Improvement of a stem borer resistant maize population for nitrogen deficient environments

Nitrogen (N) deficiency is a common feature in all maize growing ecologies of West and Central Africa. It is therefore imperative to produce maize varieties that are able to survive in N deficient environments. To determine their potential in improving the population for N deficient environments, S1 progenies from a stem borer resistant maize population- BR9928DMRSRLNC1 were evaluated under low soil N (30kgN/ha) condition at Mokwa and Zaria, Nigeria in 2013. Furthermore, the original and improved cycle of the population were later evaluated at the same test locations under two additional N fertilizer levels (0kg and 90kgN/ha), to estimate gains from selection. Several traits were evaluated. For most of the traits studied, genetic variability was moderate to low and ears per plant, ear aspect and plant height were significantly correlated with yield. Step-wise multiple regression, identified ears per plant and ear aspect as having high direct effects on grain yield. Expected gains per cycle were lower than observed for most traits except grain yield and plant height. Comparison between the original and improved cycle revealed that in general, selection reduced days to flowering and ear aspect ratings across all N levels. In addition, grain yield increments were observed in all N environments with the most significant change of 15% occurring at 90kgN/ha. Using a weighted index with larger weights assigned to grain yield, ear aspect and ears per plant should increase gain in further selection programs.Keywords: Nitrogen deficiency; maize; genetic variability; genetic gain; S1 progeny selectio

Effect of Farmer Education and Managerial Ability on Food Crop Production in Nigeria

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of education and managerial ability on the technical efficiency of food crop production in Nigeria, using the stochastic frontier production analysis. The research which was conducted in Oyo state of Nigeria used primary data which were obtained from one hundred and fifty representative samples of food crop farmers through the use of well structured questionnaire. Results of the analysis showed that the technical efficiency level ranged between 84.4% and 99.4% with a mean of 94.3%.  The study showed that there still existed some levels of inefficiency among the sampled food crop farmers. The contributing factors to efficiency were age and level of education of the farmers. The study observed that there was a scope for increase in farmers’ efficiency by improving their level of education, and therefore suggested policy recommendations which could ensure food security thereby enhancing national development. Keywords: Food Crop Production, Farmer Education, Managerial Ability, Nigeri

Human Trafficking: The Modern-Day Slavery of the 21st Century

The transatlantic slave trade (ancient slavery) in which Africans were captured, chained and transported to Latin America, the Caribbean and the United States to work as slaves was officially abolished around 1807. Unfortunately, human trafficking appears to have replaced this abhorrent activity as the modern day slavery of the 21st century. This research discusses the similarities and differences between these two faces of slavery, differentiates human trafficking from human smuggling, outlines many dimensions of human trafficking, discusses the scope of the problem in several countries using the United States and Nigeria as prime examples, and identifies some of the factors that may foster human trafficking worldwide. This paper concludes that human trafficking constitutes a gross violation of human rights and a global threat to democracy and peac

Attributes Preferred and Premiums Offered for Naturally Produced Beef Cattle

A growing number of beef cattle producers in the US are using limited information to determine whether or not it would be economical for them to grow naturally produced cattle. The objective was to discover the attributes that marketing companies prefer for the naturally produced cattle they purchase, and to elicit the price premiums being offered for cattle that possess these attributes. Results of a phone survey of companies that purchase natural cattle show that 27 out of 32 companies report their willingness to pay a premium of $5.95/cwt for cattle that have never received antibiotics, ionophores, hormones or animal by-products.Key words: attributes, beef, cattle, naturally produced, premiums, Agribusiness, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Livestock Production/Industries, Marketing,

Factors Vitiating Against the Effectiveness Of The Nigeria Police In Combating The Criminal Exploitation of Children And Women

It is estimated that each year close to one million persons are trafficked across international borders. Nigeria has been identified as a major source, destination, and transit for the trafficking of persons, particularly women and children. The women are trafficked mostly to Europe and the Middle East, as well as to North America for the purposes of sexual exploitation. Children are trafficked within Africa and other parts of the world for the purposes of adoption, for domestic and agricultural labor, and for sale of human body parts. Efforts by the government of Nigeria (including enacting new laws, strengthening existing laws and other social control mechanisms, and collaborating with other countries) to combat trafficking and the sale of humans have not yielded appreciable results. Several factors (inadequate policing, corruption within the policing system, relative deprivation of freedoms, mounting social injustices, lack of conventional social opportunities, increasing conflicting social values, gender imbalances in the provision of education and economic opportunities, and the breakdown of social institutions) cause this impasse. This study examines the nature, extent, and development of this phenomenon and attempts to delineate the factors vitiating against Nigeria’s law enforcement and government efforts in combating this particularly troubling international crime. Two policies are possible. The short term would introduce mass education about the danger of human trafficking and strengthen the legal instrument and the capability of the law enforcement system to deal with the problem, and the long term would address the social and economic conditions in Nigeria which sustains the phenomenon

Assessing the Economic Efficiency of Dairy Production Systems in Uasin Gishu County, Kenya

