Socio-economic determinants of net-income in fish farming in Kainji Lake Basin, Nigeria onomic determinants of net-income in fish farming in Kainji Lake Basin, Nigeria

The study analyzed the socio-economic determinants of net-income in aquaculture of Kainji, Lake Basin, Nigeria. Specifically, the study examined the; fish farming systems; cost and returns, socio-economic determinants of net-farm income and challenges of fish farming in the area. The study adopted a two-stage sampling procedure to select 120 table-size fish farmers. Data were collected with questionnaires that were administered through face-to-face interview and analyzed using descriptive statistics, budgetary technique and multiple regression analysis. The results showed that 35.00 % of the fish farmers were within the age bracket of 31-40 years, 53.34 % were men, 91.67 % were married, 55.83 % had between 1-5 years of experience in fish farming and 75.83 % had tertiary educational qualification. Majority (92 %) of the fish farmers practiced the monoculture of catfish using earthen ponds system. The estimated total expenses were <strike>N</strike> 14,953,330.74 while the total revenue generated from 9 fish ponds, each stocked with an average of 3883.986 fingerlings in 2 cycles per year was <strike>N</strike> 20,188,142.00. The estimated net-farm income after tax was <strike>N</strike> 5,234,811.26 while the net profit margin and return on investment was 25.93 % and 35% respectively. Age, experience and household size were positive and significant (p<0.05) socio-economic factors that affected net-farm income while the challenges of fish farming were high cost of feed ( ̅x=3.24), poor pricing ( ̅x =3.11), poor access to capital ( ̅x=3.09) and persistent poaching/theft ( ̅x= 2.67). Based on the findings of the study, it is recommended that there should be an intensive research by the fish nutrition division of National Institute for Freshwater Fisheries Research (NIFFR) on the possible alternatives of crude protein source that could be a perfect substitute to Clupeids in fish feeds. Keywords: aquaculture, catfish, socio-economic, profitability, farmers

Perception of awareness of information and communication technologies among yam farmers in Ikom Agricultural Zone, Cross River state, Nigeria

The main purpose of this study was to analyze the awareness of information and communication technologies (ICTs) among yam farmers in Ikom Agricultural Zone, Cross River State, Nigeria. The specific objectives were to; identify the types of ICTs available to yam farmers, ascertain the level of awareness of ICTs among yam farmers and ascertain the effects of ICTs on yam production in the study area. Questionnaires were used to obtain data from respondents for the study. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics such as frequency, percentage, mean and ranks. Result of types of ICTs available among the yam farmers showed that radio was ̅=3.70, Mobile phones were ̅=3.50 while television had ̅=3.11 and were the most available ICTs accessed by yam farmers in the study area. Findings on the level of awareness indicated that Radio ( ̅=1.78) ranked 1st, television ( ̅=1.70) ranked 2nd while, mobile phone ( ̅=1.66) ranked 3rd and were the ICTs that the farmers had greater awareness. Results on the perceived effects of ICTs on yam production revealed that ICTs reduce cost of interaction among yam farmers, enhanced decision-making among farmers and also strengthen partnership with research and extension. However, serious constraints to the use of ICT facilities by farmers were identified such as; poor finance, erratic power supply and cost of use of ICT tools. The result of this study showed that yam farmers in Ikom Agricultural Zone utilized conventional ICTs tools more than contemporary tools in yam production. The study therefore concluded that, there is a commendable level of awareness of information and communication technologies among yam farmers in Ikom Agricultural Zone of Cross River State, Nigeria.

