Determinant of Agroforestry Practices among Small Holder Farmers in Oyo State Nigeria

The multiplicity of agroforestry practices demand the choice of appropriate methods that will give the rural farmers an excellent result. Thus, this study analysed the factors determining the choice of agroforestry practices among small holder farmers in Oyo State, Nigeria. Primary data was obtained using multi-stage sampling technique. Structured questionnaire was administered to 250 selected small holder farmers to elicit relevant information and 211 was retrieved and used for this study. The findings revealed that most 55% of the farmers chose agrisilvicutural system while 33.2% and 11.8% of the farmers chose agrosilvopastoral and silvopastoral systems respectively. Most of the farmers were males 89.1%, with average age of 47years indicating they were relatively young with basic formal education. The average farm size of 3.34ha indicated that the study covered small holder farmers. The multinomial logit result showed that factors such as educational level, meeting attendance, type of labour used, household assets significantly determined the choice of agroforestry practices adopted by the farmers. The study therefore recommends the implementation of policies that promote more enlightenment on the benefits of agroforestry to both the educated and non-educated farmers to facilitate quick adoption, provision of incentives to farmers that attend meetings regularly and making available improved agroforestry methods and practices to enhance wider suitability of agroforestry practices

The suitability of selected wood species in the production of turned glue-laminated products

The study investigated the suitability of selected wood species in the production of turned glue-laminated products. Five different wood species of high quality grades which were sourced from Bodija market Ibadan, south western Nigeria were thoroughly examined where the moisture content, density and shrinkage properties were determined. Among the five different species of wood examined, it was discovered that the highest moisture content (M.C.) (13.4%) was found in Mansonia altisima while thelowest moisture content was found in Nesorgodonia Papaverifera (12%) and this contributes to ease of pest, insect, disease attack and its suitability for the production of turned glue-laminated products. Thespecific gravity or density of wood shows how strong and suitable the wood species are for the production of turned glue-laminated products. Nesorgodonia papaverifera was found to have the highest specific gravity (0.623g) followed by Nauclea diderichii(0.6136g), Gmelina  arborea(0.5565g),Khaya Senegalensis (0.4847g) while Mansonia altisima had the least (0.48g). Shrinkage occurs least in Nesorrdonia papaverifera (5.9%) Nauclea diderichii (7.6%), Gmelina arborea (11.8%), Khaya senegalensis (15%) and occurs most in Mansonia altisima (18.6%). From the study it was shown that the suitability of the wood species for turning were based on strength property, specific gravity or density, shrinkage property and moisture content.The suitability of wood species for turned glue-laminated product is ranked from Nesogordonia papaverifera, Nauclea diderichii, Gmelina arborea, khaya senegalensis to Mansomia altisima.It is therefore recommended that mass production of glue-laminated products be encouraged as the demand is increasing everyday and more of the glue lamination researches be carried out and tested using some lesser used tree species

Parent’s Knowledge, Attitude and Pattern of Care for Children with Epilepsy in Lagos, Nigeria

Background: Epilepsy is a common paediatric neurologic disorder associated with stigmatisation due to a lack of understanding of the disease and wrong beliefs. Objective: To assess parents’ knowledge about epilepsy, attitude towards the disease and care for the affected child in Lagos, Nigeria. Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study of parents of children with epilepsy presenting to the Paediatric Neurology Out-Patient Clinic in a tertiary facility between June and August 2019. Data collection was done using a semi-structured questionnaire. Results: A total of 112 parent-child pairs participated in this study. The mean age of the fathers and mothers were 44.9 ± 10.4 years and 37.9 ± 9.0 years, respectively. Most (98.2%) of the parents had at least a secondary level of education, and about half (42.9%) belonged to the upper socioeconomic class. About three-quarters (73.2%) of parents have heard about epilepsy before presentation at the clinic. Twenty-eight (25%) parents had misconceptions or no idea of the causes of epilepsy. About a third of the parents did not know the correct measures to be taken during seizure attacks. Three-quarters (76.8%) of children received prescribed medication regularly, and one of the reasons given for non-compliance with medications was poor effectiveness of the medications. (15.4%). Conclusions: The attitude and care of parents towards children living with epilepsy were poor. A period must be dedicated to educating all parents as soon as they present to the clinic with their children