Assessment of Fadama project phase II in Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Nigeria
January 2014
This study assessed Fadama project phase II in Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Nigeria. The specific objectives were to: Assess the need for gender analysis in Fadama project as the basis for policy formation in agriculture; examine benefits and challenges encountered by beneficiaries in the course of involvement in the project. Primary data were used. The data were collected from 100 respondents using simple random...
Household size and agricultural land-use pattern in Obagaji area of the Guinea Savanna region, Nigeria
January 2014
In the past two decades, population-environment research has focused on the hypothesis that house hold population has significant influence on agricultural land-use patterns and the health of the environment. This study is therefore aimed at providing land use planners in Nigeria with basic data and information that will be useful in identifying the prospects for and constraints to intensive cultivation systems in...
The lost and forgotten cornerstones: A rural development model
December 2013
Postcolonial South Africa has the world’s widest gap between the poor and the rich, and this gap continues unabated as the prices of commodities go unchecked. Chronic poverty is exacerbated by the unavailability of accessible quality education and training, relevant development and self sustaining skills, appropriate less cumbersome government support, and practical government poverty elevation schemes. The...
Determinants of career choice of Agricultural profession among the Students of the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences in Ekiti State University, Nigeria
December 2013
The study aimed at identifying the factors determining the choice of Agriculture professional career among the Students of the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences in Ekiti State University, Nigeria. A total of 160 randomly selected respondents were utilized for the study, while a structured interview schedule was used to elicit information from them. Frequency counts and percentages, Likert scale, as well as, Probit...
Contributions of mediating and independent variables to the adoption of co-financing public extension visits
December 2013
Most public extension organizations worldwide operate on inadequate budgets. Extension field surveys, therefore, need to be as cost-efficient as possible. The study investigated the comparative contributions of mediating and independent variables to the adoption of co-financing of the delivery of public extension visits. A semi-structured, self-administered questionnaire was used to collect information from 97...
Extension agents access and utilization of information and communication technology (ICT) in extension service delivery in South East Nigeria
December 2013
This study was carried out to assess field extension agents’ access and utilization of information and communication technology (ICT) in extension service delivery in South East Nigeria. Multi-stage sampling procedure involving purposive and simple random sampling techniques were employed in selecting 120 Extension Agents used for the study. Primary data were collected with the aid of a well-structured...
A psychological scale to measure the attitude of elected women towards grass root self governance (Panchayati Raj) system in Tamil Nadu, India
December 2013
This paper dealt with the steps involved in developing a psychological scale for assessing the attitude of elected women towards grass root self governance (Panchayati raj) in Tamil nadu, India. The Panchayati raj is the system of village level (Gram panchayat), block level (panchayat samiti) and district level (Zilla parishad) councils, members elected by the people, carrying out administration activities. Due to the...
Handling of maize with formal and informal technologies in San Nicolas de los Ranchos, Puebla, Mexico
December 2013
This research evaluated the use of formal and informal technologies used by farmers in the management of maize and the impact it had on yields per hectare. For this purpose, the Formal Technology Appropriation Index (FTAI) and the Degree of Use of Informal Technology (DUIT) were proposed. It was found that, on average, DUIT is greater (61.3) than the FTAI (40.6), indicating that the use of informal technology is more...
The savannah accelerated development authority: Factors to consider in modernising agriculture in Northern Ghana
November 2013
The move by government through the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA) to modernise agriculture in the savannah areas of Ghana is in the right direction. However, the specific factors to consider in ensuring that farmers in the operational areas of SADA modernise their farming activities are not well known. This paper examines the factors that SADA must consider in its efforts to modernise agriculture...
Towards sustainable smallholder irrigation development projects: A case study of the Maplotini irrigation scheme, Swaziland
November 2013
Sustainability principles demand that agriculture projects must be capable of maintaining their productivity and usefulness to the society over the long run and must be environmentally friendly. Swaziland has made huge investments in irrigation projects over the last half century for improved livelihoods and economic growth. The study aimed to determine whether investments made in Maplotini irrigation scheme has...
