MARKET SUPPLY RESPONSE AND DEMAND FOR LOCAL RICE IN NIGERIA: IMPLICATIONS FOR SELF-SUFFICIENCY POLICY

This study examined the supply response and demand for local rice in Nigeria between 1960 and 2004. A system of equations using secondary data was estimated by OLS and 2SLS techniques. Area planted with local rice is mainly affected by expected price of output, agriculture wage rate and by the partial adjustment coefficient. The short-run response elasticity is 0.077. The implied long-run response elasticity is 1.578. The partial adjustment measure is 0.049. This, points to the difficulty of supply response to changing economic conditions. The price elasticity of demand obtained is 0.841. The demand for local rice is thus price inelastic. Rice income elasticity is 0.3378. It is also inelastic. The ban on rice importation in Nigeria could be said to be a step in the right direction. This policy should be continued and policed. However, price, output and non-price incentives that can exert significant influence on rice supply response and demand are required if the self-sufficiency goal is to be achieved

MARKET SUPPLY RESPONSE AND DEMAND FOR LOCAL RICE IN NIGERIA: IMPLICATIONS FOR SELF-SUFFICIENCY POLICY

This study examined the supply response and demand for local rice in Nigeria between 1960 and 2004. A system of equations using secondary data was estimated by OLS and 2SLS techniques. Area planted with local rice is mainly affected by expected price of output, agriculture wage rate and by the partial adjustment coefficient. The short-run response elasticity is 0.077. The implied long-run response elasticity is 1.578. The partial adjustment measure is 0.049. This, points to the difficulty of supply response to changing economic conditions. The price elasticity of demand obtained is 0.841. The demand for local rice is thus price inelastic. Rice income elasticity is 0.3378. It is also inelastic. The ban on rice importation in Nigeria could be said to be a step in the right direction. This policy should be continued and policed. However, price, output and non-price incentives that can exert significant influence on rice supply response and demand are required if the self-sufficiency goal is to be achieved

Performance characteristics, nutrient digestibility and blood profile of rabbits fed diets containing graded levels of Moringa oleifera seed powder

A ten-week feeding trial was conducted to determine the performance, nutrient digestibility and blood profile of rabbits fed diets containing graded levels of Moringa oleifera seed powder (MSP). Twenty-four male growing rabbits of mixed breeds were randomly allotted to four dietary treatments. Each treatment group was further sub-divided into three (3) replicates of two (2) rabbits each in a completely randomized design (CRD). Four diets were formulated to include MSP at varying inclusion levels of 0, 0.5, 1 and 2% for treatments T1, T2, T3 and T4 respectively, which were pelletized. Feed and water were provided ad-libitum. Data were collected on growth performance and nutrient digestibility of rabbits fed the experimental diet while at the end of the experiment, blood samples were collected to determine the effect of different inclusion levels of MSP on haematological and serum biochemical indices of rabbits. Result revealed that the average daily feed intake (68.76-78.93g) decreased significantly (p<0.05) across the dietary treatments as the MSP inclusion levels increased but a rise was noticed at the highest inclusion level of MSP (T4). The weight gain and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were not significantly influenced (p >0.05) by the dietary treatments. No significant differences (P>0.05) among treatments were observed on all the blood profile except the lymphocyte, monocytes, total protein and globulin. Rabbits on T4 recorded the highest values in total protein (6.91 g/dl) and globulin (3.03 g/dl). Digestibility studies however showed that all the parameters were significantly affected (p<0.05) by dietary treatments in which rabbits on T2 had the highest dry matter (82.03%), crude protein (62.23%) and ash (89.48%) digestibility values. It can be concluded that Moringa oleifera seed powder (MSP) can be supplemented in growing rabbit’s diet without any deleterious effects on performance, blood profile and nutrient digestibility.Keywords: Moringa oleifera, Performance, Blood profile, Nutrient digestibility, Rabbit

Assessment of genetic diversity of Dioscorea praehensilis (Berth.) collected from central region, Ghana using simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers

Open Access Article; Published online: 30 Apr 2020Dioscorea praehensilis Berth is one of the wild yam species resistance to many yam disease (yam anthracnose disease and yam mosaic virus) grow in Ghana especially in the cocoa grown regions of the country. It is a crucial crop that has been known to contribute to poverty reduction and food gap. Genetic diversity in this yam species has been discovered to be eroding and neglected. In this study we evaluated the genetic diversity among 43 D. praehensilis collected from Ghana using simple sequence repeat (SSR). Using 11 SSR marker, a total of 99 number of alleles were generated with an average of 8.48 alleles per locus. The mean gene diversity was 0.81, mean polymorphism information content was 0.82 while mean Shannon information index was 1.94. Principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) revealed a contribution of 40.16% of the first three coordinate axes and grouped the 43 morphotypes into 2 groups while hierarchical cluster through UPGMA revealed the presence of 3 main clusters. Molecular variance (AMOVA) alongside the Fst revealed low genetic diversity and differentiation among accessions and population. Result of this study assess the genetic diversity and will facilitate the use D. praehensilis as sources of resistance gene into yam breeding progra

Farmers' perceptions on varietal diversity, trait preferences and diversity management of bush yam ( Dioscorea praehensilis Benth.) in Ghana