Fish farmers’ perceived environmental effects on dam operation and coping strategies used in Ikere George Dam of Iseyin, Oyo State

The study examined the fish farmers‟ perceived environmental effects of dam operation and coping strategies among fish farmers in Ikere George dam, Iseyin Oyo state. Multi stage sampling technique was used to select 102 respondents in the study area. Data were collected through the use of interview schedule and were analysed using descriptive statistics such as percentage and frequency, while chi-square and PPMC were used to analyse hypotheses at p < 0.05. The result revealed that majority (54%) of the respondents below 40 years, with males predominantly higher than females. Also, 71.6% were married and 58.8% had educational attainment below secondary school. Challenges identified were disruption of movement of aquatic animals (137), blockage of migrations of aquatic species (135) and problem of overcrowding in the community (129) were prominent perceived effects of dam operation. The result further showed that migration (99) and planting of trees (146) were the most commonly used coping strategies. Chi-square showed that there was significant relationship between socio-economic characteristics of the respondents and perceived effects of dam operation except religion which was not significant (p>0.05). PPMC analysis revealed that there was significant relationship between coping strategies used (r=0.687, p=0.000). It is therefore recommended that proper training and adequate facilities should be given to fish farmers to ensure sustainability of the dam.

Response of onion (Allium cepa L.) to plant population and weed control methods in a chicken weed (Portulaca quadrifida L.) infested field In Sudan Savanna, Nigeria

Chicken weed is a significant weed in India and it occurs under onion cultivated field at Birnin Kebbi in the Sudan Savannah, Nigeria. On-farm experiment was conducted at Birnin Kebbi during the 2017/2018 and 2018/2019 dry season to evaluate the effect of plant population and weed control methods on the management of chicken weed (Portulaca quadrifida) alongside other weeds in onion field. The experiment consisted of three plant populations (500,000, 333,333 and 250,000 plants per hectare) and twelve weed control methods (Pendimethalin at 1.0 kg a.i. ha-1, + 1Hw; pendimethalin at 1.5 kg a.i. ha-1 + fluazifop-p-butyl at 2.0 kg a.i. ha-1; pendimethalin at 2.0 kg a.i. ha-1; butachlor at 2.0 kg a.i. ha-1 + 1Hw; butachlor at 2.8 kg a.i. ha-1 + oxyfluorfen at 1.0 kg a.i. ha-1; butachlor at 3.6 kg a.i. ha-1; fluazifop-p-butyl at 2.0 kg a.i. ha-1; oxyfluorfen at 1.0 kg a.i. ha-1 + 1Hw; hoe weeding at 3 (WAT); hoe weeding at 3 and 6 WAT; weed free and weedy check). The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete Block design replicated three times. Results showed that weed, growth and yield parameters were not significantly affected by plant population. Pendimethalin at 1.5 kg a.i. ha-1 + fluazifop-p-butyl at 2.0 kg a.i. ha-1 and weed free plots consistently recorded the lowest weed cover and highest weed control efficiency. Butachlor at 2.0 kg a.i. ha-1 + 1 Hw recorded the lowest crop injury score. Increase in plant height was observed when pendimethalin at 1.0 and 1.5 kg a.i. ha-1 + 1 Hw and fluazifop-p-butyl at 2.0 kg a.i. ha-1 respectively was applied, while application of pendimethalin at 2.0 kg a.i. ha-1 and butachlor at 2.0 kg a.i. ha-1 + 1 Hw recorded highest number of leaves and leaf area. Cured bulb and marketable bulb yield were greater with the use of pendimethalin and butachlor at 1.0 and 1.5 kg a.i. ha-1 + 1 Hw and the pooled data respectively. Application of pendimethalin and butachlor at the rate of 1.0 and 2.0 kg a.i. ha-1 followed by 1 Hw at 6 WAT respectively was therefore recommended for the control of chicken weed alongside other weed species in the ecology

Perception of white meat consumption among urban households in Ibadan North Local Government of Oyo State