The impacts of agricultural technology use on productivity and food security among smallholder farmers in Zimbabwe: The case of Makonde district
November 2013
Zimbabwe’s semi-arid regions are characterized by high incidence of poverty, low rural incomes, low agricultural productivity, and food insecurity. These all lead to difficulties in sustaining rural livelihoods. Relatively little is known about the impacts of agricultural technologies on agricultural productivity and food security in the drier pockets of land located within the wetter regions of the country. This...
Increasing women’s participation in cowpea storage activities: The case of Burkina Faso
November 2013
Cowpea is a major staple and cash crop in West and Central Africa but it suffers serious losses to insects during post-harvest storage. To prevent these losses, triple bagging in polyethylene and polypropylene sacks, a simple, low-cost hermetic technology, has been disseminated over the last five years through village activities in ten countries in West and Central Africa. Participation of women in these extension...
Contribution of the “Cassava: Adding Value for Africa†(C:AVA) project to income generation in Nigeria: The case of cassava farmers and processors in Ewekoro area of Ogun State
October 2013
This Research was about the effects of “Cassava: Adding Value for Africa” (C:AVA) project on cassava farmers and processors in the Ewekoro area of Ogun state, Nigeria. Respondent for this study were selected from five groups of processors targeted by the project in the area. They consisted of five pure cassava farmers and fifteen cassava...
Analysis of factors influencing cattle off-take rate and marketing in Ndiyona constituency of Kavango region, Namibia
October 2013
This paper presents an estimate of the cattle off-take rates in Ndiyona constituency of the Kavango region, north eastern communal area of Namibia and identifies marketing channels and strategies used by small-scale livestock farmers. The study used Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) to identify factors influencing cattle off-take rates. The results showed that cattle off-take rate of 6.14 percent for Ndiyona...
A review of government policy on agricultural mechanization in Nigeria
September 2013
The paper reviewed the scope, objectives and performance of the previous Nigerian Government policy on agriculture with specific consideration for components of the policies that concern the agricultural mechanization subsector. The views of previous researchers on the performance of previous policies were reviewed to demonstrate the loopholes within the extant document. Similarly available secondary...
Integrated rice-fish farming as a business: The case of Golinga irrigation scheme small farmers
September 2013
he purpose of the Golinga Rice-fish farming project was to improve the capacities of members of a Farmer Based Organization (FBO) to carry out environmentally friendly, sustainable rural farming business using Integrated Pest Management (IPM) techniques at the Golinga Irrigation Project (GIP) in northern Ghana. The project assisted small scale peasant farmers at GIP to integrate fish farming into...
Drivers of household participation in land rent-out market: Evidence from Amigna District, Arsi Zone, Ethiopia
September 2013
This research is attempted to understand drivers of household decision to participate in landrent-out market. Using data from 88 farm households surveyed in 2009 the paper tested for...
Challenges and opportunities of irrigated crop production in Gedeb river catchment: Machakel Woreda, East Gojjam Zone
September 2013
This study has investigated the socioeconomic, institutional and biophysical constraints, opportunities, to what extent irrigation could improve the income of households and create employment opportunities in irrigated crop production. The river catchment has different agro-ecology and socioeconomic situations; thus, it was classified as upper, middle and lower catchments. From Laytemamagn, Yewela and Gotu...
Differences in the perception on leadership of the village development and security committee
September 2013
Previous studies revealed that the socio-demographic factors are vital and would sway the perception of rural community towards the leadership of their community leaders. Nevertheless, the outcome of these studies had shown inconsistent results. Hence, it is pertinent to investigate further on the sociodemographic factors that influence village development and security committee (VDSC) perception towards the...
People’s livelihood adaptation in rural resettlement projects in Laos
August 2013
This paper clarified the state of livelihood adaptation of resettlers affected by the hydroelectric power development project, from five aspects of rural livelihood: Social, economic, physical, natural, and human aspects, in the central province of Laos. Findings revealed that each ethnic group has significantly different adaptation levels under each aspect of livelihood. Phong ethnic group has the highest...
The role of extension services in climate change adaptation in Limpopo province, South Africa
August 2013
This paper investigated the role extension services plays in climate change adaptation in Limpopo province in South Africa. A representative sample of 300 farmers aged 16 to 65+ years (46% males and 54% females) participated in the study. The study involved Sekhukhune and Capricorn districts, with 56% farmers in Capricorn and 44% in Sekhukhune district. The following 10 local municipalities were visited:...
