ABSTRACT Maize is the most important cereal in Ghana grown by some 1.74 million households and contributing 67 billion cedis or 14 million dollars to Ghana as at the 1991-92 crop season. Maize is eaten in various forms in most homes. In the late seventies, maize production declined. The Ghana Grains Development Project was established in 1979 to provide research and extension services for maize production in Ghana. Since the inception of the project, maize production has been increasing. The...
This study examined the profit efficiency of small-scale rice farms in Patigi Local Government Area of Kwara State, Nigeria based on the data collected from 150 small scale rice farmers in the study area which was selected using a three-stage sampling method. The Cobb-Douglas Stochastic Frontier Profit Function, Descriptive statistics, Gross margin analysis were used to analyze the data obtained for profit efficiency, socioeconomic characteristics of the respondents and constraint faced b...
ABSTRACT Cheese was prepared in a small scale at the Department of Agricultural technology Laboratory Kwara State polytechnic Ilorin, Kwara State and analysis of some parameter was carried out on evaluation of cheese quality using graded levels of different plant extracts as coagulant such as C.procera, C.papaya and lime fruit juice. The Parameters analyzed for were, Weight of the cheese, Colour of the cheese, pH of the whey, Time of coagulation, Texture of the cheese Taste of the cheese and...
Introduction Agriculture is a crucial sector that provides employment opportunities for majority of Nigerian, and is responsible for more than one-third of the total Gross Domestic Product (GDP), FAO (2012); Adetunji and Adeyemo, (2012) and Finlutell, 2013). The livestock sector is also crucial to the national economics development as it is the main supplier of the highly essential animal protein (Timidayo 2017, Ogbu, 2010). The livestock sector is also crucial to the national economics dev...
ABSTRACTThe study was conducted to analyze the impact of physical and social capital asset holdings on poverty among farm households in Nigeria as a contribution towards finding a panacea to the poverty plague in the agricultural sector. The study used secondary data obtained from the Nigeria living Standard Survey data conducted in 2003/2004. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Forster-Greer- Thorbeck poverty measures and Propensity score matching. Results showed that 90% of the...
ABSTRACT The study assesses credit use and its effect on profitability among smallholder maize farmers in the Brong Ahafo Region. A multistage sampling technique involving purposive sampling, stratified sampling and simple random sampling technique were employed to select the region, two municipalities from the region and 200 smallholder maize farmers respectively for the survey using well-structured questionnaires. The study took into consideration a description of the sources of credit...
ABSTRACT The study assesses the effect of nucleus farmer-outgrower schemes on input use efficiency and profitability among smallholder farmers in the Northern Region of Ghana. Simple random sampling technique was employed to sample three districts from the Northern Region and a total of 330 smallholder farmers made up of 150 outgrowers and 180 non-outgrowers were interviewed using structured questionnaires. A comparative analysis is made between outgrowers and non-outgrowers. The study emp...
This study was carried out to examine the role of agriculture in the economic development of Kericho district. The findings showed that due to farming among the people of Ainamoi, agricultural practices in Ainamoi is still very low. The results also showed a positive significant improvement of people's standard of living. The researcher focused on the proper importance, problems and solutions of agriculture in the economic development of Kericho district. A longitudinal design was developed...
Agriculture is the dominant source of livelihood in rural areas of sub-Saharan Africa. However, in semi-arid eastern Kenya, smallholder farm productivity has been diminishing due to declining soil fertility and frequent droughts. Nitrogen (N) is the principal nutrient element limiting crop productivity in the region, followed by phosphorus (P). The use of N fixing legumes in intercrop with cereal crops is among the cheaper-viable options available for the resource-constraint farmers to enhanc...
Pumpkin is an indigenous vegetable with huge potential to provide nutrition, food security and income to households in Kenya but its production remains low. The crop has been given little attention in research and has not been promoted as a viable enterprise. Literature indicates that socio-economic factors and farming constraints in pumpkin production, consumption and marketing by smallholder farmers in Eastern and Central Kenya have not been studied nor documented. This research was carrie...
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...