Linkage Mechanisms among key Actors in Rice Innovation System in Southeast Nigeria

A nation’s ability to solve problems and sustain economic growth depends partly on its capabilities in science, technology, and innovation. In assessment of linkage mechanisms among key actors in rice innovation system in southeast Nigeria, actors were classified into six major groups according to their main activity in the system namely research agency, policy personnel, technology transfer agencies, farmers, marketers and consumers. These constituted the population of the study. A total sample size of 539 respondents, made up of 40 researchers, 76 policy personnel, 96 technology transfer agencies, 196 farmers, 51 marketers and 80 consumers were used. Percentages and means were used in data analysis. The study revealed that among the actors in rice innovation system, NCRI and IITA had link with technology transfer agencies, IITA had link with the Ministry of Agriculture. the Ministry of Agriculture had link with farmers ( X =2.51) and NAFDAC had link with researchers ( X =2.83). Among technology transfer agencies, ADP had link with researchers ( X =3.00), policy personnel ( X =2.88), farmers ( X =3.00) and Federal Ministry of Commerce had link with researchers ( X =2.73). Marketers had link with policy personnel ( X =2.72) and farmers ( X =2.68), while consumers had link with farmers ( X =2.72). The major linkage mechanisms that existed among the actors was dissemination of knowledge and information ( X = 3.00). The study concludes that for increase in rice production in southeast Nigeria, there is need for strong linkages among the actors in the rice innovation system

Linkage Mechanisms among key Actors in Rice Innovation System in Southeast Nigeria

A nation’s ability to solve problems and sustain economic growth depends partly on its capabilities in science, technology, and innovation. In assessment of linkage mechanisms among key actors in rice innovation system in southeast Nigeria, actors were classified into six major groups according to their main activity in the system namely research agency, policy personnel, technology transfer agencies, farmers, marketers and consumers. These constituted the population of the study. A total sample size of 539 respondents, made up of 40 researchers, 76 policy personnel, 96 technology transfer agencies, 196 farmers, 51 marketers and 80 consumers were used. Percentages and means were used in data analysis. The study revealed that among the actors in rice innovation system, NCRI and IITA had link with technology transfer agencies, IITA had link with the Ministry of Agriculture. the Ministry of Agriculture had link with farmers ( X =2.51) and NAFDAC had link with researchers ( X =2.83). Among technology transfer agencies, ADP had link with researchers ( X =3.00), policy personnel ( X =2.88), farmers ( X =3.00) and Federal Ministry of Commerce had link with researchers ( X =2.73). Marketers had link with policy personnel ( X =2.72) and farmers ( X =2.68), while consumers had link with farmers ( X =2.72). The major linkage mechanisms that existed among the actors was dissemination of knowledge and information ( X = 3.00). The study concludes that for increase in rice production in southeast Nigeria, there is need for strong linkages among the actors in the rice innovation system

A Review of Policies, Acts and Initiatives in Rice Innovation System in Nigeria

A review of rice policies, acts and initiatives in Nigeria is presented under pre-ban period (1971-1985); ban period (1986-1995); and post ban period (1995-date). The key actors and the elements of acts and initiatives in the rice innovation systems were identified and presented. The growth in rice demand as a preferred staple has been so strong that production intensification and higher yields per ha was not sufficient to fill the gap and meet rice demand. In spite of successes recorded in rice production, there were a lot of gaps in the system.  The policies, acts and initiatives failed to recognize the problems of the stakeholders because they were detached and foreign to the tradition and cultural practices of the stakeholders. The country’s policy on rice has been inconsistent and has oscillated between import tariffs and import restrictions including outright ban. Pressure from international financial organizations, such as the World Bank, World Trade Organization, and International Monetary Fund (IMF) helped in introducing distortions in the policies. Efforts by all stakeholders, the desirable political will by government and sound agricultural rice policy are essential to ensure that necessary conditions exist in meeting rice production.Â

A Review of Policies, Acts and Initiatives in Rice Innovation System in Nigeria

A review of rice policies, acts and initiatives in Nigeria is presented under pre-ban period (1971-1985); ban period (1986-1995); and post ban period (1995-date). The key actors and the elements of acts and initiatives in the rice innovation systems were identified and presented. The growth in rice demand as a preferred staple has been so strong that production intensification and higher yields per ha was not sufficient to fill the gap and meet rice demand. In spite of successes recorded in rice production, there were a lot of gaps in the system.  The policies, acts and initiatives failed to recognize the problems of the stakeholders because they were detached and foreign to the tradition and cultural practices of the stakeholders. The country’s policy on rice has been inconsistent and has oscillated between import tariffs and import restrictions including outright ban. Pressure from international financial organizations, such as the World Bank, World Trade Organization, and International Monetary Fund (IMF) helped in introducing distortions in the policies. Efforts by all stakeholders, the desirable political will by government and sound agricultural rice policy are essential to ensure that necessary conditions exist in meeting rice production.Â

Factors affecting performance of Facilitators in the Fadama 111 Development Project in Enugu State, Nigeria