Energy demand for rural house hold activities of Ahmedabad district in Gujrat state of India
August 2013
This paper has attempted to study energy consumption pattern of rural household activities of Ahmedabad district in Gujarat. In all, 82 families from 20 villages were surveyed, Cooking consumed maximum energy 81.25 to 83.90% followed by lighting 12.13 to 15.0% and the lowest energy input recorded was 2.53 to 4.02% in the miscellaneous domestic activities of the total energy input in rural houses. The pattern...
Weight gain, carcass characteristics and economic feasibility of Horro rams supplemented with different substitution levels of maize grain and molasses
July 2013
A total of forty Horro rams with an average initial body weight 19.5 kg were randomly assigned to one of the following five treatments with eight replicates: 184.2 g ground maize grain (T1), 140 g ground maize grain + 60 g molasses (T2), 90 g ground maize grain + 120 g molasses (T3), 50 g ground maize grain + 180 g molasses (T4), 240 g molasses (T5). In addition to the treatment diets, all groups were...
Smallholder farmers’ adoption of technologies for adaptation to climate change in Northern Ghana
July 2013
Climate change introduces numerous uncertainties in the livelihoods of farming communities that depend heavily on the weather and climate. Technologies have been developed to help smallholder farmers better adapt to the changing climatic conditions. This study seeks to determine the factors that influence the adoption of climate related technologies introduced by research institutions. A Multinomial Logit...
Grass-root youth involvement in cattle rearing activities Oyo State, South western Nigeria
June 2013
The study determined the involvement of youths in cattle rearing at the rural community level using six randomly selected communities in Oyo State in the South western part of Nigeria. Twenty – five youths were randomly selected from each of these communities and interviewed. The study found that 68% of the respondents who were involved in cattle rearing were males, 32% were females, while seventy three percent...
Production and productivity of maize subjected to modern and traditional methods of weed control options in Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria
June 2013
This study was designed to evaluate the implications of using alternative weed control options on viability, production and productivity of maize crop in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nigeria. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire from 451 randomly selected smallholder farmers. Gross margins, regression and correlation analysis were used to analyze the data. About 72% of farmers who grew maize...
Family poultry production and consumption patterns in selected households of Bangladesh
May 2013
Family poultry production accounts for most of the poultry production system in Bangladesh, but progress is not satisfactory. The present study assessed the existing poultry production and consumption patterns and constraints of poultry rearing of rural farmers in selected Northernareas of Bangladesh. A total of 50 households; 25 from Parakochua and 25 from Baraticryvillage...
Examining the effect of grower demographic and personal characteristics on willingness to pay amounts per information delivery modes in Rwanda
May 2013
Growers’ demographical and personal characteristics in regards to willingness to pay (WTP) per information delivery mode may have strong influence on the success and viability of privatized extension services. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of growers’ demographic and personal characteristics on their WTP amounts per information delivery mode in the Abahuzamugambi Coffee Growers...
Gender issues and access to ICTs for agricultural and rural development in Dekina local government area of Kogi State
May 2013
This study critically examined the access of women farmers to Information and Communications Technology (ICTs) as against their male counterparts. A total of 120 respondents were randomly selected and interviewed using structured questionnaires. Data collected were subjected to descriptive statistics, Chi-square and rank test. The results indicated that the women folk, despite their dominance in agricultural activities,...
Situational assessment of rural and agricultural development projects of the University of Agriculture, Makurdi and its host community
May 2013
A survey was conducted to assess the present status of rural and agricultural development projects of the University of Agriculture Makurdi and its host community. The population of this study consisted of all students, staffs and members of the host community. Due to the enormity of this population, 150 respondents were selected using purposive and simple random sampling techniques. The data for this study were...
Use of mobile multimedia agricultural advisory systems by Indian farmers: Results of a survey
May 2013
There are several organizations extensively using modern information technology in India to facilitate better communication between researchers, extension workers and their farmer clients to transfer technologies and information more cost effectively. But, many of these initiatives are focused on delivering generic information rather than providing the farm plot or crop specific advisories pertaining to the requirements...
