This study was carried out to analyzed the resource-use efficiency of maize production in Lere local government area of Kaduna state. Data were collected from a sample of 100 maize farmers selected through multi-stage sampling procedure using questionnaire and data collected were analyzed using simple descriptive statistics, production function and marginal value productivity analysis. The result showed that 82% were in their working age of between 21-50 years, majority of the farmers 53% were married, 91% had formal education, in terms of farming experience, majority (68%) of the respondent had farming experience that is above one year. The linear function gave the best fit with R2 of 70.2%. Production inputs such as fertilizer and agrochemicals significantly influence maize output in the study area. Maize production in the study area has an increasing return to scale from the sum of elasticity of production (20.439). Land, labour, fertilizer, seed and agrochemicals were underutilized in maize production. Profit could be enhanced by increasing the quantity used of land, labour, fertilizer, seed and agrochemicals inputs, as well as their timely supply. It is also recommended that financial support in term of accessibility to credit facilities at low interest rate be given to farmers to allow them increase output and total revenue.
The practice of shifting cultivation by farmers in Kaiama Local Government of Kwara State is been inhibited by the dedication of their farm lands used for various agricultural activities to national park, thereby resulting in the depletion of soil nutrients caused by continuous cropping on the available land. Thus, the study examines farmers’ perception and adoption of forest conservation practices in Kaiama Local Government Area of Kwara State (The case of Kainji Lake National Park). Purposive random sampling was used to select three wards dedicated to the national park viz; Gwanabe 1, Kemanji and Wojibe. Primary data were gathered through the administration of questionnaires to 160 randomly selected farmers from each of the 8 communities in the three wards. Descriptive statistics, Likert-Scale and regression analysis were used to analyze the data. The result shows that land acquisition was mainly (66%) through inheritance. Furthermore, rotational fallow is practiced by majority (79%) of the farmers. The perception of farmers on forest conservation practices shows that scattered trees on farm land is highly adopted (4.8) and perceived as profitable (3.0) and compatible (3.0). The result of the regression analysis shows that age, education, extension contact, farming experience, cooperative membership among others significantly influenced the adoption of forest conservation practices. The acquisition of tertiary education, training of extension staff and formation of farmers’ cooperative society among others were recommended.
Opportunities to share and providing access to agricultural information at a much faster pace to a wider audience through a variety of user-friendly platforms can be achieved through the use of social media. This study investigated use of social media platforms among extension professionals in Southwest, Nigeria. Two hundred and five respondents were selected through multistage sampling and used for the study. The findings revealed that majority of respondents were between 36 and 50 years, 52.2% were male, 39.5% had B.Sc, 22.9% had HND, 15.1% had PGD, 12.2% had Ph.D and 10.2% had M,Sc/M.Phil, Over half (58%) of respondents had moderate awareness on use of WhatsApp for extension service delivery. Results of regression analysis showed positive and significant influence of performance expectancy (β=.199, p<.05), effort expectancy (β=.170, p<.05) and social influence (β=.139, p<.05) on use of social media platforms. From the result of the study, it was found that performance expectancy, effort expectancy and social influence were predictors of social media use, and recommended that in the use of social media for extension service delivery, these factors should be given attention in the study area.
Field experimental trials were carried out at Federal College of Forestry Mechanization, Afaka. Kaduna located between latitude 100 35”N and longitude 07°21”E at altitude 644m above sea level to compare the effect of different application of organic manures on growth and yield of water melon (Citrullus Ianatus). Two trials were conducted between the early onset of rain in April and post monsoon in October 2011 and the mean of the two trials were taken. The treatments were poultry manure, mixture of poultry manure plus goat/ sheep manure, goat/ sheep manure and control(no manure). The treatments were replicated four times in randomized complete block design. Data were collected on growth parameters such as plant vines length, Number of branches per plant, number of leaves and yield parameters like fruits weight, fruits diameter and number of fruits. The data were subjected to analysis of variance and the mean separated using Least Significant Difference. The results showed that there were significant differences (P<0.05) in plant vine length. The plots treated with poultry droppings had the highest value of plant vine length of 8.20, 137.90 and 216.30 cm at 2, 4 and 6 weeks after planting. Poultry droppings also gave the highest values for the weight of fruit (10.72 Kg) and diameter of fruit (53.25 mm). The best treatment is poultry manure which has the highest yield of 34.25% at 2.5 tonnes per hectare. Poultry manure showed positive effect on all the growth and yield parameters of water melon (Citrullus lanatus) measured. The use of poultry manure is therefore recommended for farmers in the study area in order to be able to obtain good yield of water melon.
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