Open Access Article; Published online: 06 Jun 2021Bush yam (Dioscorea praehensilis Benth.) is an important food and cash crop species in some West and Central African countries. Unfortunately, several socioeconomic, cultural, nutritional, and agronomic constraints hinder its cultivation, and thus lead to its underutilization and gradual disappearance. To effectively promote its cultivation and utilization, knowledge of its diversity, distribution, management, and farmers’ varietal preferences is necessary. This study, therefore, used a participatory rural appraisal survey to assess such information in 23 villages from three regions of Ghana. A total of 42 D. praehensilis morphotypes were recorded and grouped in seven classes based on the tuber flesh colour. The Shannon diversity index (H’ = 1.88), equitability (0.65), and Margalef species richness (2.53) revealed the presence of moderate diversity and distribution in the surveyed regions. Farmers’ variety trait preferences included mainly the early maturity (21.1%), smooth tuber texture (16.5%), stability in tuber flesh colour (7.86%), good storage aptitude (7.6%), and high tuber productivity (12.8%). In contrast, D. praehensilis production and utilization rates have declined mainly due to poor culinary quality (39.9%) and poor agronomic traits (20.7%) of most morphotypes. Survey results showed that D. praehensilis is largely an in-situ conserved species in Ghana (60.0%). This study provided an insight on D. praehensilis diversity, distribution and farmers’ varietal preferences in Ghana which will guide its genetic resource conservation and plant breeding interventions

Exploring the bush yam (Dioscorea praehensilis benth) as a source of agronomic and quality trait genes in white guinea yam (dioscorea rotundata poir) breeding

Open Access Journal; Published online: 27 Dec 2021Yam (Dioscorea spp.) is an important food security crop in the tropics and subtropics. However, it is characterized by a narrow genetic base within cultivated and breeding lines for tuber yield, disease resistance, and postharvest traits, which hinders the yam breeding progress. Identification of new sources of desirable genes for these traits from primary and secondary gene pools is essential for this crop improvement. This study aimed at identifying potential sources of genes for yield and quality traits in a panel of 162 accessions of D. praehensilis, a semi-domesticated yam species, for improving the major yam species, D. rotundata. Significant differences were observed for assessed traits (p < 0.05), with D. praehensilis genotypes out-performing the best D. rotundata landraces for tuber yield (23.47 t ha−1), yam mosaic virus (YMV) resistance (AUDPC = 147.45), plant vigour (2.43) and tuber size (2.73). The study revealed significant genotypic (GCV) and phenotypic (PCV) coefficients of variance for tuber yield, YMV severity score, and tuber flesh oxidation. We had also a medium-to-high broad-sense heritability (H2b) for most of the traits except for the dry matter content and tuber flesh oxidation. This study identified some promising D. praehensilis genotypes for traits such as high yield potential (WNDpr76, CDpr28, CDPr7, EDpr14, and WNDpr63), resistance to YMV (WNDpr76, CDpr7, EDpr14, CDpr28, and EDpr13), high dry matter content (WNDpr76, CDpr28, and WNDpr24), low tuber flesh oxidation (WNDpr76, CDpr5, WNDpr31, CDpr40, and WNDpr94) and high number of tubers per plant (WNDpr76, CDpr7, CDpr68, CDpr29, and CDpr58). These genotypes could, therefore, be employed in breeding programmes to improve the white Guinea yam by broadening its genetic base

Multi-trait selection index for superior agronomic and tuber quality traits in bush yam (Dioscorea praehensilis Benth.)

Open Access JournalDioscorea praehensilis Benth. is a semi-wild yam species and a valuable source of resistance trait genes. To access the agronomic and tuber quality performance, eleven quantitative phenotypic traits were used to discriminate and identify promising accessions among 162 accessions of D. praehensilis collected in Ghana. Significant and high genetic variability (p < 0.001) for all eleven quantitative traits was found among the evaluated accessions. Moderate broad-sense heritability (H2) (30–60%) was observed for all the evaluated quantitative traits except the response to YMV and tuber hardness. The accessions were clustered into three groups; each cluster displayed genotypes with good potentiality for the different traits evaluated. Path coefficient analysis revealed positive contributions (p < 0.01) of the number of tubers per plant, tuber length, tuber width, stem internode length, number of internodes, and tuber flesh hardness to the total tuber weight per plant. Through the multi-trait genotype–ideotype distance index (MGIDI), 24 accessions were identified from the 162 evaluated accessions as top-ranking and could be used as progenitors for trait introgression. The results of this study provide insight for future yam breeding and improvement programs in West Africa

Wpływ wdrożenia programów rozwoju obszarów wiejskich na dochody: studium przypadku na podstawie Projektu Rozwoju Rolnictwa i Obszarów Wiejskich opartego na społeczności lokalnej w stanie Kwara (Nigeria)

Globally, governments initiate various programmes to address income poverty among rural farmers. However, studies that focus on the impact of such programmes on farmers&rsquo; income are either scanty or non-existent, especially in developing countries, including Nigeria. Therefore, this study examines the impact of Community-Based Agriculture and Rural Development Project (CBARDP) in Kwara State, Nigeria. Data were obtained from 120 respondents comprising 60 benefi ciaries and 60 non-benefi ciaries of the programme. Descriptive statistics and double-diff erence estimator were used for the data analysis. The study showed that there was 46.3% increase in the income of the benefi ciaries while the non-benefi ciaries had just 7.4% increase. The study further revealed that there was a positive income diff erence of N151.27 in favour of the benefi ciaries of the project. However, the constraints to deriving a full impact of the programme by the benefi ciaries were: lack of commitment by the facilitators, lack of technical know-how, poor transportation system and inadequacy of the equipment provided. The study therefore recommends policies aimed at overhauling the activities of the facilitators, improving the technical skill of the benefi ciaries, improving the transportation system and providing the benefi ciaries with more equipment