Impacts of climate change on marginal community and bio-diversity in Terai, Nepal
March 2013
This paper aims at exploring the impacts of climate change on the marginal communities and the status of silvo-agriculture species. Mahottary district of Nepal was selected for this study in 2012. A pertinent questionnaire was used to determine the impacts of climate change. The key respondents were interviewed and workshops organized at three different levels to triangulate the information. Stratified random sampling...
Analysis of microbial quality and safety of camel (Camelus dromedarius) milk chain and implications in Kenya
March 2013
The camel milk chain was investigated for microbial quality and safety and its implications to public health. At production, 66% of the samples had microbial load less than 105 cfu/ml compared to 54% at bulking and marketing where the microbial load was over 106 colony forming units (cfu)/ml. Gram-positive cocci (42%) were the majority at production. Gram-negative rods formed the majority (54%) at bulking and...
Advanced evaluation of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) accessions for fodder production in the central rift valley of Ethiopia
March 2013
The experiment was conducted at Adami Tulu Research Center in 2004 with 37 selected lines of grain type cowpea (Vignia species) germ-plasm introduced from Melkassa Agricultural Research Center, Lowland Pulse Improvement Program for the advanced nursery trial. Dolichos lablab (Lablab purpureius both var. Highworth and Rongai) and cowpea (Vignia ungiculata var. white worder training type) were included as a...
Dissemination pathways for scaling-up agroforestry technologies in western Tanzania
February 2013
Tumbi Agricultural Research Institute and International Council for Research in Agroforestry (ICRAF) have been working on agroforestry technologies to address the problems of soil degradation and shortage of food and fuel wood in Tanzania. Among the technologies developed, using improved fallows to replenish soil fertility is being adopted by farmers. The lack of an effective dissemination pathway has been an obstacle...
Agricultural extension delivery in Ghana: A case study of factors affecting it in Ashanti, Eastern and Northern regions of Ghana
February 2013
The agricultural sector in the developing world is changing rapidly and is driven by a number of factors. The sector also faces a number of challenges which are ever increasing and becoming more complex. These consequently place enormous demands on extension services which have a crucial role to play in promoting agricultural innovation to keep pace with the changing context, and improve livelihoods of the dependent...
Evaluation in agricultural extension: A philosophical approach
January 2013
Credible evaluation is a key to sustainable and rapid agricultural development of any country. This requires policies and methods that emphasize efficient and effective evaluation. The procedures must be well guided by experts with adequate representations of all the stakeholders that are involved in the planning of the programme. This article presents evaluation in Agricultural extension as a concept with certain...
Evaluation of the access to and utilization of information communication technology (ICT) facilities among extension officers in Shiroro LGA, Niger State, Nigeria
January 2013
The study evaluated the access to and utilization of information communication technology (ICT) facilities among extension officers in Shiroro Local Government Area, Niger state, Nigeria, during the 2010 rainy cropping season. Data were collected from a sample of 70 extension officers (EOs), comprising of zonal managers (ZM), zonal extension officers (ZEO), subject matter specialists (SMS), block extension supervisors...
Farmers’ key production constraints and traits desired in cowpea in Ghana
January 2013
A survey was conducted in three southern districts of the Volta Region of Ghana and Agbogbloshie market in Accra to ascertain current production constraints faced by farmers and consumers’ desired traits of cowpea. There were two focus group discussions, one in Akatsi and the other at Ketu North District. A total of 180 farmers, 45 food vendors, 30 seed dealers and 80 cowpea traders were interviewed. The...
An innovative public-private partnership for irrigation extension in Fergana valley of Central Asia
January 2013
A ‘farmer-centric’ innovative institutional mechanism, a public-private partnership, was created and strengthened, in the Fergana valley of Central Asia, for facilitating communication between farmers and researchers, and to disseminate knowledge on improved agronomic and irrigation management practices to improve water productivity at field level. As a result, yields of cotton from the twenty five...
Linking institutions and neighborhood communities with irrigation; A theoretical framework for sustainable agriculture
December 2012
In this paper, effort has been made to link human resources in three institutions and their neighborhood communities with irrigation, for sustainable agriculture. Damming the Otamiri River in Federal University of Technology, Owerri, and linking with the Polytechnics in Umuagwo and Nekede, and their neighborhood communities for on-demand irrigation is a sustainable development program. The present system of rain-fed...
