Entrepreneurial Potentials of Insect Farming in Nigeria

Insects provide a wild variety of uses and benefits ranging from Agriculture to medicine, industries and research. They have been reared for food, feed, silk production and dye making. Recently, a lot attention has been drawn worldwide to the usefulness of insect in the food and feed industry because of their high nutrition contents and environmental sustainability. For these reasons, a lot of insect based entrepreneurs have sprung up in Africa in response to this development, but in Nigeria only few entrepreneurs are interested in engaging in insect farming due to information gap. This research aims to bridge the gap by identifying species of insects that can be farmed, for what purpose they are farmed, potentials embedded in insect product development, and  factors affecting edible insect entrepreneurs in Nigeria. Data were sourced by querying many research databases  outlets such as science direct, researchgates, google scholar, Ajol and so on. This research identifies palm weevil, crickets, grasshopper and pallid emperor moth as insect  that can be farmed with  high demand as food in Nigeria.  The maggot of housefly and Black soldier fly  are recommended for animal feed and silk warm for textile industry. The review recommends that  the government should encourage insect entrepreneurs in Nigeria through training and improve extension services. Keywords: Agribusiness; Entomophagy; Insects farming systems; Insect value chain. DOI: 10.7176/JNSR/9-9-07 Publication date:May 31st 201

The Influence of Marketing Public Relations in the Redemption of a Product’s Battered Image: A Study of Indomie Noodles Crisis

Crisis is a phenomenon that has affected many products, individuals and even corporate establishments. Some products survive the crisis while others are pushed off the market place. It becomes necessary therefore to nosedive into how companies can effectively manage product crisis to retain share of the market. This study therefore examines the significance of Marketing Public Relations in the redemption of a product’s battered image; a study of the killer Indomie Noodles scare. The survey method was used. 160 copies of questionnaires were distributed to two study population namely; Secondary School students and Mothers. Also, a semi structured interview guide was used to elicit information from industry correspondents in the print and broadcast media and also for the media executive of the public relations company that handled De-United Foods Limited’s crisis. Data obtained were analyzed using several analytical techniques to examine relationship among variables under investigation. Findings from the research work revealed that sales dropped significantly during the Killer indomie scare. It was discovered that the inability of De-united Foods Industries Limited to act promptly by coming up with appropriate clarifications allowed the crisis to thrive. Based on findings obtained from the study, the researcher therefore recommends that companies should act promptly and be 100% open to the media and the general public during crisis period

Consumers’ awareness towards organic rice in Malaysia

Not many attempts have been made in previous studies to understand consumers’ sociodemographic characteristics and their awareness towards organic rice. Knowledge towards organic rice among consumers is fundamental to induce demand and market for organic rice. This study seeks to understand consumers’ awareness towards organic rice in Malaysia. The survey is exploratory in nature and was conducted at major supermarkets in Klang Valley. Data were analysed using descriptive analysis and chi-square analysis using cross-classification techniques, and correlation to determine their relationship, strength and direction of their relationship. The findings showed majority of the respondents (85.6%) have some level of awareness towards organic rice, while only 64.7% planned to consume organic rice in the future. This indicates that awareness of consumers towards organic rice does not necessarily translate to their planning to consume organic rice. Thus, achieving awareness and understanding the linkage between awareness and consumption is fundamental to impacting demand and market for organic rice. The study also showed that the younger respondents have more concern towards organic rice. These findings if well responded to, would definitely have positive implications for the Malaysian organic rice industry

EVALUATION OF THE QUALITY CHARACTERISTICS OF COCOA BEAN DRIED USING DIFFERENT DRYING TECHNIQUES

Processing techniques, particularly drying because cocoa beans are extremely sensitive to moisture, have a significant impact on the quality of the final product. Fermented cocoa beans were dried using the NSPRI parabolic solar tent dryer (PSTD), wooden solar dryer (WSD), and open-air drying (OAD). The dried cocoa beans’ respective moisture contents (MCs) for PSTD, WSD, and OAD were 5.94%, 6.01%, and 6.82%, respectively. The corresponding MCs for the dried cocoa beans from PSTD, WSD, and OAD were 5.94%, 6.01%, and 6.82, respectively. It was found that the cut test scores for PSTD, WSD, and OAD were 1000, 985, and 965, respectively. This showed that, in contrast to those from WSD and OAD, the dried cocoa beans obtained from PSTD were fully brown. For WSD, OAD, and PSTD, respectively, the obtained pH values were 5.60, 5.65, and 5.80, and the total titratable acidity was 11.70 meq NaOH 100–1 g, 14.10 meq NaOH 100–1 g, and 18.30 meq NaOH 100–1 g for PSTD, WSD, and OAD, respectively. Food products’ shelf life may be indicated by the titratable acidity value. Due to its enclosed design, the NSPRI PSTD has an advantage over other drying methods because it completely eliminates the possibility of external and microbial contamination of the cocoa beans

