Determinants of rural bank loan repayment capacity among farmers in Yewa Division of Ogun State, Nigeria

This study examined the determinants of the Nigeria Agricultural Cooperative and Rural Development Bank (NACRDB) repayment by farmers in Yewa division of Ogun State. Primary data collected through scheduled interview with the help of a structured questionnaire as well as secondary data were used for this purpose. Descriptive analytical tools, linear discriminate function, and multiple regression analysis were used to analyze the data collected. Results show that majority of the respondents attributed reasons for loan default to production failure due to weather, pests, diseases and poor storage (72.5%). Furthermore, a good proportion of loan defaulters (52.5%) use the loan for farming. Discriminate analysis conducted shows that the total annual income of the household heads, other occupation of the respondents and membership of cooperative society are the most significant variables that discriminate between rural bank users and non-­‐users. The regression analysis shows that the most important variable for loan repayment is farm size (hectares) accounting for 32% of the variations in repayment level of the credit user, followed by farm income(0.29%). It was suggested that NACRDB loans should be disbursed through farmers’ cooperative society, with adequate monitoring and supervision

A year of genomic surveillance reveals how the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic unfolded in Africa.

The progression of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic in Africa has so far been heterogeneous, and the full impact is not yet well understood. In this study, we describe the genomic epidemiology using a dataset of 8746 genomes from 33 African countries and two overseas territories. We show that the epidemics in most countries were initiated by importations predominantly from Europe, which diminished after the early introduction of international travel restrictions. As the pandemic progressed, ongoing transmission in many countries and increasing mobility led to the emergence and spread within the continent of many variants of concern and interest, such as B.1.351, B.1.525, A.23.1, and C.1.1. Although distorted by low sampling numbers and blind spots, the findings highlight that Africa must not be left behind in the global pandemic response, otherwise it could become a source for new variants

Diversidad microbiana y actividad de enzimas digestivas en el intestino de las lombrices de tierra en los aserraderos de Abeokuta, Nigeria

The growing demand for wood has resulted in large volumes of wood wastes that are daily released to the soil from the activities of sawmills in South-Western Nigeria. In an attempt to setup a bioremediation model for sawdust, this study therefore aimed at evaluating microbial diversity, and the level of digestive enzymes in the gut of earthworms (Eudrilus eugeniae, Libyodrilus violaceous and Hyperiodrilus africanus) of sawmill origin. Four major sawmills located in Abeokuta (7o9'12" N - 3o19'35" E), namely Lafenwa, Sapon, Isale-Ake and Kotopo sawmills were used for this study. The arboretum of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta was used as control. Gut microbial analysis was carried out using the pour-plate method while digestive enzyme activities in the earthworm guts were done by the spectrophotometric method. Higher microbial counts (28.5±0.1x103-97.0±0.1x103cfu for bacteria and 7.0±0.1x103-96.0±0.1x103cfu for fungi) and microbial diversity were recorded in the gut of earthworms of the sawmill locations than those of the control site (17.5±0.1x103cfu for bacteria and 4.5±0.1x103cfu for fungi). Streptococcus mutans and Proteus spp. were common in the gut of E. eugeniae, and L. violaceous from the study sawmills, while Streptococcus mutans were also identified in H. africanus, but absent in the gut of E. eugeniae from the control site. Cellulase (48.67±0.02mg/g) and lipase (1.81±0.01mg/g) activities were significantly higher (p<0.05) in the gut of earthworms from the control site than those of the study sawmills. Furthermore, amylase (α and β) activity was highest in the gut of earthworms from the sawmills. Variations observed in the gut microbial and digestive enzyme activities of earthworms from the study sawmills as compared to the control site suggests that earthworms, especially E. eugeniae, could be a better organism for use as bioremediator of wood wastes.La creciente demanda de madera ha resultado en grandes volúmenes de residuos de madera que se lanzan diariamente a la tierra, procedentes de las actividades de los aserraderos en el suroeste de Nigeria. Se realizó este estudio en un intento de configurar un modelo de biorremediación de aserrín, con el objetivo de evaluar la diversidad microbiana y el nivel de las enzimas digestivas en el intestino de las lombrices de tierra (Eudrilus eugeniae, Libyodrilus violáceo y Hyperiodrilus africanus) de origen aserradero. Para este estudio se utilizaron cuatro grandes aserraderos ubicados en Abeokuta (7°9'12 '' N - 3°19'35 '' E), a saber: Lafenwa, Sapon, Isale-Ake y Aserraderos Kotopo. El arboreto de la Universidad Federal de Agricultura, Abeokuta se utilizó como control. El análisis microbiano se llevó a cabo utilizando el método de vertido de placa, mientras que las actividades de enzimas digestivas en los intestinos de las lombrices se realizaron por el método espectrofotométrico. Los recuentos microbianos más altos fueron 28.5±97.0±0.1x103-0.1x103cfu para las bacterias y 7.0±0.1x103-96.0±0.1x103cfu para los hongos y la diversidad microbiana registrada en el intestino de las lombrices de tierra de los lugares de aserraderos y las del sitio de control fueron: 17.5±0.1x103cfu para bacterias y 4.5±0.1x103cfu para hongos. Streptococcus mutans y Proteus spp. eran comunes en el intestino de E. eugeniae, y L. violaceous de los aserraderos de estudio, mientras que también se identificaron Streptococcus mutans en H. africanus, que estuvieron ausentes en el intestino de E. eugeniae en el sitio de control. Actividades de celulasa (48.67±0.02mg/g) y lipasa (1.81±0.01mg/g) fueron significativamente mayores (p<0.05) en el intestino de las lombrices de tierra en el sitio de control que las de los aserraderos de estudio. Por otra parte, la actividad de la amilasa (α y β) fue mayor en el intestino de las lombrices de tierra de los aserraderos. Las variaciones observadas en la microbiota intestinal y la actividad de las enzimas digestivas de las lombrices de tierra de los aserraderos de estudio, en comparación con el sitio de control, sugieren que las lombrices de tierra, especialmente E. eugeniae, podrían ser un mejor organismo para su uso como biorremediador de residuos de madera

