The survey was conducted to identify key challenges encountered by households in Makurdi metropolis of Benue state, Nigeria who are engaged in urban agriculture. A well structured questionnaire was used to collect data from a sample of 100 respondents used for the study. Data were analyzed using frequency, percentage and mean score. Results show that a greater percentage (46.0%) of the respondents engaged in cultivation of leafy vegetable, 22.0% cultivated cassava, 21.0% planted sweet potato, 18.0% cultivated tomato while 56.0% reared poultry, 23.0% kept goat, among others. Sources of agricultural information indicated by the respondents were family members/relations (85.0%), friends/neighbors (73.0%), radio (68.0%), extension agents (57.0%), etc. Major challenges encountered by the respondents in urban agriculture include inadequate size of farm land (M= 2.72), lack of access to credit facilities (M= 2.63), lack of funds (M= 2.50), high cost of labor (M= 2.49), insecurity of lands (M= 2.46), theft of crops at maturity (M= 2.38), lack of farm inputs such as improved varieties of seeds, fertilizer (M= 2.23), destruction of crops by stray farm animals (M= 1.96), among others. The study recommends that there is need for adequate provision of farm inputs by government at all levels at subsidized rate in order to reduce the cost of production and enhance optimum productivity.
The study assessed youth participation in sesame production in Gwer West Local Government Area of Benue State, Nigeria. Primary data were collected from ninety three (93) randomly selected sesame youth farmers using a structured questionnaire. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics (frequency, percentage and mean) and inferential statistics (correlation). Results of the study showed that participation of youths in sesame production was moderate in land preparation (M=2.39), planting (M=2.01), manual weeding (M=2.05) and harvesting (M=2.03) and low in pesticide application (M=1.98), herbicide application (M=1.96), fertilizer application (M=1.73, threshing (M=1.90), winnowing (M=1.85) and bagging (M=1.80). Farmers sourced information on sesame production mainly from friends/relations (80.6%). Constraints to youths' participation in sesame production were insect and diseases attack (M=1.89), insufficient agricultural inputs (M=1.83), inconsistency in agricultural programmes for youths (M= 1.80), insufficient agricultural implements (M= 1.74), lack of technical assistance (M=1.72), lack of access to credit facilities (M= 1.72), weed control problem (M=1.66), and poor access to viable markets (M=1.59). Years of formal education (r= -218; p<0.36) and sesame farm size (r= 281; p<0.36) significantly influenced youths' participation in sesame production in the study area. It was concluded that participation of youth farmers in sesame production was low, but this could be improved by making sesame farming attractive to young people through the provision of production resources, access to education, farm land, and viable markets.
Contribution/Originality:The study is one of the very few studies which have investigated youth participation in sesame production and identified relevant information for policy development and research on the crop which when implemented could increase its production and productivity and enhance the livelihood of farmers.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.