Assessment of rural households’ objectives for gathering non-timber forest products (NTFPs) in Kogi State, Nigeria

This study assessed rural households’ objectives for gathering non-timber forest products in Kogi State, Nigeria, with specific focus on identifying some species of non-timber forest products present in the area, identifying reasons why they engaged in the gathering of the non-timber forest products (NTFPs) as well as determining the relative importance of the identified reasons to the households. One hundred and sixty-eight (168) questionnaires were randomly administered on respondents from four randomly selected local government areas from Kogi West Senatorial District of the State. The study identified some species of NTFPs that were found in the study area. These included locust bean (Parkia biglobosa), water leaf (Talinium triangulare), bitter leaf (Vernonia amygdalina) and a host of others. Also, reasons why these rural households in the study area collected NTFPs were identified. Among the reasons given were food security, self employment, income generation and continuity. The relative importance of the given reasons was also determined and it was discovered that food security was the most important reason the households engaged in NTFPs gathering while continuity objective was ranked least.Key words: Non-timber forest products, household, food security, continuity, Kogi State

Who Wants to Farm? Youth Aspirations, Opportunities and Rising Food Prices

Who wants to farm? In an era of land grabs and environmental uncertainty, improving smallholder productivity has become a higher priority on the poverty and food security agenda in development, focusing attention on the next generation of farmers. Yet emerging evidence about the material realities and social norms and desires of young people in developing countries indicates a reasonably widespread withdrawal from work on the land as an emerging norm. While de-agrarianisation is not new, policymakers are correct to be concerned about a withdrawal from the sector: smallholder productivity growth, and agricultural transformation more broadly, depend in part on the extent to which capable, skilled young people can be retained or attracted to farming, and on policies that support that retention. So who wants to farm, and under what conditions? Where are economic, environmental and social conditions favourable to active recruitment by educated young people into farming? What policy and programmatic conditions are creating attractive opportunities in farming or agro-food industry livelihoods? This paper explores these conditions in a context of food price volatility, and in particular rising food prices since 2007. To do so, it analyses primary qualitative research on the attitudes of young people and their families to farming in 2012, a time when food prices had been high and volatile for half a decade. In theory, assuming higher prices benefit small farmers, food farming should be more attractive since food prices started to rise in 2007. But this simple causal assumption overlooks both that in many developing countries, it takes considerable economic power - ownership or access to cultivable land and affordable credit for inputs - to turn a profit in farming. It also fails to take into account more sociological explanations governing work and occupational choice - status aspiration and merit on the one hand, and perceived risk on the other. These two explanations help to explain why young people from relatively low income families, particularly those most likely to innovate and raise productivity levels, do not perceive farming as a realistically desirable occupational choice. Based on analysis of interviews, focus group discussion and household case studies with almost 1500 people in 23 rural, urban and peri-urban communities in low and middle income Asian, African and Latin American countries in 2012, this research digs deeper into some of the established explanations as to why youth in developing countries appear reluctant to enter farming, and identifies conditions under which capable and enterprising youth are being attracted to farming, and entry-points for youth participation in policymaking around agriculture and food security

Understanding renal posttransplantation anemia in the pediatric population

Advances in renal transplantation management have proven to be beneficial in improving graft and patient survival. One of the properties of a well-functioning renal allograft is the secretion of adequate amounts of the hormone erythropoietin to stimulate erythropoiesis. Posttransplantation anemia (PTA) may occur at any point in time following transplantation, and the cause is multifactoral. Much of our understanding of PTA is based on studies of adult transplant recipients. The limited number of studies that have been reported on pediatric renal transplant patients appear to indicate that PTA is prevalent in this patient population. Erythropoietin deficiency or resistance is commonly associated with iron deficiency. An understanding of the risk factors, pathophysiology and management of PTA in the pediatric renal transplant population may provide guidelines for clinicians and researchers in the pursuit of larger prospective randomized control studies aimed at improving our limited knowledge of PTA. Recognition of PTA through regular screening and evaluation of the multiple factors that may contribute to its development are recommended after transplantation

Broken bridges: An exchange of slurs between African Americans and Africans and its impact on identity formation among the second generation of Nigerian ancestry

This article examines the use of slurs between members of different ethnic groups within the black racial category in the United States—specifically, the second generation of Nigerian ancestry and African Americans, as reported by the second generation of Nigerian ancestry. Studies on inter-group usage of slurs have mostly focused on the use of racial slurs targeting African Americans, the use of racial and ethnic slurs targeting non-black racial/ethnic groups, and the use of sexist slurs targeting people of different gender and sexual orientation. There has been limited analysis of use of slurs between ethnic groups within the black racial category in the United States. My investigation shows that slurs are part of the process of identity formation for the second generation. Also, the use of slurs between these two ethnic groups within the black category provides more evidence for Croom's (2010, 2011, and 2013) point that slurs do not always have to be used in a derogatory manner. It adds to what we know about the nonderogatory use of slurs by showing that a slur can be used as a socialization tool for young in-group members. I show that slurs can be appropriated by the group using the slur to target out-group members and that slurs can also be used within their own group to send a cautionary message to group members based on the derogatory meanings that are infused into the slur

