Hectrage Response of Some Selected Cereal Crops to Price and Non-Price Factors in Nigeria (1983-2008)

The Study aimed at estimating the hectrage response of maize and sorghum to changes in price and non- price factors in Nigeria between 1983 and 2008. Time series data in respect of weather index approximated by the national mean rainfall (millimeters), area harvested (hectares), producer price in local currency (Naira/ton), and the annual yield (Kg/hectare) of the selected cereal crops were obtained. Unit root tests, via Augmented Dickey Fuller (ADF) equation, were conducted on the data series to determine the stationary properties of hectrage, price, yield and mean rainfall. Estimation was carried out using the Heteroskedasticity and Autocorrelation Consistent Covariance Estimator. Results of maize response function showed that, own price and yield were significant at 10%, lagged hectrage was significant at 1%; while yield of sorghum was significant at 5%. On the other hand, results of sorghum response function showed that lagged hectrage was significant at 1%, while the yield of the crop, yield of maize and weather were significant at 5% level. The major trend in this study is that lagged dependent Variable(lagged hectrage) has been found to be a significant determinant of hectrage allocation in the cultivation of  the crops studied; and  yield, rather than price was more important in hectrage allocation decision of farmers in Nigeria. Efforts should be geared towards enhancing land management practices, expansion of cultivable land and accessibility to same by farmers to encourage cultivation of more land for increased crop productivity and achieving stable yields. Keywords: Hectrage Response, Unit Root Test, Heteroskedasticity and Autocorrelation Consistent Covariance, Response Function

The Impact of External Debt on Nigeria’s Economic Growth (1980 -2014): VAR, Cointegration and VECM Approach.

The research work aimed at determining the impact of external debt on economic growth in Nigeria. Time series data on real gross domestic product (RGDP) and external debt service payment (EDSP) were obtained from the World Bank International Debt Statistics, while data on exchange rate (EXCR) and inflation rate (INFR) were collected from Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) statistical bulletin, 2014. The period of study was 1980-2014. Model was formulated and data were analyzed employing Augmented Dickey Fuller (ADF) unit root test, Johansen Co-integration and Error Correction (VECM) techniques. Estimation via the unrestricted VAR was conducted to enable appropriate lag length selection while OLS estimation of the main or target equations of the VECM using the HAC consistent covariance estimator was carried out. This enabled objective determination of the impact of external debt on Nigeria’s economic growth. The dependent variable was RGDP, while the explanatory variables were EDSP, EXCR and INFR. Results indicate that external debt service payment had a longrun significant but negative relationship with real gross domestic product while Exchange Rate had a positive although insignificant, relationship with RGDP. The paper concludes that exchange rate fluctuation had positive impact on the Nigerian economy while external debt service payment had significant negative impact on the same economy. The study recommends amongst others, that the Debt Management Office should set mechanisms in motion to ensure that loans were utilized for purposes for which they were acquired as well as set a ceiling for borrowing for states and federal governments based on well-defined criteria. Keywords: External debt, unrestricted VAR, vector error correction model, cointegrating equations, error correction term, external debt service payment

Trend analysis of productivity of some selected cereal crops in Nigeria: 1983-2008.

The study aimed at examining the trends of productivity of maize and sorghum in Nigeria between 1983 and 2008. Time series data in respect of annual yield (Kg/hectare) of the selected arable crops covering the period of study were obtained. Productivity was assessed using area harvested i.e. the quantity of crop produced per unit area harvested, given that yield growth rate remains the most commonly used indicator of productivity growth in a developing country’s agriculture. Trend analysis of the productivity of the crops was undertaken to determine changes across period of production. Trends of crops’ productivity were analyzed using graphical methods. Ratios and percentages were used to measure productivity (yield) growth rates of the selected crops of study. Data fitted on line graphs using Linear, Exponential, Polynomial and Logarithmic functional forms with trend lines created through the line graphs and extended over five (5) periods enabled quantitative analysis of the data and forecast. Polynomial function which gave the best fit in terms of the magnitude of the coefficient of determination (R2) was chosen and presented. Trend analyses show a stagnating and or declining growth rate for the crops of study while the current and future trends of productivity as depicted by the R2 values in respect of maize was strong at 0.678 and relatively weak for sorghum at 0.292. It is recommended that measures conducive for farmers to achieving stable yields for enhanced performance of crops in terms of productivity, pricing and marketability and expansion of cultivable land be adopted. Key Words: Productivity, Growth Rate, Functional Form, Analytical Trend, Coefficient of Determination

The Role of Trade Openness and Oil Price on Exchange Rate: ARDL Bound Testing Evidence from Nigeria

The nexus between oil price and exchange rate has been explored widely in the theoretical and empirical literatures revealing factors that influence exchange rate fluctuation. Therefore, this research examines the role of trade openness and oil price on the behaviour of exchange rate in Nigeria. We applied Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) bounds testing approach to cointegration based on annual time series data from 1982 to 2014. The variables are cointegrated indicating that they exhibit long run relationship. Also, the estimated value of the error correction term is less than one, negative but significant. Exchange rate was found to be negatively dependent on trade openness in both the short run and the long run, while oil price was found to be negative and insignificant in the long run. The policy implication of these findings is that high dependency on oil price is not favorable to exchange rate determination in Nigeria. There is need to diversify the source of foreign revenue especially to the non-oil sectors such as agriculture, mines and industry and manufacturing to reduce the extreme burden and the negative consequences of over dependence on oil and the volatility in its price on Nigeria’s economy. Keywords: exchange rate, oil price, trade openness, error correction ter

