Abstract Maize, the most important cereal in Ghana, is consum ed in alm ost all parts of the country. To ensure food security in Ghana, adequate availability of m aize m ust be ensured. However, w hether or not farm ers should devote their resources to the production of more maize is a question to be addressed. Since food security has more to do with availability than with production or self-sufficiency in the product, it was necessary to investigate w hether it is better for farm ers to gro...
ABSTRACT Secondary school agriculture curriculum was introduced in Kenya to equip learners with knowledge on the basic principles of farming. The intention was to bring out school graduates who would embrace self-employment and even create employment for others in their farms. Agriculture sector contributes significantly to economic development of this country through; provision of food, employment, market for industrial goods, raw materials for industries and foreign exchange. To realize the...
Abstract This research was designed to determine and compare the technical efficiency and input levels used in rice production under farmer managed irrigation systems (FMIS) and rain fed systems (RFS) in Kogi State. It also compared the effects of socioeconomic characteristics on the technical efficiency of farmers in the FMIS and RFS. Four null hypotheses were tested. The study was conducted in commercial rice producing areas of Kogi State. It adopted a multi stage purposive sampling techniq...
Abstract: The study assesses the risk behavior, perceived vulnerability and adaptation behavior of farm households and the determinants using an integrative insight of the social-ecological system model and semi-quantitative research methodology. Besides, RSSH theory, integrative vulnerability analysis theory, and SMMA were applied to explain the farm households’ risk behavior, perceived vulnerability and adaptation behavior respectively. Survey data collected from the randomly selected 39...
ABSTRACT The concern of humanity is the need to tackle the increasing challenges of severe land degradation and desertification of the ecosystem. The study examined the impacts of agroforestry practices on soil fertility in rural areas of Katsina State, Nigeria. Purposive sampling technique was employed in collecting data from one hundred (100) rural farmers with structured questionnaire administered in two Local Government Areas of Katsina State, namely Batsari and Safana. The data were anal...
The study was carried out to characterize the production systems, feeding & slurry management, herd administration, cost determinants and constraints of Ethiopian swine farming. A total of 66 swine farms were selected in six major towns to collect quantitative and qualitative data on the studied parameters. A multi-stage sampling procedure was employed to select sampling areas and respondents. A standardized questionnaire was used to collect the data using person to person interview. Data wer...
Fossil fuels (coal, fuel oil and natural gas) still meet the major part of our energy demand and are getting fast depleted. Moreover, there are serious pollution hazards like greenhouse effect and global warming which occur due to fossil fuel burning. The use of nuclear power too has its own problems and nuclear fusion is yet to be realized in practice. We have thus been forced to look for non-conventional power generation systems so as to reduce fossil fuel consumption by increasing the conv...
Abstract: Recently, due attention was given to whether contract farming brings a holistic impact on the livelihood of smallholder farmers or not. Hence, the objectives of this study were to identify the determinants of dairy contract farming, its enforcement, and impact on milk production efficiency and annual income using data collected from 424 (192 participants and 232 non-participants) randomly selected milk-producing farmers from three districts of the North Shewa zone of Oromia Regiona...
ABSTRACT The present study was conducted to determine population size, infestation level and farmer’s understanding of banana weevils in different banana-based farming systems (BFS) namely banana monoculture, banana-beans, banana-coffee and banana-maize. This was conducted by using banana pseudostem traps, coefficient of infestation method and standard interviewing. It was conducted from June to September 2017 in Nkoaranga, Mbuguni and Ngurdoto villages (Meru District) and Uduru, Uraa and ...
BSTRACT Soil erosion by water is a growing problem in Tanzania particularly in mountainous areas. The control of soil erosion is one of the most significant issues, which results in improving crop production as well as smallholders income. A study was carried out to assess hillside ditches performance in controlling soil erosion in a banana-maize farming system in Kiroka Village, Morogoro, Tanzania. The study intended to characterize the soils, determine soil loss and assess the social econom...
ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to examine pottery production, marketing and consumption by the contemporary Mbeere people. Pottery production was one of the earliest technologies adopted by farming communities whereby they used pots as storage facilities for their agricultural produce (Sharer and Ashmore, 1987). This industry has continued to date and thus studies in pottery have been carried out to understand cultural groups, how they adapt and manipulate the environment to meet the...
Abstract: This paper assesses maize-coffee-banana agro-ecosystems’ resilience to damage as well as computing the social-ecological vulnerability index to climate change on the southern slope of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. The study focused on identifying agronomic practices and assessing their impacts on agro-ecosystems’ resilience; examine the socio-economic status of the farmers in the region and its impacts on agro-ecosystems; and examine the agro-ecosystems’ natural resilience a...
ABSTRACT This paper analysed policy correlates of agricultural production and agricultural production sustainability outcomes in Ghana and Nigeria. It underscores the influence of political systems and international development agendas as correlates of agricultural production and agricultural production sustainability outcomes. This is to the extent of providing evidence policy on agricultural production and agricultural production sustainability outcomes. Ghana and Nigeria have comparable fa...
ABSTRACT The limitations of conventional technology development gave birth to Farming Systems Research perspective which look at farming practices from a holistic view. This however has innate flaws in its implementation. Recent emphasis therefore is strengthening the need to appreciate a hitherto neglected indigenous knowledge systems. This indigenous knowledge for instance, has been influencing the indigenous practices associated with small-scale plantain production. Before now Plantain has...
ABSTRACT The main objective of the study was to examine how the socio-economic environment of home communities helped in the reintegration of return migrants in selected communities in the Northern Region of Ghana. The macro-methodological theory underlying the study was interpretivism. Mixed and multi-stage sampling techniques were used in selecting respondents in 30 communities from eight MMD Assemblies in the Northern Region of Ghana. The study used interview schedules in collecting quan...