Tomato (Solanum Lycopersicun L) is a very important vegetable grown mainly by small scale farmers in most arable areas in Kenya. Tomato production has declined drastically due to attack by Ralstonia solanacearum, a soil borne pathogen which causes bacterial wilt. Transmission of pathogen occurs when bacterial ooze from the plant enters the surrounding water or soil, contaminates farming equipment or by insect vectors. The disease has not yet been effectively managed. Grafting is an asexual pl...
Sudan is a large country with a great diversity of climatic and agro-ecological zones.The horticultural acreage in the Sudan is estimated at 273,000 hectares, representing about 3% of the total crop area. The area under horticultural crops is on the increasing for it is fetching good money for the farmers. Horticultural crops comprise the groups of vegetables,fresh legumes, fruit trees, ornamental plants, plantation crops, medicinal and aromatic plants and spices. The present study was co...
Despite being a culture-centred livelihood activity, pastoralism alone has not guaranteed food and nutrition security for households in Turkana, Kenya. The frequency of droughts and their negative impact on livestock production in the County translate into reduced purchasing power of the pastoral households; causing perennial food insecurity and consequent human indignity. As a growing response to this perennial situation, rain-fed crop production has been introduced in the County at sub...
Dairy farming is a significant economic activity in Kenya as it accounts for four percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and fourteen percent of total value of agricultural output. Market-oriented smallholder dairy farms in the country tend to be concentrated close to urban centres because the effects of market forces over-ride many production factors. Urbanization creates competition for alternative land uses thus leading to land fragmentation which has a potential nega...
ABSTRACT Constraints to soil productivity include reduction in soil fertility and lack of adequate soil water conservation techniques due to erratic rainfall in central highlands of Kenya. This study evaluated effects of combining integrated soil fertility management options and tied-ridging on maize-soybean yields and selected soil properties during short rains in 2014 and long rains in 2015 seasons. The study was carried out in Kigogo primary school in Tharaka- Nithi County. The experimenta...
ABSTRACT Drought has become a major contributor to food insecurity in sub-Sahara Africa. Drought-tolerant crops such as cassava and sweet potato can help alleviate this situation. However, lack of affordable healthy planting materials of farmer-preferred varieties is a major constraint to sweet potato and cassava production. Conventional tissue culture technology offers an important solution to this but it is very costly, making plantlets out of reach for resource poor farmers. Hence, it is n...
ABSTRACT There is an urgent need to improve production and marketing conditions of small holder farmers in Kordofan region of Sudan in order to alleviate poverty and enhance food security. This study was conducted to determine the profitability of the sesame value chain as one of the viable options that can address the challenges of small holder fanners. This study characterized the sesame value chain from producers to processors in terms of material and information flows as well as theinter...
ABSTRACT This study was designed to analyze profit and risk management strategies in selected agribusinesses in Imo, Nigeria. The methods of proportionate sampling, followed by random sampling techniques were adopted in selecting the Local Government Areas and the sample size. Data were collected with the use of questionnaire administered on 168 agribusiness entrepreneurs (87 food crops and 81 livestock entrepreneurs). The data collected were analyzed using frequency distribution, percentage...
ABSTRACT An experiment was carried out for two seasons in Kiambu County to investigate the influence of organic and inorganic fertilizer on growth, anti-nutrients characteristics in amaranth species and the changes in the soil rhizosphere. This is because continuous usage of inorganic fertilizer affects soil structure. Hence, organic manures can serve as alternative to mineral fertilizers. Application of pesticides and inorganic fertilizers had adverse effects on nutrient leaching, pesticide...
ABSTRACT The International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe), undertook a biological control (BC) programme for control of stemborers from 1993 to 2008, to reduce cereal yield losses due to stemborer attack in East and Southern Africa. The programme released four biological control agents—Cotesia flavipes, Cotesia sesamiae, Telenomus isis and Xanthopimpla stemmator—to control the economically important stemborer pests Busseola fusca, Chilo partellus and Sesamia calamistis. ...
ABSTRACT East African farmers have been facing low crop productivity as indicated by low yields of major staples, maize and rice, leading to food insecurity. As a result, the respective governments have offered solutions such as the introduction of high yielding maize and rice varieties. Farmers have expanded their farms into productive areas such as wetlands in an attempt to increase output to counter the effects of climate change complications, population pressure, and the declining product...
ABSTRACT The study was designed to compare productivity and efficiency of Low External Input Technology and High External Input Technology Farms in Imo State. Specifically, it aimed at comparing the socio- economic characteristics of the two groups of farmers as well as their productivities, ascertain the factors influencing aggregate and individual resource productivities, determine production efficiency and returns to scale in the two farm types. The study was conducted in Imo State, Niger...
ABSTRACT The study analysed value addition in commercial catfish (Clarias gariepinus Heterobranchus spp) production in Rivers State. The specific objectives were to: examine the socioeconomic characteristics of catfish producers in the study area, determine the costs, returns and profit to the various actors in the value addition, determine other sources of income to the catfish producers in the area and identify the constraints faced by the catfish producers in the area. Data were collected...
ABSTRACT This study assessed the competitiveness of the High Quality Cassava Flour (HQCF)Value Chain in Imo State, Nigeria. The specific objectives were to; describe the socioeconomic characteristics of HQCF value chain players in the study area, examine the composition as well as functions of the stakeholders in the chain, identify and examine the effect of policies on the HQCF in the study area, assess the factors which influenced access to credit by stakeholders in the HQCF value chain , ...
ABSTRACT The broad objective of this study was to analyse sustainable agricultural resource use in Nigeria using the Ecological Footprint Approach. The specific objectives included to; estimate the global emergy and emergy density, determine the ecological footprint per capita, analyse the per capita bio-capacity, and ascertain the level of agricultural resource use, sustainability status and resource substitution in Nigeria. The total land area, population and thematic data of the country w...