The study examined issues associated with the performance of facilitators in Fadama 111 Development Project. All the (68) facilitators in the Fadama 111 Development Project were used. Questionnaire was used for data collection and analysis conducted using descriptive statistics. Majority of the facilitators were females (51.6%) with mean age of 39 years and working experience of 8 years in extension. A greater proportion (64.0%) had degree with specialization in agriculture (50.9%) and social sciences and other disciplines (49.0%). The respondents ranked interaction with supervisors (M= 3.98), methods of human /staff communication (M= 3.56), monitoring and evaluation system (M= 3.32), timeliness of allowance (M=3.22), coordination and supervision techniques used (M= 3.20), provision of training facilities, (M= 3.20) as the first six organizational factors influencing performance. Job- related issues included pressure to increase output/quality of work (M=3.67), Supervisors expectations (M= 3.57), staff mobility (M= 3.52), timeliness of input (M=3.49), inadequate training opportunity (M= 3.28), conflicting orders (M= 3.21) and others. Also employeerelated issues associated with performance of facilitators were involvement in religious activities (M=3. 37), academic background (M= 3.34) health status (M= 3.26), extended family burdens (M= 3.13), listening to TV programmes (M= 3.12), relationship with spouse (M= 2.98) and others. The study recommends that development planners and administrators should ensure organizational type, personnel development and management systems that could promote and foster enabling working environment, improve capability and staff welfare for enhanced performance of extension workers

Factors affecting performance of Facilitators in the Fadama 111 Development Project in Enugu State, Nigeria

The study examined issues associated with the performance of facilitators in Fadama 111 Development Project. All the (68) facilitators in the Fadama 111 Development Project were used. Questionnaire was used for data collection and analysis conducted using descriptive statistics. Majority of the facilitators were females (51.6%) with mean age of 39 years and working experience of 8 years in extension. A greater proportion (64.0%) had degree with specialization in agriculture (50.9%) and social sciences and other disciplines (49.0%). The respondents ranked interaction with supervisors (M= 3.98), methods of human /staff communication (M= 3.56), monitoring and evaluation system (M= 3.32), timeliness of allowance (M=3.22), coordination and supervision techniques used (M= 3.20), provision of training facilities, (M= 3.20) as the first six organizational factors influencing performance. Job- related issues included pressure to increase output/quality of work (M=3.67), Supervisors expectations (M= 3.57), staff mobility (M= 3.52), timeliness of input (M=3.49), inadequate training opportunity (M= 3.28), conflicting orders (M= 3.21) and others. Also employeerelated issues associated with performance of facilitators were involvement in religious activities (M=3. 37), academic background (M= 3.34) health status (M= 3.26), extended family burdens (M= 3.13), listening to TV programmes (M= 3.12), relationship with spouse (M= 2.98) and others. The study recommends that development planners and administrators should ensure organizational type, personnel development and management systems that could promote and foster enabling working environment, improve capability and staff welfare for enhanced performance of extension workers

Industry Simulation Gateway on a Scalable Cloud

Large scale simulation experimentation typically requires significant computational resources due to an excessive number of simulation runs and replications to be performed. The traditional approach to provide such computational power, both in academic research and industry/business applications, was to use computing clusters or desktop grid resources. However, such resources not only require upfront capital investment but also lack the flexibility and scalability that is required to serve a variable number of clients/users efficiently. This paper presents how SakerGrid, a commercial desktop grid based simulation platform and its associated science gateway have been extended towards a scalable cloud computing solution. The integration of SakerGrid with the MiCADO automated deployment and autoscaling framework supports the execution of multiple simulation experiments by dynamically allocating virtual machines in the cloud in order to complete the experiment by a user-defined deadline

Serum selenium status of HIV-infected children on care and treatment in Enugu, Nigeria.

Objective. To compare the selenium status of HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected children. Methods. This was a hospital-based comparative study using a structured questionnaire in the quantitative research domain at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Ituku/Ozalla, Enugu, Nigeria. Seventy-four HIV-infected children were compared with 74 non-HIV-infected children (35 males and 39 females in each group). The outcome measure was the selenium status of the study participants. Results. The mean (standard deviation (SD)) weight-for-height z-score among the subjects was –0.18 (1.53) compared with 0.05 (1.68) among the controls (p=0.457). The mean (SD) height-for-age z-score among the subjects was –1.16 (1.44) compared with 0.06 (1.06) among the controls (p<0.001). Eighteen subjects (24.3%) compared with eight controls (11.4%) were selenium deficient (odds ratio 2.49; 95% confidence interval 1.00 - 6.18; p=0.044). Median CD4 counts of selenium-deficient and non-deficient subjects were 765.5 (range 409 - 1 489) and 694.0 (range 85 - 2 196) cells/μL, respectively (p=0.321). The proportions of selenium deficiency were 26.4% and 22.2% in the highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) and pre-HAART groups, respectively (p=0.565). Conclusion. There was a significant difference in the proportion of HIV-infected children who were selenium deficient compared with their uninfected counterparts

Juvenile Swine Surgical Alveolar Cleft Model to Test Novel Autologous Stem Cell Therapies

Reconstruction of craniofacial congenital bone defects has historically relied on autologous bone grafts. Engineered bone using mesenchymal stem cells from the umbilical cord on electrospun nanomicrofiber scaffolds offers an alternative to current treatments. This preclinical study presents the development of a juvenile swine model with a surgically created maxillary cleft defect for future testing of tissue-engineered implants for bone generation. Five-week-old pigs (n=6) underwent surgically created maxillary (alveolar) defects to determine critical-sized defect and the quality of treatment outcomes with rib, iliac crest cancellous bone, and tissue-engineered scaffolds. Pigs were sacrificed at 1 month. Computed tomography scans were obtained at days 0 and 30, at the time of euthanasia. Histological evaluation was performed on newly formed bone within the surgical defect. A 1 cm surgically created defect healed with no treatment, the 2 cm defect did not heal. A subsequently created 1.7 cm defect, physiologically similar to a congenitally occurring alveolar cleft in humans, from the central incisor to the canine, similarly did not heal. Rib graft treatment did not incorporate into adjacent normal bone; cancellous bone and the tissue-engineered graft healed the critical-sized defect. This work establishes a juvenile swine alveolar cleft model with critical-sized defect approaching 1.7 cm. Both cancellous bone and tissue engineered graft generated bridging bone formation in the surgically created alveolar cleft defect