Technical Efficiency Measurement among Maize Farmers in Kogi State, Nigeria

The study focused on the technical efficiency among maize farmers in Kogi State, Nigeria. The data for the study were collected from 400 maize farmers by a multistage random sampling technique through a questionnaire. The data were analyzed through the use of simple descriptive statistics and Cobb-Douglas stochastic production function. The result of the study showed that majority of maize farmers were males, married with an average household size of nine (9) persons. Their average age was 49 years, having one level of education or the other. They operated on small scale and had more than six (6) years of farming experience. Land, seed, fertilizer and labour were significantly and positively related to maize output while age, education, accessibility to credit facilities, cooperative membership and farming experience were the significant determinant of technical efficiency in the study area. It is suggested that Government, non-governmental organization and community based organization and the farmers themselves should come up with programmes and policies that will facilitate technical efficiency in the study area. Keywords: Maize, Farmers, Efficiency, Kogi, Nigeria

An Enhanced Multi-Level Authentication Electronic Voting System

Originally, manual voting systems are surrounded with issues like results manipulation, errors and long result computation time, ineligible voters, void votes among others. Electronic voting system helped in overcoming the challenges with manual voting system, to engendered other problems of phishing, men in the middle attack alongside voter’s impersonation. By these challenges, the integrity of an election results in a distributed system has become another top concern for e-voting system based on reliability. To achieve an improved voters’ authentication and result validation with excellent user experience, here, a Facial Recognition Electronic Voting System that is power-driven by Blockchain Technology was developed. The entire election engineering activities are decentralised with improved security features to enhance transparency, verifiability, and accountability for each vote count. The self-service voting system was built by smart contract and implemented on the Ethereum network. The obtained reports and evaluations reflected a non-editable and self-sufficiently certifiable system for voting. It also has a competitive edge over fingerprint enabled e-voting system. Aside it’s excellent usability and general acceptance, the developed method discarded to a larger extend, intended fraudulent actions from election activities by eliminating the involvement of a middleman while facilitating privacy, convenience, eligibility and satisfactory voters’ righ

Hydrocarbon Play Assessment of “Oswil” Field,Onshore Niger Delta Region

Hydrocarbon play assessment of any field involves the evaluation of the production capacity of hydrocarbon reservoir unit in the field. This involves detail study of the reservoir petrophysical properties and geological interpretation of structures suitable for hydrocarbon accumulation in the field as observed from seismic reflection images. This study details the assessment of hydrocarbon play in OSWIL field onshore in Niger Delta, with the intent of appraising its productivity using a combination of seismic, well logs,petrophysical parameters and volumetric estimation using proven techniques which involves an integrated methodology. Two reservoir windows “R1” and “R2” were defined from five wells OSWIL-02, 04, 06, 07 and 12.The top and base of each reservoir window was delineated from the wells.Structural interpretation for inline 6975 revealed two horizons (X and Y) and eight faults labelled (F1, F2, F6, F8, F10, F16, F17 and F18). Five faults (F1, F6, F10, F17 and F18) were identified as synthetic faults and dip basin wards while three faults (F2, F8 and F16) were identified as antithetic faults and dips landwards. Time-depth structural map at top of reservoirs R1 and R2 revealed structural highs and closures. These observations are characteristics of growth structures (faults) which depicts the tectonic style of the Niger Delta. Results of petrophysical evaluation for reservoirs “R1” and “R2” across the five wells were analysed. For reservoir “R1” effective porosity values of 27%, 26%, 23%, 20% and 22% were obtained for wells OSWIL-04, 12, 07, 06 and 02 respectively with an average of 23.6%, while for reservoir “R2” effective porosity values of 26%, 22%, 21%, 24% and 23% for wells OSWIL-04, 12, 07, 06 and 02 were obtained respectively with an average of 23.2%. This porosity values correspond with the already established porosity range of 28-32% within the Agbada formation of the Niger Delta. Permeability index of the order (K > 100mD) were obtained for both reservoirs across the five wells and is rated very good. Hydrocarbon saturation (Shc) across the five wells averages at 61.6% for reservoir “R1” and 67.4% for reservoir “R2”. Result of petrophysical model for porosity, permeability and water saturation reveal that the reservoir system in R1 and R2 is fault assisted and fluid flow within both reservoirs is aided by presence of effective porosity and faulting. Volumetric estimation for both reservoirs showed that reservoir R1 contains an estimate of 455 × 106 STB of hydrocarbon in place, while reservoir R2 contains an estimate of 683 ×106 STB of hydrocarbon in place. These findings impact positively on hydrocarbon production in the field and affirm that the two reservoirs R1 and R2 are highly prospective

