Factors influencing rural-urban migration of youths in Osun State, Nigeria

This study examined the factors influencing rural-urban migration of youths in Osun State, Nigeria. A multistaged sampling technique was employed in the selection of 240 of the respondents (youth) from three local government areas of the state. Data for this study were sourced primarily through the use of well-structured questionnaire. Both descriptive and inferential analyses were employed in the analyses of the data. The result of this study showed that mean age of the respondents was 22.60 years. The study further revealed that majority (68.8%) of the respondents were male, single, had family size of between 5 - 8 and had secondary education. The results revealed that the poor electricity supply in the rural areas, bad condition of roads, absence of pipe-borne water were push factors driving the youth away from their communities into urban areas. Results further revealed that better employment opportunities, superior wages in the urban areas, improved living condition are pull factors that attract rural youths to the urban centres. Majority (68.8%) of the respondents were not willing to stay in the rural areas with or without improvement in the condition of living in their communities. The results of this study revealed that age (r - 0.51; p < 0.01), sex (X2 - 34.57; p < 0.05) and educational level (X2 - 45.57; p < 0.01) of the respondents were significantly related to their decision to migrate from rural to urban areas. The study recommends that government should provide basic social amenities in the rural areas as they are found in the urban so as to encourage the youth to stay.Keywords: Rural, urban, migration, yout

Assessment of utilization of primary health care services among settled Fulani agro-pastoralists in Ogun State, Nigeria

Utilization of primary health care services among settled Fulani agro-pastoralists in Ogun State was assessed in this study. Sixty (60) respondents were purposefully selected and interviewed using an interview guide. The data obtained were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The study revealed that the mean age of the respondents was 35.82, 68.3% of the respondents were females and majority (80.0%) of the respondents have no formal education. The results showed that friends and relatives were the main sources of information on primary health care services. About 90.0% of the respondents had positive attitude towards the use of primary healthcare services. The study also revealed that respondents visits primary health facility for pharmacy/dispensary (95.0%), maternity (98.3%) and vaccination/immunization (86.7%). The result of the study revealed that the most pressing constraint faced by the agro-pastoralists was the distance of health facility from their settlement. Regression analysis showed that income, distance from home to health care center, information, attitude and constraints face influenced the utilization of primary healthcare services among the respondents. The study recommends that government should build health centres close to the agro-pastoralists to reduce the cost of medical services accessed by the pastoralists.Keywords: Fulani, healthcare, Ogun State, pastoralist, utilizatio

Challenges of Small Ruminants Production in Selected Urban Communities of Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria

Livestock production has become a common trend in urban communities whereby a number of people reared farm animals such as sheep and goats for social and economic reasons. Notwithstanding the associated advantages of livestock production, effective urban production of the small ruminants is greatly challenged by a number of factors. Based on this, the study was conducted with a view to identifying factors that challenged effective sheep and goat production in selected urban communities of Abeokuta, Ogun State. From the selected 12 urban communities where sheep and goats were reared, a total of 217 rearers were non-randomly selected using snow balling sampling method. A reliable and validated interview guide was used alongside field observation to obtain information on challenges to sheep and goats production in the urban areas. The results showed that the challenges were feed, health/disease, environmental, marketing and routine management related. All the respondents (100%) experienced challenges such as high cost of feeding, theft of the farm animals, problem of off -season feeding and problem of sourcing feed variety for the animals. The chi-square test showed that a significant relationship exists between the respondents’ socioeconomic characteristics (sex: χ2 = 21.06, df =4; age: χ2 = 43.26, df = 16; education: χ2 = 78.09, df = 12; occupation: χ2 = 62.57, df = 16; income: χ2 = 56.35, df =16) and the encountered challenges (p < 0.05). Based on this, it was concluded that the identified challenges to urban sheep and goat production remained serious issues in the study area. It was thus recommended that conscious efforts should be put up by rearers of the small ruminants to ensure safety of their animals and good feeding routine for increased productivity and beneficial returns

Willingness of snail consumers to choose snail production as livelihoods in Ibadan Southwest Local Government Area of Oyo State, Nigeria