Microbial diversity and digestive enzyme activities in the gut of earthworms found in sawmill industries in Abeokuta, Nigeria

The growing demand for wood has resulted in large volumes of wood wastes that are daily released to the soil from the activities of sawmills in South-Western Nigeria. In an attempt to setup a bioremediation model for sawdust, this study therefore aimed at evaluating microbial diversity, and the level of digestive enzymes in the gut of earthworms (Eudrilus eugeniae, Libyodrilus violaceous and Hyperiodrilus africanus) of sawmill origin. Four major sawmills located in Abeokuta (7o9’12” N - 3o19’35” E), namely Lafenwa, Sapon, Isale-Ake and Kotopo sawmills were used for this study. The arboretum of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta was used as control. Gut microbial analysis was carried out using the pour-plate method while digestive enzyme activities in the earthworm guts were done by the spectrophotometric method. Higher microbial counts (28.5±0.1x10³-97.0±0.1x10³cfu for bacteria and 7.0±0.1x10³-96.0±0.1x10³cfu for fungi) and microbial diversity were recorded in the gut of earthworms of the sawmill locations than those of the control site (17.5±0.1x10³cfu for bacteria and 4.5±0.1x10³cfu for fungi). Streptococcus mutans and Proteus spp.were common in the gut of E. eugeniae, and L. violaceous from the study sawmills, while Streptococcus mutans were also identified in H. africanus, but absent in the gut of E. eugeniae from the control site. Cellulase (48.67±0.02mg/g) and lipase (1.81±0.01mg/g) activities were significantly higher (p<0.05) in the gut of earthworms from the control site than those of the study sawmills. Furthermore, amylase (α and β) activity was highest in the gut of earthworms from the sawmills. Variations observed in the gut microbial and digestive enzyme activities of earthworms from the study sawmills as compared to the control site suggests that earthworms, especially E. eugeniae, could be a better organism for use as bioremediator of wood wastes. Rev. Biol. Trop. 62 (3): 1241-1249. Epub 2014 September 01

Acumulación de metales pesados y la evaluación bioquímica de las lombrices de tierra de los aserraderos en Abeokuta, Sur-Occidental Nigeria

