Table of Contents
- Research Article
Nutrient Status and Ameliorating Effects of Poultry Droppings on Soil pH and Sustainable Production of Garden Egg PDF Utietiang L. Undie, Donatus F. Uwah, John O. Shiyam, Emmanuel E. Effa Sustainable production of crops on tropical soils requires soil amendment to remediate soil acidity status and raise fertility level. Industrial lime and inorganic fertilizers are either not available or too expensive to buy. This study was carried out with the objective of investigating the effects of poultry droppings on soil acidity amelioration and increased fertility for sustained production of garden egg (Solanum aethiopicum L.).The field trials were conducted at the Teaching and Research Farms of the University of Agriculture, Makurdi, and the Faculty of Agriculture, Cross River University of Technology, Obubra in 2009 and 2010. Two varieties of African garden egg (Gilo and Kumba) and three rates of poultry droppings (5, 10 and 15 t ha-1) were in factorial combinations. The experiment was laid out in a Randomized Complete Block Design with three replications. The results obtained showed that all rates of the manure reduced the soil pH within 30 days after incorporation in both years and locations. At 60 days after application, and up to 140 days after incorporation, all manure rates increased the soil pH in both locations and years. The highest increase occurred with 15 t ha-1 poultry droppings at 140 days after incorporation. With no manure application, there was a steady decrease in pH up to the harvest time. All manure rates significantly (P<0.05) increased the yield of the garden egg varieties over when no manure was used. Poultry droppings at 15 t ha-1 produced the highest fruit yield in both years and locations. The crop yields were significantly (p<0.05) higher in Makurdi than Obubra in both years. Yield for 2010 was significantly higher than 2009 in both locations. Poultry dropping at the rate of 15 t ha-1 may be used to remediate soil pH and improve fertility for sustainable production of garden egg in the Guinea savanna or the Rainforest agro-ecologies. - Research Article
Feasibility Analysis of Solar Wall Application in Seed Maize Drying PDF Onur Taşkın, Tayfun Korucu Nowadays the energy issue in agricultural production is being aggravated. One of the most energy-intensive production stages is drying. Many companies are looking towards highly efficient heating solutions which can be applied with established renewable technologies instead of fossil fuels. One of the basic problems in seed maize drying firm is the reduction of energy demand for hot air supply to drying room heating. In this study, in order to use the LPG for seed maize drying, the possibilities of using solar wall application were examined. The results show that hot air supply with this method is applicable. It is estimated that daytime drying energy savings varies between 33.8- 82.2% in August, 27.7-67.2% in September. - Research Article
Acceleration of Transfer of Findings as a New Strategy the Iranian National Innovation System Lessons from Agricultural Extension in Iran PDF Peyman Falsafi, Mehdi Kerdari, Somayeh Jangchi Kashani The main approach of Transfer of findings plan is based on the work and cooperation of research, extension, education and executive subdivisions, integration and application of the available resources, accelerating transfer of technical advice and findings of research performed in the form of integrated approach taken from participatory and conventional approaches. The plan of acceleration of Transfer of findings using participatory methods and participation of (farmers) in all stages of the program from (assessment) to evaluation leads to fill the gap between extension, research and farmer. Its purpose is generation, adaptation and dissemination of new technologies among farmers and it is one of the subsystems of agricultural knowledge and information system that also considers improvement of different levels of human resource development for farmers. So the aim of this study is to introduce the plan of accelerating Transfer of Findings in the agricultural sector. Information in this article are obtained from review of research done by researchers on agricultural extension system of Iran with a combined review and meta-analytical approach through study of literature, articles, research and other scientific resources. - Research Article
Mini-Livestock Farming as a Strategy for Food Security in Oyo State of Nigeria PDF Ogunniyi Laudia Titilola, Oluwafemi Zacchaeus Olaniyi, Adepoju Adenike Adebusola This study was carried out in Oyo state of Nigeria. The population of the study was all mini-livestock farmers in Oyo State. The sample for this study was selected using both purposive and random sampling techniques. Primary data was collected with the use of a well-structured questionnaire from 120 households in the study area. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, Food Security Index and Logit model. The average age and household size of the respondents were 44 years and 7 members respectively. The mean years of experience were 10.3 years. The result further reveals that age, gender, marital status, household size and household experience have significant effect on household food security status in the study area. - Research Article