Snails are common in the rainforest region especially during the rainy season, but its population in the wild is decreasing due to human and environmental activities. This affect quantity available for consumption and it prompts the reason to encourage snail production. The study examined snail consumer’s willingness to choose snail production as means of livelihoods. Snowball sampling technique was used to select 120 consumers. Data were obtained through questionnaires and analysed using descriptive and correlation analyses. The result shows that many (60%) of the respondents were male, 48.7% were married with an average income of ₦78,983.64 and 37 years of age. Level of snail consumption was high (63.4%) and more than 50% were willing to choose snail production as a means of livelihood. Meanwhile, poor supply of feeding materials (43.5%) and inadequate skills in snail rearing (39.1%) were perceived as major constraints. Correlation result shows significant relationship between age (r = 0.346, p &lt; 0.05), level of snail consumption (r = 0.200, p &lt; 0.05) and willingness to choose snail production as means of livelihoods. The study concluded that people that consume more snails were willing to choose snail production. It is recommended that concerned agencies for capacity building should consider training people especially snail consumers in snail production and provide palliative resources to overcome challenges in snail production for sustainability and transformation of the agricultural system.Keywords: consumers, willingness to choose, snail production, constraints and livelihood

HELPING PEASANT FARMERS IN NIGERIA THROUGH AGRICULTURAL COOPERATIVES: LESSONS FROM JAPAN AGRICULTURAL COOPERATIVE MODEL

Japan agricultural cooperative known as JA in Japan is the citadel of small farmers’ livelihoods. For almost 60 years, JA was the driving force behind small farmer-supportive policy in Japan. The reverse is the case in Nigeria where agricultural cooperatives are not tailored towards organized support; therefore Nigerian farmers face the brunt of the market, policy and economy. While there are emerging challenges for JA, its relevance remains undaunted in marketing, farm guidance, credit, insurance, and subsidy among others. The paper examines the need for adapting the JA agricultural cooperative model in Nigeria and the needed institutional contexts. Alleviating rural poverty in Nigeria requires building farmers capacity through cohesive farmers’ organizations that will act as channels for introducing agricultural technologies for production and processing, gaining access to quality inputs, credit and technology, reduce farm gate losses and enhance harmers access to market and generally improving their capacity for negotiating better deals in the political system and gaining more control over their socioeconomic position in the Nigerian social system. The JA model of agricultural cooperatives is a relevant case study to building an organization that would meet farmers’ needs and help in agricultural development. &nbsp

3D Agro-ecological Land Use Planning Using Surfer Tool for Sustainable Land Management in Sumani Watershed, West Sumatra Indonesia

Estimation of soil erosion 3D (E3D) provides basic information that can help manage agricultural areas sustainably, which has not been sufficiently conducted in Indonesia. Sumani watershed is main rice production area in West Sumatra which has experienced environmental problem such as soil erosion and production problem in recent years. 3D Agro-ecological land use planning based on soil erosion 3D hazard and economic feasibility analyses consist of production cost and prize data for each crop. Using a kriging method in Surfer tool program, have been developed data base from topographic map, Landsat TM image, climatic data and soil psychochemical properties. Using these data, the Universal Soil Loss Equation was used for spatial map of soil erosion 3D and proposed a 3D agro-ecological land use planning for sustainable land management in Sumani watershed. A 3D Agro-ecological land use planning was planned under which the land use type would not cause more than tolerable soil erosion (TER) and would be economically feasible. The study revealed that the annual average soil erosion from Sumani watershed was approximately 76.70 Mg ha-1yr-1 in 2011 where more than 100 Mg ha-1yr-1 was found on the cultivated sloping lands at agricultural field, which constitutes large portion of soil erosion in the watershed. Modification of land use with high CP values to one with lower CP values such as erosion control practices by reforestation, combination of mixed garden+beef+chicken (MBC), terrace (TBC) or contour cropping+beef+chicken (CBC) and sawah+buffalo+chicken (SBC) could reduce soil erosion rate by 83.2%, from 76.70 to 12.9 Mg ha-1 yr-1, with an increase in total profit from agricultural production of about 9.2% in whole Sumani watershed

CONTRIBUTION OF FORMAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS TO CASSAVA PROCESSING IN BENUE STATE, NIGERIA