This study examines the consumer’s perception of white meat among household in Ibadan north local government area of Oyo state, Nigeria. Multi-stage sampling was used through questionnaire to gather information from 110 respondents used as a sample size for the study. Data were analyzed through the use of descriptive statistics tools such as frequency and percentage, while inferential statistics such as chi-square and PPMC were used for the hypotheses. The result of the study revealed that majority (63.6%) of the respondents were married, also in their active age (93.2%) and engaged in trading and civil service work as their primary occupation. Also, majority (55.5%) had up to secondary education and tertiary school level with household size 1-5.The result further revealed that 52.4% of the respondents had unfavourable perception of white meat consumption while 47.6% had favourable perception. Also, better cholesterol content (53.6%) and reduced health risk (51.8%) were some of the perceived benefits of white meat considered by respondents. Constraints such as high cost of white meat (99%) and low income (88%) were considered as major constraints to white meat consumption. Chi-square analysis revealed that marital status(X2=18.693, P=0.028), education(X2=17.753, P=0.038) and primary occupation(X2=18.266, P=0.032) of respondents were found to have significant relationship with their perception of white meat consumption at 0.05 level. Also, PPMC analysis showed that there was relationship between perceived benefits and perception for white meat at 0.05 level of significant. The study, therefore, recommends that the enlightenment programmes on nutritional benefit of white meat consumption should be promoted for consumers to have right perception.

Impact of pastoralists-farmers’ conflicts on agroforestry farmers’ psychology and agricultural production in north central Nigeria

The study examined the escalating conflict between the farmers and the pastoralists in the North Central region of Nigeria with regard to its impact on the psychology and productivity of agroforestry farmers. Benue, Nasarawa and Plateau states were reported to be the most affected by farmer- pastoralist conflicts in North Central Nigeria, they were therefore purposively selected for the study. The local governments that are most affected by the conflicts were also selected in each state. 25% of agroforestry farmers in each of the selected local government were randomly selected for the study. A total of one hundred and eighty (180) well-structured questionnaires were administered to farmers. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics such as frequency and percentage while the correlation coefficient (r) was used to draw inferences between the variables of the hypotheses. The study found out that 29% of the respondents were between the ages of 31-40, 75.6% were male, 69.8% were married, 37.2% had secondary education and majority of them (83.8%) were Christians. Also, 67.8% of them take farming as their main occupation. 40% of them has 6-10 acres of farm size. The Spearman’s rho correlation analysis revealed that demographics characteristics [age (r= -0.341; p= 0.000) education status (r= 0.200; p= 0.008) and household size (r= 0.151; p= 0.042)] of the respondents significantly correlated with the impact the conflict had on respondents’ psychology. The correlation coefficient (R)) showed that frequency of conflict is significantly related to respondents’ agricultural loss (r=0.183; p=0.025) and that the conflicts impact on respondents’ psychology is significantly correlated with their agricultural productiity (r=0.1357; p=0.034).

Rural dwellers involvement in small scale poultry farming in Oluyole Local Government Area of Oyo State, Nigeria

Poultry production at all levels appears to be lucrative and profitable but many factors appear to limit the involvement of rural dwellers in this sector. This study was carried out at Oluyole Local Government Area Oyo State to assess the level of involvement of rural dwellers in small scale poultry farming. Some parts of Oluyole local government were purposely selected for this study because of higher concentration of rural dwellers that are involved in poultry production. A total of ninety five respondents were sampled and had a well-structured questionnaire administered to them to determine their socio economics characteristic, their level of involvement, benefit derived and constraint faced in poultry farming. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics of frequency counts, percentage and means, Chi-square and Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC) at 0.05% level of significance. The results show that majority of the respondents were males (61.1%), married (68.8%) and have tertiary education (59.1%). Majority (50.5%) of the respondents were between the ages of 31-45years. Socio-economic characteristics such as age, region, sex, educational level, household size and income had no significant relationship with the respondent’s level of involvement in small scale poultry farming (P<0.05). Results on level of involvement shows that most (48.8%) of the sampled correspondents were involved in boilers production. The study also shows that the benefit derived in poultry farming remained the same regardless of the level of involvement of the farmers in various poultry activities, with r –value (0.177), p-value (0.089) indicating that the relationship is not significant (P<0.01), it also indicated that the relationship between the constraints facing the respondents and their level of involvement is not significant with r –value (0.154). Also, the major constraints facing the respondents included difficulty in accessing loan and quality feed. Government should therefore make loan facilities at affordable interest rate while all the stake holders should work together to improve farmers’ access to quality feed, vaccine, technical know-how and adequate extension workers.