Over the years, sawmilling industries have shown a high growth in the rain forest areas of Nigeria, releasing several wastes into the environment. This study aims at using earthworms (Eudrilus eugeniae, Libyodrilus violaceous and Hyperiodrilus africanus) of sawmill origin as bio-indicators of metal pollution in sawmills. Four major sawmills located in Abeokuta (7o9’11’’44” N - 3o19’35’’ E), namely Lafenwa, Sapon, Isale-Ake and Kotopo sawmills were used for this study. The arboretum of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta was used as control site. Earthworms, plant and soil samples were collected each month for three months (March to May, 2013), randomly from different points at each of the locations. Protein analysis was conducted on the earthworms using gel electrophoresis while the activities of Superoxide dismutase (SOD), Catalase (CAT) and Glutathione peroxidase (GPx) were done spectrophotometrically. Heavy metal analysis was also conducted on soil, plant and earthworm samples using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer. Gel electrophoresis results revealed the presence of nine protein bands in E. eugeniae from Sapon and Kotopo sawmills, as compared to six protein bands of E. eugeniae from the control site. Seven protein bands were observed in L. violaceous from Lafenwa and H. africanus from Isale-Ake sawmills. Levels of SOD, GPx and CAT activities were significantly higher (P &lt; 0.05) in E. eugeniae from Sapon sawmill than those of Kotopo sawmill and the control site. This study also revealed that Pb and Cd concentrations were higher in the earthworms, plants and soil from the sawmills than those of the control site. Sapon sawmill recorded significantly higher (P &lt; 0.05) levels of Cd and Cu in plants as well as Pb and Cd in soil samples than those of the other locations. The concentrations of Cu, Co and Ni were higher in the soil of the control site than in the sawmill soils. Stronger relationship exists in the metal concentrations between the earthworms and soils (R= 0.602) than between the plants and soil (R= 0.405). Sawmilling therefore posses potential risks on sawmill soil and soil fauna, especially earthworm species.A través de los años, la industria de aserraderos ha mostrado un alto crecimiento en las áreas de bosque tropical de Nigeria, lanzando varios residuos al ambiente. Este estudio tiene como objetivo utilizar lombrices (Eudrilus eugeniae, Libyodrilus violaceous y Hyperiodrilus africanus) de origen aserradero como bioindicadores de contaminación por metales en los aserraderos. Se utilizaron cuatro grandes aserraderos ubicados en Abeokuta (7o9'11''44" N - 3o19'35'' E), a saber: Lafenwa, Sapon, Isale-Ake y Kotopo, para este estudio. El arboreto de la Universidad Federal de Agricultura, Abeokuta fue utilizado como sitio de control. Las lombrices de tierra, plantas y muestras de suelo se recogieron cada mes durante tres meses (marzo a mayo 2013), al azar en diferentes puntos en cada una de las localidades. El análisis de proteínas se llevó a cabo en las lombrices de tierra utilizando electroforesis en gel, mientras que las actividades de la superóxido dismutasa (SOD), catalasa (CAT) y glutatión peroxidasa (GPx) se realizaron espectrofotométricamente. Análisis de metales pesados también se llevaron a cabo en muestras de suelo, plantas y lombrices de tierra utilizando espectrofotómetro de absorción atómica. Resultados de la electroforesis del gel reveló la presencia de nueve bandas de proteínas de E. eugeniae en los aserraderos de Sapon y Kotopo, en comparación con seis bandas de proteínas de E. eugeniae de el sitio control. Se observaron siete bandas de proteínas de L. violaceous de Lafenwa y H. africanus en los aserraderos Isale-Ake. Los niveles de SOD, GPx y actividades CAT fueron significativamente mayores (P &lt;0.05) en E. eugeniae del aserradero Sapon que las del aserradero Kotopo y el sitio control. El estudio también reveló que las concentraciones de Pb y Cd fueron mayores en las lombrices de tierra, plantas y el suelo de los aserraderos que los del sitio control. El aserradero Sapon mostró niveles significativamente mayores (P &lt;0.05) de Cd y Cu en las plantas, así como Pb y Cd en muestras de suelo que las de los otros lugares. Las concentraciones de Cu, Co y Ni fueron mayores en el suelo del sitio de control que en los suelos de los aserraderos. Existe relación más fuerte en las concentraciones de metales entre las lombrices de tierra y los suelos (R = 0.602) que entre las plantas y el suelo (R = 0.405). Por lo tanto, la actividad en los aserraderos posee riesgos potenciales en el suelo y su fauna, especialmente las especies de lombrices