ABSTRACT Rice has become a staple food, just like yam, garri and beans. As a result, the marketing of rice has become very important due to increasing demand of the product. The study examined the economics of farm-gate rice marketing in Enugu State, Nigeria. Five objectives and one hypothesis guided the study. The study covered all the communities in the local government areas in the three Agricultural Zones that produce rice in the study area. The population of the study consisted of rice ...
ABSTRACT This study which lasted for 12 weeks investigated the effects of garlic and probiotics additives in the diets of grower pigs. A total of sixteen 16 weeks old grower pigs were randomly assigned to four treatments. Each treatment had 2 replicates of 2 pigs per replicate that were housed in a previously cleaned and disinfected pen measuring 3.2m x2.7m with concrete floor, feeding trough and water drinker. Four treatment diets (T1, T2, T3, and T4) were used in a 2x2 factorial arran...
More than 78% of the households own livestock in South Sudan. Livestock, particularly cattle, goats and sheep, are an important social and economic asset in South Sudan. Goats are important and are predominant in most rural households with estimated population of 12.5 million heads. Despite the vast potential livestock contribution to the rural household development, livestock products (milk and meat) do not meet the local demands due to low productivity. The available seasonal feed reso...
Despite the pertinence of Agriculture to the economy, its potential has not been realized. To address this shortfall, research and training institutions have designed and generated knowledge and technologies. However, the innovations generated have hardly reached the end users. In response, Egerton University established Farm Attachment Programme (FAP) to innovatively engage small-scale farmers in 2014. Despite FAP being in operation since 2014, little is known about its effectiveness an...
ABSTRACT Fishing is a major source of livelihood for rural and peri-urban communities along coastal waters. The operation of artisanal fisherfolks is threatened by increasing overfishing of inshore waters, inadequate credit facilities, insufficient fishing input subsidies and inadequate extension services. These had negative implications on their efficiency hence their well-being. In order to enhance their performance, the efficiency of the fisherfolks, profitability and challenges were ex...
ABSTRACT Indigenous chicken are a valuable asset and form an integral part of many households in Kenya in terms of food security, economic and social roles. Given their value to the agricultural sector, various interventions are being developed and implemented to realize their potential in the sector. Such interventions involve genetic improvement of production traits which directly translate to increased revenues. However, this is likely to be accompanied with increased inputs, especially fe...
ABSTRACT Farm level post harvest milk losses (PHL) in smallholder and pastoral milking herds that occur at milking, pooling, evening storage or at the farm gate delivery may be associated with many farm practices. This study tested the hypotheses that PHL results from milk hygiene practices, that feeding practices influence production and quality of milk, and that milk market outlets influence milk hygiene and PHL. Data was obtained in cross sectional survey, on-farm milk and feed sampling fo...
ABSRACT Tea is a major foreign exchange earner in Kenya and it accounts for about 24% of the total value of the domestic exports for the last 10 years. The sector employs 10% of Kenya’s population directly and indirectly, and contributes to infrastructural development which includes construction of schools and health facilities, rural access roads and rural industries. However, tea suffers frequent droughts with significant yield decline, often accompanied by plant deaths, a condition which...
ABSTRACT Implementation of Farmer Field School (FFS) extension approach in disseminating knowledge and skills on management technologies for crop production, crop pests, soil and water conservation (CPSWC) has had proven successes. To replicate its successes, FFS was extended to smallholder dairy production as an alternative to the conventional extension approaches (NFFS) which had proved ineffective in disseminating knowledge and skills on dairy management technologies (DMTs). However many m...
Weeds interfere with turfgrass growth lowering functional and aesthetic quality of lawns. Conventional weed control using synthetic pesticides is hazardous to lawn users and to the environment while cultivation alone is not sufficient. A study was conducted with the aim of exploring the potential of biofumigation with African spider plant (Cleome gynandra) as an environmentally friendly alternative to use of synthetic herbicides for establishment of weed-free Paspalum notatum turfgrass. ...
ABSTRACT Nature provides ecosystem services (ESs) which benefit humans for socio-economic development. However, ecosystems degradation has impacted negatively on people’s livelihood leading to increasing global concern to rethink on sustainable conservation-livelihood mechanisms. Lake Naivasha basin has been undergoing ecosystem degradation threatening ecological functional capacity to provide ESs. As a result, it has increased food insecurity, poverty levels, decreased income and destabili...
ABSTRACT Market access is a major constraint facing agricultural commercialization in Kenya. The pressure on arable land and market changes are mainly felt by the smallholder farmers who are faced with high transaction costs such as information access and transport costs. In addition, these farmers face a number of institutional and technical factors putting their market survival at stake. To curb these challenges, formation of farmer groups and organizations has become important in bringing ...
Women farm enterprises in Kenya have in the recent past gained considerable prominence and attention. Several research studies have underpinned the role they can play in economic development and poverty reduction through increased production and employment. However,these farm enterprises have had limited access to credit to enhance their growth. Table banking (TB) is a concept that has been promoted, particularly among women, to enhance access to credit. The role of women farmers’ fin...
ABSTRACT The National Agriculture and Livestock Extension Programme (NALEP) utilizethe Shifting Focal Area Approach (SFAA), to build the capacity of Common Interest Groups (CIGs) for performance improvement. A number of institutional factors play a role in determining how the CIGs perform. NALEP was designed to explore some of the institutional factors which include access to agricultural credit, commodity markets, and training among others so as to improve the performance of CIGs. Inspite of...
Smallholder farmers in Southern Mali mainly in the cotton production zone are facing decreasing income over time. This constraint makes producers resort to alternative sources of income to supplement agricultural activities to sustain and secure their livelihoods situation. However, the diversified crops and having multiple sources of agricultural income constitute the significant opportunity for smallholder farmers to ensure food security and reduce over dependency on income from cotton...