Women’s perception on rights during pregnancy and childbirth

Background: The Nigerian health system as a whole has been plagued by problems associated with the quality of service, including but not limited to unfriendly staff attitudes to patients, inadequate skills, decaying infrastructures, and chronic shortages of essential drugs. Approximately two-thirds of all Nigerian women deliver outside of health facilities and without the presence of medically skilled attendants.  The study was carried out to assess the awareness and knowledge of women regarding their rights during pregnancy and childbirth, and to explore the extent to which women’s rights were respected during pregnancy and childbirth.Methods: This descriptive study was conducted among randomly selected 140 women at Mother and Child Hospital, Akure, Ondo state, Nigeria. Data was collected with a pretested questionnaire and was analysed using Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21.Results: Findings revealed that majority (76.9%) of the women had a fair knowledge of their rights in pregnancy and childbirth, with the source of knowledge majorly from their friends. Right to information, informed consent and refusal, even distribution of healthcare services, maintenance of attainable level of health regarding proper monitoring were fairly observed by the health care providers. Right of women against verbal and physical abuse, privacy, treatment with dignity and respect were least accorded to women.Conclusions: Respective Maternity Care remains a challenge that demands policy interventions in most public health facilities to enhance positive endorsement and utilisation of maternal and health care services

Leadership, Corporate Governance and Entrepreneurship Development in Nigeria:A Mutual Link

The study empirically examined the mutual link between Leadership, Corporate Governance and Entrepreneurship development in Nigeria using primary data by employing structure questionnaires to obtain information from the respondents in Lagos State as a population representative. In this research questionnaire were analyzed and interpreted using simple percentage table for tabular analysis and Spearman’s Rank Correlation Coefficient for the testing of the formulated hypotheses so as to know more about the topic understudy. It was proved in the research carried out that, effective leadership and good corporate governance determines the success of an organization. In the analysis, corporate governance policy has really helped Nigerian entrepreneur to grow financially. Also, effective leadership and good corporate governance was seen as a solution tools for global financial crises. We therefore recommend that, effective leadership and good corporate governance remains a solution tool for global financial crises, organizational problems and the right policy that enhances increased productivity that brings about economic growth and development globally. Key Words: Leadership, Governance and Productivity

Assessment of Geologic Controls of Flooding in Parts of OBIO/AKPOR L.G.A., Rivers State, Nigeria

Flooding of Municipal areas is a frequent environmental occurrence in Rivers State that occurs when rainfall runoff meets land surfaces with low water absorbing capacity or when it overwhelms drainage channels. In order to assess the flood situation in the study area, an integrated method which involves field-measurement, geographic information system (GIS),laboratory analysis of soil samples and topographic studies were employed.Digital elevation model of the study area reveals that the flooded areas are situated in areas with elevations lower than its surrounding, thereby acting as a natural basin to retain flood waters after rainfall.Four holes were drilled to depth of 3 m to obtain soil samples at 1 m sampling interval, from which laboratory analysis was carried out to determine some geotechnical parameters such as soil’s particle size, specific gravity, bulk density,porosity,moisture content, permeability and hydraulic conductivity. Results of the analysis show that permeability,hydraulic conductivity and porosity diminishes with respect to depth. The soil in the flooded areas have high fines content (silt and clay), high bulk density which increase with depth and a specific gravity that is typical of organic rich soils that contain sand mixed with a considerable amount of fines. At Nkpolu, mean permeability rates of 0.003 cm/sec, 0.009 cm/sec and 0.033 cm/sec were obtained at 1, 2 and 3 m respectively. At Eneka, mean permeability rates of 0.011 cm/sec,0.018 cm/sec and 0.014 cm/sec were obtained at 1, 2 and 3m respectively,while at Rukpokwu, mean Permeability rates of 0.021 cm/sec was obtained at 1 m, while 0.006 cm/sec was obtained at 2 and 3 m respectively. The mean hydraulic conductivity for the locations under study is of the order of 10-4 ft/day. This study has shown that the flooded areas are located in low lying urban areas which act as basins, therefore, the top soil is crusted with highly compacted soil horizons beneath. With high and frequent rainfall in the region which generates a lot of runoff, in addition to poor drainage system, flooding in the study area occurs frequently.Therefore,construction and maintenance of efficient drainage channels for an effective solution to urban pluvial flooding in the study area are thereby recommended