Profitability of broiler production in Cross River State, Nigeria

The study was carried out to determine profitability of broiler production in Cross River State, Nigeria. A three stage multi sampling technique was adopted in the selection of 180 respondents. Data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics such as frequency, mean, ranking and percentages, as well as budgeting techniques tools such as net farm income (NFI), return to naira invested (RNI), gross and operating ratios (GR and OR) respectively. Result of analysis showed that socio-economic attributes of broiler farmers - age, sex, marital status, education, experience, business size and training studied influenced on broiler production in the area. Furthermore, the study revealed that broiler production is a profitable venture in the area. This is arising from the difference between a total revenue of N704, 000 and total cost of N419, 153 respectively, representing a net profit of N284, 646.6 or 67.90% of the total amount of money invested, within a production season of eight weeks. The return per naira invested ratio was 1.64, this meant that for every naira invested, N1.64 profit was made by the broiler farmer, this further indicated that the business is profitable. The gross ratio, which measured the overall financial success of the business recorded 0.61. However, cost of feeds, lack of extension services, financial constraints, cost of day old chick’s medication among others are the constraints affecting effective broiler production in the area. Based on the findings of this study, the following are recommended: regular extension training on broiler production should be carried out by the relevant government agencies, feeds should be subsidized and made easily available by government, production of day old chicks should be subsidized by government to cushion the effect of their high cost and livestock farmers should be encouraged to invest on the poultry subsector for it profitability.

Ecology and population dynamics of silver catfish, Chrysichthys nigrodigitatus (Siluriformes: Claroteidae), of the Cross River, Nigeria

Chrysichthys nigrodigitatus forms the most commercially important freshwater single species fishery in the Cross River, Nigeria. Studies were conducted on the dynamics of the exploited population of the species and the influence of rainfall on its catch rate. The objectives were to assess the level of exploitation and impacts of rainfall on its catch rate. A time series of length frequency and meteorological parameters was conducted. Length frequency data were analyzed using FiSAT software to estimate population parameters. The asymptotic length, Lı was 105 cm, growth constant (K) was 0.68 year-1, total mortality (Z) was 2.48 year-1, Natural mortality (M) was 0.99 year-1 and fishing mortality (F) was 1.49 year-1. The exploitation rate was 0.60 year-1, indicating overfishing. Natural mortality accounted 40% of the total mortality, presenting a worrisome trend in the fishery. There was a correlation between rainfall and catch rate, which increased at the onset of rains but decreased at the peak of the rains due to increased depth of the river. For management purposes, it is recommended that the fishing effort should be reduced by the regulation of the number of boat-days; for conservation, domestication of the species should be adopted as an adaptation to climatic influence. Keywords: Freshwater Catfish, Fishing Mortality, Exploitation Rate, Overfishing, Rainfall Impact, Niger Delta.

Credit rationing by deposit money banks and implication on agricultural output in Nigeria

The study examined the effects of credit rationing by deposit money banks on the performance of agriculture in Nigeria using secondary data between 1981 and 2016 obtained from the CBN Statistical bulletin. The study applied both Augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) and Phillips-Perron (PP) unit root test to determine the order of integration of each variable, Johansen cointegration and Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) were employed to determine if there is a long run, the short-run relationship between credit rationing and agricultural output. The result showed that all the variables were integrated of order one. The results revealed that credit rationed for fishery has a short-run significant impact on agricultural output while credit rationed for cash crops, food crops, and livestock do not have a significant short-run impact on agricultural output. The findings further revealed that credit rationed for cash crops and livestock farming significantly decline agricultural output to the tune of 26.48% and 75.87% in the long run while credit rationed for food crops and fishery significantly result in 43.52% and 41.89% rise in agricultural output in the long run. Therefore, the study recommends the establishment of special financial institutional to give unconditional loans to farmers, raise credit rationing for food crop production above the current ceiling, and emphasis should be on exchange rate liberalization policy that will shift consumption from imported agricultural produce to local agricultural produce. These measures will promote farmers’ access to funding which will invariably translate to a rise in agricultural output. Keywords: Credit, Rationing, Money Deposit Bank, Agriculture, Output, Nigeria