The Nigerian second generation at work in Britain: Ethnoracial exclusion and adaptive strategies

This article examines the workplace experiences of upwardly mobile second generation Nigerians in Britain. It uses data from semi-structured in-depth interviews with 73 second generation Nigerian adults. The analysis distinguishes between incidents of discrimination and stigmatization (assaults on worth) and finds that incidents of stigmatization were more common than incidents of racial discrimination among the Nigerian second generation. Contextual factors, specifically Britain’s colonial history, national identity, and the cultural repertoire of the British class system shaped how individuals perceived, recognized, and interpreted incidents of ethnoracial exclusion. Strategies of non-response, social adaptability, and conciliation were used both to respond to these incidents of ethnoracial exclusion and facilitate economic mobility. The findings present a more complex story than one of simple racial discrimination for second generation Africans in British workplaces

Affecting lives: How winning the US Diversity Visa impacts DV migrants pre-and post-migration

Usual debates about the diversity visa (DV) programme revolve around the impact of DV initiated mass migration on African countries’ development, on whether the programme sufficiently diversifies U.S. immigrant streams, and on whether there is a tradeoff in immigrant quality for diversity. This article seeks to extend the focus of these debates by examining the impact of the diversity visa programme on DV migrants at the micro-level pre- and post-migration. Based on in-depth interviews with sixty-one diversity visa lottery winners from Ghana and Nigeria, the article examines how this immigration policy has become a contextual determinant of immigrant incorporation. It argues that an account of the impact of immigration policies on immigrants pre- and post-migration must be added to theorization of state agency in shaping migration flows. It concludes with a discussion on ways the diversity visa programme can be modified to facilitate incorporation of DV migrants in the United States

Stepping up your game: Workplace experiences of second-generation Nigerians in the United States

This article discusses the workplace experiences of second-generation Nigerian adults in the USA. Drawing on data from semi-structured interviews with 67 respondents, I show that second-generation Nigerians differ in whether they perceive racial discrimination in the workplace. There was an almost even split between subjects who felt they had been discriminated against because of their race and those who said they had not experienced anti-black discrimination. For those who felt they had been racially discriminated against at work, their experiences took very similar forms to those of African Americans, with many drawing analogies between their workplace experiences and those of African Americans and other blacks. But there was evidence of intra-black dynamics with some experiencing ethnic discrimination from African Americans and some enjoying an advantage over African Americans because they are children of black immigrants. I showcase two strategic responses found among respondents: minimizing ethnic difference and stepping up one’s game, which were used to negotiate racism and achieve economic mobility. This is consistent with the minority cultures of mobility thesis; that minority groups have cultures of mobility that foster upward social mobility, and it challenges segmented assimilation theory’s perception that black immigrant groups and their children lack tenacity or adaptive strategies

Being British vs being American: Identification among second-generation adults of Nigerian descent in the US and UK

This paper explores the important roles national identity and legacies of the past play in shaping the meanings second-generation adults of Nigerian descent attach to being British or American. Whether a country's national identity is inclusive or exclusive of immigrants, and whether its national myths have emotive appeal also affects the sense of welcome and belonging that the second generation feel. Comparing the USA and the UK, I find that although the USA has taken a laissez-faire approach to multiculturalism, its national identity has strong emotive appeal and is accepted by the majority of the second generation. The UK is a contrary case; despite its official policy of multiculturalism, it has not seen widespread articulation of shared national sentiments and myths among its second generation. From careful analyses, it is clear that multicultural policies are not making a big difference

Socio-economic characteristics and rural households’perception about the consumption of grasscutter (thryonomys swinderianus) meat in selected lgas of kogi state

This study examines the relationships between socioeconomic characteristics of rural households and theirperception about the consumption of grasscutter meat in some selected Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Kogi State. In all, one hundred and fifty questionnaires were randomly administered but only one hundred and forty two were found useable. Findings from the study show that a larger proportion of the respondents fall between 30-49 years of age. Seventy nine percent (79%) of the respondents had at least primary education and 67% earned N10, 000 and above. It was also discovered that most respondents like grasscutter meat because of its taste and the main source of the meat is through hunting. It was found that there were no significant relationships between selected socioeconomic characteristics of respondents and their perception of grass cutter meat consumption.Keywords: Grasscutter, Socioeconomic characteristics, rural house hold, Kogi State, Perceptio