability are the major production risks and uncertainties impacting agricultural systems performance and management. This study investigated the access and factors that influence the utility of agro meteorological information by smallholder irrigation farmers in Lari Wendani and Perkerra irrigation schemes in Kenya. A systematic random sampling procedure was employed to select 255 farmers from a total population of 776 farmers. In Lari Wendani 33 farmers were ...
ABSTRACT This paper presents a review on the literature of tobacco farming on the observed research on the impact of tobacco farming on the livelihoods of smallholder farmers as well its impact on poverty alleviation. In this study I drew on the existing academic structure on tobacco farming in Zimbabwe. An examination of the factors that led farmers in partaking tobacco farming was carried out on 86smallholder farmers. The case was in Centenary District. This study was therefore initiated wi...
ABSTRACT Despite the initiative being made by the government and other stakeholders to promote improved technologies in coconut production among the smallholder farmers in West District in Zanzibar, its yield remains very low. This study intended to assess the adoption of improved coconut production among smallholder farmers in West District. Specifically, the study objectives were to: assess farmers‟ attitude towards improved technologies; assess level of coconut yield before and after the...
ABSTRACT This study aimed at analyzing the role of gender in adoption of Post Harvest Technologies (PHT) among maize smallholder farmers at Kilosa District in Tanzania. Specifically, this study aimed to determine the prevalence of PHT among maize smallholder farmers; to analyze the role of gender in the work / task division among maize smallholder farmers and to analyze the gendered decision-making process towards adoption of PHT among maize smallholder farmers. The collected data were prima...
ABSTRACT The greatest challenge in the agriculture is to produce more food with low quantity of water. The challenge facing tomato farmers in Njoro Sub - County is the unfavourable conditions for tomato growth which includes very low rainfall during the seasonal dry periods. However, there is limited information on optimum water management practices, or deficit irrigation that would increase tomato crop yield and additionally improve the tomato quality when drip irrigation is used. The objec...
ABSTRACT The study was conducted in the Dangbe West District of the Greater Accra Region. The main objective of the study was to find out how rice farmers access and manage credit to improve their families standard of living. The specific objectives were to find out about available credit packages for rice farmers at the Kpong Irrigation Project, examine why rice farmers at Kpong Irrigation Project access credit, determine the benefits rice farmers may derive from using credit, evaluate the p...
ABSTRACT Cotton production plays an important role in farmers’ livelihood in the Gezira State in the Sudan. Cotton is the main cash crop produced in the scheme. However, sustainability of cotton production in the Gezira Scheme has been an interesting issue, especially, after the noticeable deterioration of the cotton industry in the last few years. This study determined the environmental and economic sustainability of cotton production in the Gezira Scheme as perceived by farmers who are t...
ABSTRACT Commercialization of agriculture refers to shift from subsistence oriented production to an increasing complex production and consumption system based on market; apart from marketing agricultural output it also includes product choice, input use and decisions making based on profit maximization. It has been documented that agriculture commercialization in Tanzania remains to be marginal and less than one third of farmers’ produce might possibly reach commercial market; very few fa...
ABSTRACT This study attempts to analyse how smallholder farmers allocate their limited available resources optimally in order to maximize their farms' total net returns and to investigate the factors which determine their agricultural diversification process. The survey covered 150 farmers. Field data was complimented with secondary data collected from key organisations. A pre-tested questionnaire was used to interview smallholder farmers. A logistic regression model was used to determin...
ABSTRACT Rainfall variability affects agricultural output which in turn affects farmers‟ farm income. Some smallholders farmers in Lare Division have been using agricultural water technologies namely water harvesting, water storage and irrigation in order to boost their farm income. However, it is not clear whether the agricultural water technologies have influenced farm income of smallholder farmers in the Division as scant literature exists. This study sought to investigate the influence...
ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to examine the determinants of credit acquisition in lkole local government area and its effect on their output. Specific objectives are to describe the socio-economic characteristics of the farmers, identified the sources of credit available to the farmers, identify problems that constrain farmers from agricultural credit acquisition, evaluate the effect of using credit on farmers output. Data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics, mul...
ABSTRACT Livelihoods are the ways in which people satisfy their needs, or gain a living. In Ghana, cocoa production supports the livelihoods of more than 800,000 smallholder households and many others who depend on it for a significant share of their income. The primary objective of the study was to assess the sustainable livelihoods of rural cocoa farmers in the Atwima Mponua district in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. Mixed method approach was used and one hundred and fifty (150) cocoa farmers...
ABSTRACT Despite various efforts by international non-governmental, local public and private institutions towards the research and development of improved crop technologies, the use of improved seeds in Tanzania is still low hence low agricultural productivity among smallholder farmers. The general objective for this study was to identify the most preferred improved maize seed varieties and the determinants for the demand for those improved seeds in rural mainland Tanzania so as to suggest m...