The study was carried out to assess the contribution of Formal Financial Institutions (FFIs) to income of cassava processors in Benue state, Nigeria. Multistage sampling technique was used to select 234 cassava processors from 18 communities in the state. Data on credit sources and uses, processing activities and income were collected using structured questionnaires. The data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics while the impact of the credit was assessed using the before and after comparison. The result shows that about a third of the processors had access to formal credits. The Nigerian Agricultural Bank ranked highest (83%) in terms of patronage. Commercial and microfi-nance banks«¤?? lending to cassava processing represented about 12% and 5% respectively of the total credit received. Majority (70%) of the processors received less than N100, 000 per year; an average of N63,152, which is about 12% of total amount, required. Credit financing from formal financial institu-tions was found to have significant effects on both the output of garri and flour processed and the profit from garri, flour and chips«¤?? processing. The credit use structure shows that over 65% of the credit was use to increase processing scale, through increase in the purchase of raw tubers and payment for processing labour

3D Agro-ecological Land Use Planning Using Surfer Tool for Sustainable Land Management in Sumani Watershed, West Sumatra Indonesia

Estimation of soil erosion 3D (E3D) provides basic information that can help manage agricultural areas sustainably, which has not been sufficiently conducted in Indonesia. Sumani watershed is main rice production area in West Sumatra which has experienced environmental problem such as soil erosion and production problem in recent years. 3D Agro-ecological land use planning based on soil erosion 3D hazard and economic feasibility analyses consist of production cost and prize data for each crop. Using a kriging method in Surfer tool program, have been developed data base from topographic map, Landsat TM image, climatic data and soil psychochemical properties. Using these data, the Universal Soil Loss Equation was used for spatial map of soil erosion 3D and proposed a 3D agro-ecological land use planning for sustainable land management in Sumani watershed. A 3D Agro-ecological land use planning was planned under which the land use type would not cause more than tolerable soil erosion (TER) and would be economically feasible. The study revealed that the annual average soil erosion from Sumani watershed was approximately 76.70 Mg ha-1yr-1 in 2011 where more than 100 Mg ha-1yr-1 was found on the cultivated sloping lands at agricultural field, which constitutes large portion of soil erosion in the watershed. Modification of land use with high CP values to one with lower CP values such as erosion control practices by reforestation, combination of mixed garden+beef+chicken (MBC), terrace (TBC) or contour cropping+beef+chicken (CBC) and sawah+buffalo+chicken (SBC) could reduce soil erosion rate by 83.2%, from 76.70 to 12.9 Mg ha-1 yr-1, with an increase in total profit from agricultural production of about 9.2% in whole Sumani watershed.Key words: CP-values, Erosion 3D, land use, Surfer Tool, USLE [How to Cite: Aflizar, AC Idowu, R Afrizal, Jamaluddin, E Syafri, Muzakir, Husnain and T Masunaga. 2013. 3D Agro-ecological Land Use Planning Using Surfer Tool for Sustainable Land Management in Sumani Watershed, West Sumatra Indonesia. J Trop Soils 18 (3): 241-254. Doi: 10.5400/jts.2013.18.3.241][Permalink/DOI: www.dx.doi.org/10.5400/jts.2013.18.3.241]REEFERENCESAflizar, A Roni and T Masunaga. 2013. 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CONTRIBUTION OF FORMAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS TO CASSAVA PROCESSING IN BENUE STATE, NIGERIA

The study was carried out to assess the contribution of Formal Financial Institutions (FFIs) to income of cassava processors in Benue state, Nigeria. Multistage sampling technique was used to select 234 cassava processors from 18 communities in the state. Data on credit sources and uses, processing activities and income were collected using structured questionnaires. The data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics while the impact of the credit was assessed using the before and after comparison. The result shows that about a third of the processors had access to formal credits. The Nigerian agricultural bank ranked highest (83%) in terms of patronage. Commercial and microfinance banks’ lending to cassava processing represented about 12% and 5% respectively of the total credit received. Majority (70%) of the processors received less than N100, 000 per year; an average of N63,152, which is about 12% of total amount, required. Credit financing from formal financial institutions was found to have significant effects on both the output of garri and flour processed and the profit from garri, flour and chips’ processing. The credit use structure shows that over 65% of the credit was use to increase processing scale, through increase in the purchase of raw tubers and payment for processing labour