The role of agricultural extension is vital to the diffusion of new technologies, but extension is currently not very effective in many African nations, with conventional extension approaches having minimal impact. In Kenya, there have been gaps on the availability of studies and documentation of the specific extension approaches and their influence on the acquisition of knowledge and skills for improved farm productivity despite the various extension efforts and resources put in place in man...
CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1.1 BACKGROUND OF STUDY The continuous increase in food demand requires a rapid improvement in food production technologies. Food insecurity is a major challenge in developing countries. In a country like Nigeria where the economy is mainly not agriculture based, use of technology to improve on yields is paramount. Agriculture in Nigeria is mainly rain fed. Global warming has led to climate changing thus rendering the rain fed agricultural system...
ABSTRACT This study determined the role & some sector programs in poverty reduction in Rwanda: A case study of Rwamagana District. The objectives of the study were to establish the role of rural roads in poverty reduction, to find out the role of primary health care in poverty reduction and to find out the role of agriculture extension services in poverty reduction in Rwanda. This study employed a case study design to determine the role of some sector programs in poverty reduction in Rwanda...
Abstract: Most developing countries like Ethiopia are striving hard to solve acute protein deficiency in the diets of their increasing populations through cultivation of mushrooms in the urban areas without heavily depending on agricultural lands and capital. This study was conducted in Debre Berhan University, College of Natural and computational Sciences, with the aim of assessing the proximate chemical composition, biological efficiency and suitability of the selected substrates (Millet s...
ABSTRACT The introduction of microfinance banks in Nigeria is the inability of Nigerian Deposit Money Banks to provide sufficient financial service to the rural poor. Microfinance banks have taken up the challenges of the gap created by the Nigerian Deposit Money Banks. Microfinance banks can be seen as an economic growth method intended to advantage the low income part of a given country like Nigeria, both rural poor and urban poor. The objective of this study is to determine the impac...
Majority of the rural households in Kenya depend mainly on agriculture as a source of food and livelihoods. Agricultural productivity has been declining due to many factors including climate change. Declining agricultural productivity has in turn resulted in increased food insecurity in the country. Consequently, there is a renewed interest in promoting drought-tolerant crops such as sorghum, which are known to perform well in the arid and semi-arid lands of the developing world. Owing to its...
ABSTRACT Potatoes are crops that although perishable can be stored easily with minimum loss of quality and quantity. Potato storage in Kenya is not common with the few farmers that practice it doing it traditionally and are therefore exposed to risks and consequently losses. Studies have indicated that the storage of potatoes is a means of protecting farmers from seasonality in supply and price fluctuations constraints. Studies in Tunisia, India, and USA have shown the benefits of potato sto...
ABSTRACT Intestinal schistosomiasis caused by Schistosoma mansoni remains a major public health problem responsible for morbidity and mortality in sub-Saharan Africa despite availability of control programs. It is estimated that more than 6 million people in Kenya are suffering from schistosomiasis. Several species of Biomphalaria snails are obligatory intermediate hosts for transmission of S. mansoni. Mbita sub-county in Homa Bay County is one of the regions along the Lake Victoria basin in ...
ABSTRACT Shallow water Cape hake (Merluccius capensis) and Cape horse mackerel (Trachurus capensis) are ecologically and commercially important species in the northern Benguela ecosystem (Namibia). The understanding of their trophic relationships is however still limited. In this study stable isotope measurements [carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N)] of their muscles and stomach contents were used to investigate their feeding interactions. Understanding the feeding interactions of these two s...
This paper examined the causes, effects and measures for mitigating climate change to ensure adequate supply of food through crop production to address the food insecurity which has occupied a central focus of the Nigerian economy. Unfortunately, crop production is fraught with many ecological challenges including climate change. This climate change which occurs as a result of the buildup of Green House Gases (GHGs) occasioned by industrialization, technological modeling and agriculture, exer...
AbstractThis research study appraised the impact of the Banking Sector Reforms on the Real Sector of the Nigerian Economy for the period 1986 to 2009. Data on real sector output, credit to the real sectors, lending rate and interest rate on savings were obtained from the CBN Statistical Bulletin (2009 edition). The data were analysed using Ordinary Least Square (OLS) technique. The result of the analysis revealed that financial sector reforms were effective in addressing the twin problems of ...
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 Studies have shown that poverty rates in Northern Ghana are two to three times more than the national average. Poverty, low income generation, and chronic food insecurity remains a critical challenge among the people in this region. Smallholder farmers in northern Ghana have limited access to the assets that would facilitate a shift from low productivity subsistence farming to modern commercial agriculture. The major constraints to their livelihoods include lack of infrastructure a...
ABSTRACT Studies have shown that poverty rates in Northern Ghana are two to three times more than the national average. Poverty, low income generation, and chronic food insecurity remains a critical challenge among the people in this region. Smallholder farmers in northern Ghana have limited access to the assets that would facilitate a shift from low productivity subsistence farming to modern commercial agriculture. The major constraints to their livelihoods include lack of infrastructure an...
ABSTRACT This study analyzed the factors that influence the adoption of improved maize varieties and the extent of adoption in northern and eastern zones of Tanzania. Data were collected from a sample of 548 households in northern and eastern zones by adoption pathway project in 2013 by using household survey questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were employed to determine the improved maize varieties adopted in the two regions and Heckman two stage sample selection model was used to determin...