Using the Delphi technique to assess cost-effectiveness of rural information and communications technologies (ICT) centers in Iran
December 2012
This Delphi study was aimed to identify the effectiveness of rural information and communications technologies (ICT) centers in rural communities of Kermanshah Township, Iran. Rural information and communication technology (ICT) centers play an important role in rural development through improving e-governance in rural areas. The study utilized a Delphi technique, carried out by participation of ICT experts to...
Evaluation of the relevance of packages of extension recommendations on cassava to farmers’ felt needs in Cross-river State, Nigeria: Implications for the attainment of Millenium Development Goal on food security
December 2012
Relevance of packages of improved agricultural technologies to farmers’ felt needs would influence how readily the farmers adopt them as well as the attainment of the goal of self-sufficiency in food production vis-à-vis the Millennium Development Goal on food security. The study was, therefore, conducted to evaluate the relevance of extension packages of improved technologies to farmers’ felt needs...
Evaluation of the linkage system of Research-Extension-Farmers in Oyo State, Nigeria: Lesson for Agricultural Extension Administrators
December 2012
The study evaluated the researcher-extension agents-farmers linkage system in Oyo State, with a view to improving production of arable farmers through effective communication. Pre-tested structured questionnaire were used to elicit information from forty researchers from four of the nine research institutes in Oyo state. Forty-four extension agents were randomly selected and interviewed from the States’...
The structure, conduct and performance of palm oil marketing in Cross River State, Nigeria
December 2012
The business of palm oil in Nigeria has undergone successive marketing arrangements, each with its inherent deficiencies. The paper examined the structure, conduct and performance of palm oil marking in Cross River State, Nigeria. The study adopted the multi-stage sampling techniques in the selection of 6 local Government Areas, 18 Villages, 180 processes, 90 commissioned agents, 90 retailers and 30 merchants for the...
Land and tree tenure rights on agro forestry (parak) system at communal land in West Sumatra, Indonesia
November 2012
Land and forest degradation in Indonesia tends to increase yearly due to lack of society participation in planting and maintaining of trees, especially in communal lands. In West Sumatra, where the land is generally communal, the success of tree planting for this purpose should be considered from land and tree tenure. The incentive system which is uncertain, leads to reluctance in planting trees on communal lands and...
Paradigm shift in the agro-technology transfer system: Case study of Agricultural Development Programme in Enugu State, Nigeria (2001 to 2009)
November 2012
The study examined response of agricultural development programme (ADP) to changes in the operational environment. Forty eight purposively and 12 randomly selected extension workers were used. Data were collected by use of questionnaire and analysed using means, percentage, and one - way analysis of variance. There is no significant different in level of involvement and coverage of ADP organization in about 95%...
Change in extent of irrigation due to ‘Sunehra Kal’ initiated soil and water conservation interventions in two semi-arid districts of Madhya Pradesh
November 2012
Conservation and judicious use of soil and water play an important role for sustainable crop production and improving the livelihood of people especially in the semi- arid and arid belts of India. The present work evaluates the changes brought about by soil and water conservation interventions in the beneficiary villages of Ratlam and Mandsaur districts, Madhya Pradesh in terms of cropped area, irrigated...
Impact of integrated agricultural research and development on adoption of soil fertility management technologies among smallholder farmers of Southern Africa
November 2012
This paper sets out to determine the impact of Integrated Agricultural Research for Development in three selected countries of Southern Africa. Agricultural productivity in Southern Africa faces several challenges, of which poor soil fertility strikes out as the priority problem inhibiting increased productivity in farmers’ fields. While several soil fertility management technologies are being promoted in the...
Adaptation strategies of selected tree crop farmers to climate variation in Oyo State, Nigeria
November 2012
This study examined the adaptation strategies of tree crop farmers to climate variation in Oyo State, Nigeria. Multistage sampling technique was used to sample 160 respondents for the study. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics such as frequency counts, percentages, means, and Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC). Result of analysis showed that majority of the tree crops...
Page 7 of 10, showing 50 records out of 491 total, starting on record 301, ending on 350
