The replacement value of groundnut cake with cooked Bambara groundnut meal on the carcass quality and relative organ weights of broiler chikens

Seventy five day-old Anak 2000 broiler chicks were randomly allotted to five dietary treatments 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 in which groundnut cake (GNC) was replaced by cooked bambara groundnut meal (CBGM) at 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% levels of inclusion for both starter and finisher phases. Replacement levels of cooked bambara groundnut meal significantly (

Determinants of adoption of improved oilpalm production technologies in Delta state, Nigeria

The study ascertained the factors militating against adoption of improved oilpalm production technologies. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to collect data from 92 randomly selected oilpalm growers. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and regression analysis. The results revealed that a large proportion (41.3%) of the oilpalm growers are in the age range of 41 – 50 years and about 27.2% had family sizes of 11 – 14 persons, and a fair percentage (26.1%) had farm sizes ranging from 1 – 2 hectares. The regression analysis showed that marital status, membership of cooperative, amount of loan received and contact with extension agents all significantly impacted positively on adoption at 1% and 5% levels respectively Institutional factors influence adoption more than technical factors thus, it is recommended that appropriate policy packages that will ensure easy access to land, encourage membership of cooperative organizations, improve access to credit and increase extension supervision should be embanked upon. These will enhance technology adoption much more than merely developing technologies and making them available. Journal of Agriculture, Forestry and the Social Sciences Vol. 3 (2) 2005: pp.147-15

Optimum Plans For Oilpalm And Food Crop Combinations In Edo And Delta States Of Nigeria: Application Of Recursive Linear Programming

Intercropping food crops in oil palm plantations is a popular practice among oil palm farmers in Nigeria. However, farmers are not guided by economic rationale for the choice of food crops and oil palm. The study there for generated optimal farm plans in the dynamic decision environment of the farmers using a recursive linear programming model for oil palm/food crops enterprise combinations in Edo and Delta States of Nigeria. The model integrates technical and economic constraints with farmers’ objectives. The seven crop combinations identified were Oil palm/plantain (OP),Oilpalm/cocoyam(OC),Oilpalm/cassava/maize(OCAM),Oilpalm/cassava/cocoyam(OCAC),Oilpalm/p lantain/cocoyam(OPC),Oilpalm/maize/cocoyam(OMC)andOilpalm/plantain/cocoyam /maize (OPCM). Four situations: Resource Endowment of the Farmers (REFs), No Capital Borrowing and No Labour Hiring (NCLH), Labour Hiring (LH), Capital Borrowing and Labour Hiring (CBLH) were the variations in the plans. With the present REFs, optimal farm plan gave a farm income of N89,590 from 1.06 hectares OC with the use of Average Annual Quarterly Labour (AAQL) of 39 mandays and Average Annual CapitalRequirement (AACR) of N67,880. The NCLH gave a total farm income of N77,885.3 from 1.15 hectares in the first year made up of 0.500ha of OC and 0.654ha of OMC using AAQL of 79 mandays and AACR of N150,561.The farm income increased by an average of 69.8% yearly in 5  years. The LH only, gave a total farm income of N423,255.7 from 1.4 hectares made up of 0.43ha of OC and 0.93ha of OMC using AAQL of 75 mandays and AACR of N150,561.The total farm income increased by an average of 69% yearly in 5 years .The CBLH from the first year gave a farm income of N101,335 from 4.06 hectares made up of 1.55 ha of OC and 2.51 ha of OMC using AAQL of 30.73 mandays and AACR of N569,508.The total farm income increased by an average of 112% yearly in 5 years. Oilpalm/cocoyam entered as a basic activity within the 5 years developed plans. Capital borrowing and labour hiring are essential prerequisites for faster acreage development. Consequently, the alternative farm plans developed will incorporate intercropping as an improved substitute to the existing mixed cropping practices. Intercropping of food crops in oil palm is profitable with potentials for growth if land is increased and capital is reinvested

Economic assessment of oil palm projects in Nigeria.

Due to the dramatic increase in the incidence and severity of poverty in Nigeria arising from the dwindling performance of the agricultural sector where a preponderant majority of the poor are employed, the revenue from the farmer’s output is of paramount importance in order to maintain continuous cycle of production. However, this study was designed to economically assess oil palm projects in Nigeria. Secondary data used for this study were collected from Nigerian Institute for Oil Palm Research (NIFOR) and related journals. The data collected were analyzed using discounted cash flow techniques. The result shows that at 32% interest rate NPV was positive (N20,275), IRR was 33% and the BCR was 1.06. The sensitivity analysis revealed that at 5% fall in revenue of the project, the NPV was positive (N1,403) while at 10% fall in revenue, the NPV became negative (N-28,747). Therefore, since price and yield quantity is an important ingredient in determining the revenue from oil palm project, investor has to watch closely these variables that may affect the profitability of the project.Keywords: Oil palm, NPV, IRR, BCR, discount factor

Yield And Rate Of Returns From Soil Fertility Management Practices For Coconut/Food Crop Combinations On Coastal Soils

Intercropping of food crops in coconut palm plantations is a popular practice among coconut palm farmers in Nigeria. However, farmers are not guided by scientific information on the best combination of food crops and coconut palm. This study is designed to determine suitable crop combinations and fertility management practices for productivity and budgetary analysis of coconut-based farming system.The experiments were carried out between 1998 and 2007. The crop combinations tested were coconut/maize/cassava, coconut/cowpea/maize and coconut/maize/cassava/cowpea; and the fertilizer treatment were NPKMg (12:12:17:2) at 500kg/hectare and poultry manure at 2.5 tons/hectare. After 8 years of planting soil pH was fairly stable, while, available P and exchangeable K decreased, with the other cations increasing. This was attributable to preferential uptake of nutrients by the coconut and component crops. Coconut leaf area was increased by the inorganic and organic fertilizer, with the difference between the ‘no fertilizer’ application and application of NPKMg being significant (P < 0.05). Mean number of bunches per palm and number of nuts produced per hectare were not significantly increased by fertilizer treatment. However, there were increases due to crop combination, with combinations that include cowpea giving higher yields(2875 nuts) than those without (2118 nuts). Food crop yields were increased by the inorganic and organic fertilizers. The combination of coconut/maize/cassava/cowpea had the highest return per hectare (N222, 980) while coconut/maize/cassava combination recorded the least returnsper hectare (N26, 300) over the period. Gross margins within each combination were highest with application of NPKMg and lowest with no fertilizer application