The Role of Bank of Industry (BOI) in the Development of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) in Bauchi Metropolis

The aim of this study is to assess the contribution of the Bank of Industry towards SMEs industrial development in Bauchi metropolis.  A number of descriptive and graphical analyses were conducted to assess the correctness of the data file. Accordingly, SPSS version 17.0 descriptive option was used to determine means and standard deviation on all the variables. Primary source of data was utilised. All questionnaires were carefully identified so it was easy to trace and make corrections. The population of the study is 50 Small and Medium Scale Businesses in Bauchi metropolis. Due to data screening only responses of fourty (40) valid Questionnaires out of the fifty (50) SMEs were analysed. Correlation was used for the analysis. Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Bauchi Metropolis are highly affected by the role the Bank of Industry is playing and the loans collected by the SMEs from the bank are utilized for the purposes they are intended as revealed by the research. The expansion of the power of BOI as the apex institution for the development and promoting of SMEs in Nigeria should be considered with vigor, a well-conceived and coordinated scheme aimed at strengthening and improving the information system and counseling services for wider dissemination and greater effectiveness should also be pursued. Keywords: Role of Bank of Industry, Development, Small nd Medium Scale Enterprise

Assessment of the level of farm mechanization technology utilization in poultry production in Kaduna state, nigeria

The study was conducted to assess the level of farm mechanization technology  utilization in poultry production in Chukun and Igabi Local Government Areas,  Kaduna State. Purposive sampling was used to select wards, multi–stage to choose villages and simple random to pick 140 responding farmers. Frequency distribution, percentages and means were the analytic tool used. Majority of the producers (75%) were aged forty years and below. All the producers had formal education. More than half of the producers (65%) were in poultry. About 57% were  non-members of cooperatives. The major source of technology (68%) was local market. Majority of the producers (79%) adopted hand tool technologies. A few of the producers (18%) adopted battery cage, (4%) feed mill and (4%) incubator. The benefits of the technologies were 36% proper use of space, 21% easy handling of large flocks, 18% decrease in cost of production. The constraints were 46% inadequate access to capital, 18% lack of electricity and water and 14% poor  extension contact. Majority of the producers adopted hand tools and were  non-members of cooperatives thus could not enjoy economies of scale. Provision of adequate fund to producers and formation of cooperative were recommended.Key words: Poultry, chicken, technology and production

Ectopic pregnancy at the university of maiduguri teaching hospital-a ten-year review

Ectopic pregnancy is a common surgical emergency in gynaecology especially in the tropics where the patients usually present with the ruptured variety with the attendant peritoneal flooding and its clinical consequences. Objectives: To determine the incidence, demographic characteristics, risk factors, clinical features, treatment, and outcomes of patients with ectopic pregnancy in our center. Methods: A descriptive study of ectopic pregnancy seen at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital from January 1995 to December 2004. Results: A total of 136 cases of ectopic pregnancies occurred during this period. With the 15,120 deliveries that occurred during the same period, the overall incidence of ectopic pregnancy was 0.9/1000 deliveries (0.9%). Majority of the patients (69.8%) were between 21 to 30 years of age, 57.4% were para 1 to 4 and 86.0% were married. The duration of amenorrhoea ranged between 2 to 14 weeks with a mean of 6.9 weeks and 58.1% of the patient had a period of amenorrhoea of 5- 8weeks. There were no historical risk factors for ectopic gestation in 30.1% of the patients but abortion, infertility, PID and previous ectopic pregnancy were found to be major risk factors. Lower abdominal pain (92.6%) was the commonest symptom and cervical excitation tenderness (51.5%) the commonest sign. The initial diagnosis was missed in 31.6% of the cases. In 69.8% the implantation site was the ampulla and the ectopic pregnancy was ruptured in 68.9% of the patients. All the patients were managed by laparatomy and the 57.4% of the patients that were transfused, were given homologous blood. There was a statistically significant association between blood transfusion and the initial packed cell volume (PCV) and the amount of haemoperitoneum found at operation. There was no maternal death and of 12 patients (8.1%) that developed complications, 8 (66.7%) had wound infection. Conclusion: As absent of risk factors does not in any way exclude the possibility of ectopic pregnancy as shown in thisreview, keeping high index of suspicion is vital in its diagnosis. Education of the populace especially women on ectopic and training and retraining of health care personnel in the management of this gynaecological emergency will reduce its occurrence and improve its management

ASSESSMENT OF THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF COMMUNITY BASED MANAGEMENT ORGANIZATIONS IN PROMOTING LITERACY IN UBE SCHOOLS IN KADUNA STATE, NIGERIA

