Farm mechanization leading to more effective energy-utilizations for cassava and yam cultivations in Rivers State, Nigeria

Abstract

Surveys have been conducted, under the auspices of the Ministry of Agriculture and Agricultural Development Projects (ADPs), in the 23 local-government areas of the Rivers State, Nigeria. A structured questionnaire, personal visits to farms and interactions with information repositories were used. The quantities of energy consumed by tractors used in activities associated with the growing of cassava and yam crops in those areas were compared with traditional operations, using just manual labour. Within the period of 1986-2004, the total energy utilizations in the production of these crops, in the 23 local government areas, were 2738.87 and 33.5 MJ for tractor-power and traditionalmanual operations, respectively. The tractorization intensity (TI) dropped from 0.352 hp/ha in 1986 to 0.345 hp/ha in 2004. This result was below the presently advocated 0.5 hp/ha for agricultural operations in order to increase crop production. This study identified the causes of this shortfall and recommended, at least for the short-term future, that farm industrialization of all sectors should be subsidized.

Impact of cooperative membership on farmers' uptake of technological innovations in Southwest Nigeria

“…Other investigators have found that, whereas it was much more efficient for Nigerian farmers to employ modern technology in the cultivation of cassava, plantain and yam, very few farmers have access to such facilities, mainly due to lack of funds and the ready availability of cheap and simple traditional tools. As a result, farmers are reduced to subsistence levels (Tre and Lowenberg-Deboer 2005;Nkakini et al 2006).…”

Energy Analysis of Small-Scale Ethanol Production from Cassava: A Case Study of the Cassakero Project in Nigeria

“…Uilein et al [61] reported that the utilization of renewable energy has led to ecological advantages compared to fossil fuel, but it has also come with ecological disadvantages, particularly with respect to intensive land use [62]. Though, farm mechanization and application of modern agricultural practices, have increased yield of cassava produced in Nigeria [63], it has also come with environmental challenges associated with agricultural intensification. Hence, there is the need for trade-off and balance between food, fuel, biodiversity, and sustainability.…”

Effect of Covid-19 Lockdown on Farmers in Rivers State, Nigeria: Positive Perspective

“…Although the level of agricultural production is very low given abundant of resources endowment, it is the largest oil producing zone in the country [14]. Food scarcity worsened as a result of the oil boom which gave rise to the shift of labour from the agricultural sector [15]. This is to say that, production of agricultural produce in state is very low to meet the need and demands of the occupants of above 6 Million [16,17,18] in this total shut down market and border closure.…”