The objective of this paper is to estimate economic efficiency in the dairy production sector in Uasin Gishu County of Kenya. Zero grazing, semi-zero grazing and open grazing production systems are analyzed separately using the Cobb-Douglas stochastic frontier cost function. In a second stage we examine the degree to which the calculated efficiency correlates with a set of explanatory variables using a censored regression model. The results indicate that each of the three milk production systems is relatively inefficient, with potential in all cases for reducing input costs or increasing output. Economic efficiency increased with the level of intensification of milk production, with open grazing, semi-zero grazing and zero grazing attaining 0.43, 0.51 and 0.69 respectively. The maximum likelihood estimates of milk production were an increasing function of cost of feeds and equipment in the three production systems with statistical significance of 5%. The estimated determinants of economic efficiency were positively related with education and social capital, and negatively related with gender, land size and market access. Keywords: Dairy production; Economic efficiency; Frontier cost function and Intensificatio

Competitiveness of Smallholder Milk Production Systems in Uasin Gishu County of Kenya

In Uasin Gishu County of Kenya the rapidly declining household land sizes are a pre-requisite to increased intensification in dairy production. Although various dairy production pathways are used by farmers in the County, it has not been established which one of them would be comparatively competitive to enhance commercialization process and lead to attractive returns to smallholders investing in milk production. The objective of this paper is to estimate competitiveness in the smallholder dairy production sector in Uasin Gishu County. Stratified sampling and proportional sampling followed by random sampling within the stratum were employed to select 246 smallholder dairy farmers. Zero grazing, semi-zero grazing and open grazing production systems are analyzed separately using the gross margin, net margin and return on investment. The results indicate that the gross margin and net margin in smallholder milk production (Kshs/liter) were significantly influenced by the intensification pathway adopted. The gross margin and profit per liter decreased with an increase in the level of intensification with free grazing system and zero grazing having mean profit of Kshs. 20.19 and Kshs. 8.25 respectively. The returns on investment for free grazing, semi–zero grazing and zero grazing milk production systems were 34.07%, 40.22%, 25.67% respectively. Intensive milk production is relatively more profitable, however profitability of milk production/liter however reduced with intensification due to the higher feed and labour costs in more intensive systems. In conclusion, smallholder dairy production was an economically viable enterprise in Uasin Gishu County. Milk producers need extension services and finance to improve on feed production and utilization technologies in order to increase their profitability. Suggested future works include determining the options of improving market access so that it’s positive contribution to dairy competitiveness is strengthened. Keywords: Milk production; competitiveness, profit and intensificatio

Modified mix design development specification batched by volume from specified mix design by weight towards improved concrete production

Concrete production process is usually designed to meet certain fresh properties, target strength and durability requirement. This process is referred to as the mix design, which guides the quantity and proportions of the various constituent materials to produce the concrete. Concrete mix designs are usually done in accordance to specified standard procedures in codes developed by recognized institutions like the Building Research Establishments (BRE) [ 1 ]. Other acceptable mix design methods includes the three (3) equation and double coating methods in [ 2,3 ]. Standardized prescribed mix designs are generally accepted designs that meet strength requirements in normal strength concrete class as specified in [ 4,5 ]. Standardized Prescribed Concrete mixes have been designed and the characteristic strengths specified in the British standards [ 4,5 ] and the specified concrete mix design is recommended to be batched by weight. •Predominantly, mix designs are batched by volume within the study area and most developing countries which results to the production of less durable concrete than when batched by weight. This practice is due to the higher cost of acquiring the batching plants [ 6 ] employed in concrete production by medium to small scale construction firms. •This study developed a method of deriving a mix design to be batched by volume from the specified mix designed by weight using a design chat developed from [ 4,5 ]. Concrete can then be produced with the derived mixed design and batched by volume as though it was batched by weight from the specified mix design. This method eliminates the strength disparity by both batching methods and production of more durable concrete in most developing countries

AN EXPLORATORY STUDY ON NUMBER OF CHILDREN DESIRED AND WHAT ACCOMPLISHED IN FAMILY SETTINGS

In any family settings, racing children is a big decision that requires serious self-reflecting and communication between couples. In African settings, there is usually a rift in the agreement of the number and the gender of children to be borne by couples; while the man prefers a male child, the wife may prefer a female child instead. The number of children by the couple also determine the kinds of education those children will eventually have later. To this effect, in this research work, we want to study the Man’s proposed and ac-tual number of children; the degree of association in the man’s decision using Quasi symmetry and Homogeneous Agreement model; how well some factors (Age, Religion, Family status, Occupation, Level of education and Ethnic group) influence the number of children; and to know the stopping rule for child bearing by the man. It was observed that 16.2% of the respondents had above the number of children proposed when they stopped bearing children, 21.5% of the respondents had below the number of children proposed when they stopped while 62.3% of the respondents had the exact number of children proposed when they eventually stopped bearing children. We observed that Age and Religion influence the number of children. We also observed that the probability ( p) of having at least one male child is 0.8019 based on the available data. The chance of any newly wedded couple ever having a male child at any trial follows a geometric distribution ( ) (0.8019)(0.1981) , 1,2,3 1 f x x x . Quasi symmetry model has a better fit for agreement measure than Homogeneous agreement model