This study assessed the contributions of Community Based Management Organizations in promoting Literacy in UBE schools in Kaduna State. The study was carried out with the objectives to assess the contributions of community based management organizations in promoting literacy in UBE schools in Kaduna State, and to find out the relevance of literacy towards community development. The study adopted survey research design with the target population of 4225 headmasters, 411 principals and 5301 teachers in UBE schools in Kaduna State. A sample size of 497 respondents was sampled from the entire population using random sampling technique which consisted of 211 headmasters, 21 principals and 265 teachers. A close ended questionnaire tagged “Contributions of Community Organizations in Promoting Literacy Questionnaire” was used for data collection. The instrument was validated by three experts of the rank of senior lecturer in Measurement and Evaluation, English language and Curriculum. The reliability level of 0.85 was obtained using Cronbach alpha technique. The researcher with the help of three research assistants administered the questionnaire to the respondents. In answering the research questions, frequency counts, mean and standard deviation were used, while Kruskal-Wallis was used to test the formulated hypotheses at 0.5 level of significance. Finding revealed that community based management organizations contributed in promoting literacy in UBE schools in Kaduna State, and that literacy is relevant and play crucial role in community development. The study concluded that community based management organizations contributed in areas such as advocacy on enrolment, provision of textbooks, notebooks, biros, charts, maps, pictures, flashcards and so on, in promoting literacy in UBE schools in Kaduna State. Recommendations were put forward among others that community based management organizations should contribute more to the production and distribution of literacy and other instructional materials for UBE schools in Kaduna State. This will help equip pupils with functional literacy skills.  Article visualizations

Full term abdominal pregnancy with live fetus, still an occurrence in contemporary obstetrics practice: a case report

Abdominal pregnancy is an ectopic pregnancy in which the fetus develops in the peritoneal cavity. It is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Advanced abdominal pregnancyis a rarity and difficult to diagnose pre-operatively. The diagnosis of such condition can be missed pre-operatively despite the use of prenatal ultrasound scan. We present an advanced case of abdominal pregnancy A 38-year-old G4 P30+ A3 was referred to us on 10th June 2015 with history of 9 months amenorrhea and intermittent abdominal pain. She gave a history of vaginal bleeding, severe abdominal pain and fainting attack in the first trimester for which she was managed conservatively in a private hospital. Abdominal examination revealed a uterine size of 38 weeks with the fetus in breech presentation. On pelvic examination the cervix was closed, posterior and un-effaced. Abdominal ultrasound scan revealed a live singleton pregnancy with an average gestational age of 40 weeks in breech presentation. In view of the breech she was planned for lower segmentcaesarean section during which she was found to have an advanced abdominal pregnancy. Conclusion: Advanced abdominal pregnancy is rare and difficult to diagnose pre-operatively. High levelsof suspicion are required to diagnose this entity

Indications and complications of hysterectomy in maiduguri, Northeastern Nigeria

This study intends to determine the indications and complications of hysterectomy in a typical teaching hospital in tropical Africa and then to make appropriate recommendations. Setting, Materials and Methods: The records of 180 out of 240 patients who had hysterectomy over a ten year period (January 1989-December 1998) at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital formed the basis of the study. Details of their mode of clinical presentation, indications for surgery and postoperative course and complications were extracted from their records and analysed. The SPSS statistical software package was used for the analysis of the data. Results:The mean age of the patients was 48.5 + 7.4 years with a range of 24 - 60 years and 66.6 % aged 40 years and above. The mean parity among the patients was 4.3 + 3.7 with a range of 0 - 13. Thirty six (20%) were nulliparous. The indications for hysterectomy are uterine fibroids 114 (63.3%), utero vaginal prolapse 19(10.6%) and ovarian tumours 16 (8.9%). Dysfunctional uterine bleeding accounted for 2(1.1%) cases. There were 2 cases of ruptured uterus. One patient (0.6%) had endometrial cancer, while 2(1.1%) had atypical endometrial hyperplasia. Total abdominal hysterectomy, either alone or in combination with bilateral/ unilateral oophorectomy and omentectomy, accounted for 160 (88.9%) cases. There was one case of subtotal hysterectomy from ruptured uterus following prolonged obstructed labour. Vaginal hysterectomy accounted for 19(10.6%) cases. The leading complications in this series are anaemia 34 (10.9%), abdominal wound dehiscence 20(11.1%), wound sepsis 14 (7.8%), febrile morbidity and post hysterectomy symptoms 12(6.7%). All cases of complete wound dehiscence occurred in association with abdominal hysterectomy. The type of incision and the level of experience of the surgeon (consultant and registrar) did not significantly affect the incidence of complications in this study. Conclusion: Uterine fibroids, uterovaginal prolapse and ovarian tumours are the leading indications for hysterectomy in our environment. Anaemia, abdominal wound dehiscence, sepsis and febrile morbidity are the commonest complications. Vaginal hysterectomy is associated with low treatment costs, shorter hospital stay and less morbidity when compared with abdominal hysterectomy. Therefore, whenever possible, vaginal hysterectomy should be done in preference to abdominal hysterectomy.&nbsp