Mechanisms Affecting Evaluation of Context Factors in the extension Plan of Accelerating Transfer of Findings in Damavand City from Perspective of Farmers and Experts PDF Peyman Falsafi, Mehdi Kerdari, Mohammad Sadiq, Somayeh Jangchi Kashani The survey aims to study the structures affecting evaluation of the context factors in the promotional plan of accelerating transfer of findings in the city of Damavand from perspective of Farmers and experts. The present study includes two statistical societies; the first society includes all farmers of Damavand city participating in the promotional plan of accelerating transfer of findings (N=1908) of which 114 persons were selected by Cochran formula using simple stratified random sampling method. The second statistical society includes experts running the extensional plan of accelerating transfer of findings in Damavand (N=40)for which census or full enumeration method was used to gather information due to limited number of the participants. The research tool was questionnaire reliability and validity of which was confirmed. Data analysis was performed using SPSS version 18.insufficientgovernment support of farmers, lack of social and cultural infrastructures, lack of awareness of the farmers and rejection of the project principles by the farmers, are prioritized by the experts as the first to fourth weaknesses of the plan of accelerating transfer of findings. Spearman correlation test showed there is a significant positive correlation between the farm size, experience of being selected as advanced farmers, experience of working as extension agents assistants, participation in extension, and evaluation of context factors of the plan of accelerating transfer of findings from farmers' viewpoint. The results of Stepwise Multivariable Regression showed that farm size, experience of working as extension agents assistants, and attending tension agents assistantsexplain62% of changes in the dependant variable (Evaluation of the context factors in the plan of accelerating transfer of findings from farmers' viewpoint). - Research Article
Consumers in Trinidad and Tobago: Value Seekers or Quality Seekers? The Case of Fresh Tomato PDF L. K. Narine, A. Iton, W. Ganpat, S. Moonsammy As income levels and knowledge of food safety increases, consumers are more deliberate in their purchasing decisions. This study examined the factors that influenced consumers' purchasing decisions relating to the quality of tomatoes. A convenient sample of 373 consumers was interviewed with a structured questionnaire. Results indicated that price was the highest ranked attribute. Factor analysis permitted a decision rule used to separate consumers into value seekers and quality seekers. Income, education and gender were significant predictors of the probability that a person is a quality seeker. Agricultural stakeholders must pay increased importance on quality attributes to satisfy changing demands. - Research Article
An Evaluation of Off-farm Work and Household Income among Small-scale Farmers in North Central Nigeria PDF Elaigwu Christopher Ogbanje, S.A.N.D. Chidebelu, Noble Jackson Nweze The study evaluated off-farm work and household income among small-scale farmers in North Central Nigeria. Multistage sampling technique was used to select 180 farm households from 12 Local Government Areas spread across Benue, Kogi and Niger States. Primary data for the study were obtained with the aid of structured and pretested questionnaire. The data were analysed using simple descriptive statistics. Findings revealed that majority (42.78%) of the respondents were in self-employment of off-farm work. Similarly, households where only the husband (40.00%), combination of husband and wife (71.40%), matured children (71.40%), and the combination of husband, wife and matured children (45.80%) participated in off-farm work were predominantly in self-employment category. Households, where only the wife worked off-farm, were dominant in agricultural wage employment (51.60%). In addition, full-time participants in off-farm work were mainly (38.50%) in agricultural wage employment, while part-time participants were mainly (44.00%) in self-employment. Furthermore, while younger farmers were in self-employment, older farmers were in agricultural wage employment. Average household income and off-farm income's share of farm household income were N648,774.91 and N231,394.00, respectively. It was concluded that self-employment was the dominant off-farm work type in the study area. This denotes gradual drift from the core farm production sector. Also, since off-farm income accounted for significant portion (50.28%) of household income among the respondents, increasing reliance on off-farm work and consequently, further drift from farm work is anticipated. Therefore, farmer education by extension agents and IFAD's rural finance capacity building should focus on the need to reinvest off-farm income in farm production so that off-farm work does not endanger food production. - Research Article
Determinants of Technical Efficiency of Maize/Cowpea Intercropping Among Women Farmers in Gombe State, Nigeria PDF A. Mustapha, A. Salihu The study was conducted to examine the determinants of technical efficiency of maize/cowpea intercropping among women farmers in Gombe State, Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique was adopted in selecting 104 respondents. Data were collected using a well-structured questionnaire supplemented with focus group discussion over a period of four months. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics and stochastic frontier production function model. Results from socio-economic variables revealed that majority (61%) of the respondents were between 40-59 years with an average farm size of 1.88 hectares. The result of stochastic frontier production function analysis showed that all the estimated coefficients (farm size, fertilizer, family labour, quantity of agrochemicals, hired labour and quantity of seed used) of the independent variables in the model were positive and significant at either 1% or 5% level with the exception of quantity of agrochemicals used. The results further revealed that household size, educational level, farming experience, access to extensions services and off farm income generation were the major determinants of technical efficiency in the study area. Findings from this research work also revealed that the mean technical efficiency of the farmers was 0.84 indicating that the women farmers are relatively efficient in maize/cowpea intercropping. The study therefore suggests intensive efforts at expanding the present scope of maize/cowpea intercropping, given the estimated technical efficiency for the production system.