Abstract The prevalence of contract farming in the cotton industry of Zimbabwe implies that it has become the dominant marketing system. Even the independently produced cotton is eventually sold to the contracting cotton companies owing to enacted regulations which compel all prospective cotton buyers to finance production through contract farming to be licensed to purchase seed cotton from farmers. However, the prevailing seed cotton marketing system is riddled with challenges characterise...
ABSTRACT Climate change is a topical issue which has captured many researchers attention recently. The research was carried out in the Guruve Rural District Council in Mashonaland province. The researcher wanted to know and fully understand how climate change has affected farmers in this area. The researcher used the qualitative research method were she made use of questionnaire and interviews from the findings, the researcher found out that climate change has brought about many effects on ru...
ABSTRACT This study is about climate change adaptation and small scale maize farming in Ifunda village. The problem under research is „effectiveness of climate change adaptation for small scale maize farming in Ifunda village.‟ The sampling techniques applied were simple random sampling for 85 household respondents and purposive sampling for 15 key informants. Data collection methods employed were survey using questionnaires for household respondents, interview using interview guides for...
ABSTRACT This study assesses women participation in crop farming in Soboba District in the Northern Region of Ghana, the challenges and prospects. The study objectives were to examine the nature of women participation, challenges affecting the participation of women and to ascertain the prospects of women participation in crop farming in Saboba District. The study adopted a descriptive analytical survey design. This study was conducted by using quantitative and Qualitative research methods. ...
ABSTRACT Highland catchments of Lake Manyara basin are undergoing degradation through human activities from the adjacent communities. This study was conducted to assess the impact of farming systems on vegetations in the highland catchments of Lake Manyara basin namely Chemchem and Endabash rivers. The specific objectives were to identify the farming systems used and their sustainability with regard to wetland conservation, assess and compare the plant species composition and diversity betwe...
Abstract: Nitrogen (N) deficit is one of the limiting factors to food security in most developing countries while the excessive use of N has resulted in environmental contamination. Timely N availability, at the right rate is crucial to improving crop yield and N use efficiency in farming systems. Therefore, understanding nitrogen dynamics under different farming systems is essential to improve N use and recovery efficiencies of crops and in addressing environmental impacts associated with i...
ABSTRACT Plant parasitic nematodes (PPN) are biotic constraints to crop production worldwide resulting in significant yield losses. Management of these nematodes has primarily depended on chemical nematicides; but due to the increased pressure for more economic and environmentally friendly strategies, alternative methods like organic and conventional amendments, have been considered. To test the efficacy of conventional and farmer practice systems against organic farming in the suppression of...
Abstract: Plant parasitic nematodes (PPN) are biotic constraints to crop production worldwide resulting in significant yield losses. Management of these nematodes has primarily depended on chemical nematicides; but due to the increased pressure for more economic and environmentally friendly strategies, alternative methods like organic and conventional amendments, have been considered. To test the efficacy of conventional and farmer practice systems against organic farming in the suppression ...
ABSTRACT The study was conducted among smallholder maize farmers in the Techiman Municipality of Brong-Ahafo Region. Semi-structured questionnaire was the main instrument for collecting the primary data. Using data from hundred (100) randomly sampled maize farmers in the Brong-Ahafo Region, the profitability of maize farming was assessed and the determinants of profit was examined. Budgetary technique, multiple regressions and Kendall’s coefficient of Concordance was used to analyze the f...
ABSTRACT Climate change and variability is one of the great challenges facing farming households in Ghana. The main objective of this study is to assess the vulnerability of smallholder maize farming households to climate variability in the Eastern region. Specifically, the study investigates the vulnerability of households to climate variability, the determinants of households’ livelihood vulnerability level, the adoption level of adaptation strategies to climate variability and the deter...
ABSTRACT In spite of the numerous efforts being made by researchers within the agricultural sector to link farmers with improved and modern methods of farming, there are still a lot of farmers operating at subsistence levels. This research examines an additional rather than a substitutional means to assist in the effective linkage of agricultural research and processes to farmers in Ghana. This is done by exploring how Theatre (using Theatre for Development processes) can be used as a vehic...
Abstract: Agroecological farming systems such as maize–legume intercropping (MLI) and push-pull technology (PPT) have been introduced to mitigate losses from pests. Nevertheless, the regionwide maize yield gained from practicing such farming systems remains largely unknown. This study compares the performance of two uncomplex and interpretable models, namely the hybrid fuzzy-logic combined with the genetic algorithm and symbolic regression, to predict maize yield. Specifically, the study a...
ABSTRACT Since the latter part of the 20th Century to date, climate change has received considerable global attention due to its threats on all sectors of the global economy, particularly agriculture. Sub-Saharan Africa, for which Ghana is part, is considered as most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and variability due to its low adaptive capacity and dependent on predominantly rain-fed agriculture. Farmers in Ghana and beyond are not only prone to climatic stressors but also to n...
Abstract Goat production has been argued to offer an alternative and potentially lucrative livelihood option to poor subsistent farmers in Southern Africa. Many small-scale farming families raise indigenous goats which are considered to be the poor-man’s cattle due to their relative importance to the asset base of poor farming households. The practical implementation of poverty alleviation and reduction interventions at community level however often falls short of expectations and this stud...
ABSTRACT: Agriculture is the cornerstone of Kenya’s economy with most households depending on it for food and livelihood. Women provide the largest share of agricultural labour in many households. Despite the important role that women play, they are discriminated in the area of access to and control over the agricultural benefits. In agriculture, tea farming was the main foreign exchange earner in the year 2011. But despite the important role tea farming plays in Kenya, there are gender ine...