Management practices among small holders of sheep, goats and pigs in the derived savanna zone in Oyo State, Nigeria

A study was conducted to assess the systems of management adopted by small farm holders of sheep, goats and pigs in Oyo State, Nigeria. Data were collected from a total of 25 farms spread over the villages and towns using structured questionnaires. The study revealed that most farmers keep a combination of sheep and goats. Ninety-two percent of the respondents were private owners, while 12% of the respondents indicated a community or group ownership of the farms. Most of the farm hoiders were males (84%) having 6 to 10 years experience in livestock farming. Personal savings constituted the major source of capital for the enterprise. Sixty-four percent of the farms reared their animals semi-intensively compared with 32% for intensive and 4% for extensive. Eighty percent of the farmers fed their animals twice daily, mainly on pasture along with other feed supplements such as cassava. The animals were infested with various diseases and were treated only when infected. Prevention or control of diseases was done through vaccination and good hvgiene and feeding. Most of the livestock were disposed or sold off at adult age.

Citigroup's Shareholder Tango in Brazil (A)

Citigroup has discovered that Daniel Dantas, hired five years earlier to manage Citigroup's $750 million private equity investment in a Brazilian telecommunications industry joint venture, has allegedly mismanaged more than $300 million in assets and contracts. Dantas's misconduct relates to his management of Citigroup's CVC Fund and II-FIA, a legal entity representing a group of large Brazilian pension funds. Together with Dantas's Grupo Opportunity, CVC and II-FIA own Brasil Telecom, the third largest telecommunications company in the country. The partnership's pyramidal ownership structure makes his actions difficult to track. Citigroup must quickly determine how to disrupt Dantas's intricately woven web of control without allowing him to extract further value from the partnership. This case provides concrete examples of the expropriation risks joint venture partners face when unfamiliar with pyramidal group ownership structures. Understand and recognize governance-based differences between a pyramidal business group (e.g., the joint venture related to Brasil Telecom) and that of a widely held firm (i.e., a typical U.S. firm's ownership structure); understand that to avoid market failure firms must anticipate and adjust to the non-market institutional “rules of the game,” which vary greatly across nations; and understand the range of strategic choices and their optimal application to protect minority shareholder rights.