Economics of Household Demand for African Breadfruit (Treculia Africana) in Owerri Agricultural Zone of IMO STATE, Nigeria

The need to build up the knowledge of the current situation regarding the household demand for African breadfruit (Treculia africana) in Owerri Agricultural Zone of Imo State, Nigeria led to this study. The specific objectives of the study were to determine the household demand for African breadfruit and to estimate price, income and cross-price elasticities of demand for African breadfruit. One hypothesis was tested. Multi-stage random sampling technique was used in selecting sixty (60) households who consume breadfruit who were interviewed with a well structured questionnaire. Data collected were analysed using frequency distribution, percentages and elasticity of demand model. The findings of the study showed that the household demand for breadfruit is very high (63%) in the study area. The mean quantity demanded per month was 7kg (40 cups). Majority of the respondents consume 70% of their harvest. The result of multiple regression analysis showed that increase in household demand and price of substitute will lead to an increase in quantity demanded of African breadfruit. It was recommended that more farmers need to get involved in the production of breadfruit as it is highly demanded for its food and non-food uses

Effect of Land Degradation on Maize Yield in Obudu Local Government Area, Cross River State, Nigeria

This study analysed the effects of land Degradation on maize yield in Obudu Local Government Area (LGA) of Cross River State. The study adopted the use of primary data and the instrument of data collection was a structured questionnaire administered on100 and 60 respondents for maize farmers in degraded and non-degraded lands respectively. The methods of data analysis used were both descriptive and inferential statistics. Descriptive statistics results on socio-economic characteristics shows that majority (67.0%) of the maize farmers were males, married (86.0%) and had mean age of 43.6years. Result on land degradation types revealed erosion (2.27), flooding (2.11) and desertification (2.02) as most common types of land degradation experienced by maize farmers in the study area. Over-grazing (35.0%) and poor farming method (35.0%) were the major causes of land degradation. Independent sample t-test statistic result comparing maize yield of degraded and non-degraded lands indicated a t-calculated value of 13.100 at 0.05 level of significance, implying significant difference in maize output between degraded and non-degraded lands in the study area. The OLS multiple regression model result with linear functional form as best fit equation of factors affecting output of maize, revealed coefficient of multiple determination (R squared) value of 0.840 which is an indication that 84.0% of the variation in maize output cultivated on degraded lands is explained by explanatory variables included in the regression model viz: cost of fertilizer (-0.002) and cost of seed (-0.006), all significant at 5% confidence level. The value of F-statistic (27.535) was significant at 1% significance level which explains that the explanatory variables jointly had effect on maize yield, therefore the null hypothesis was rejected and the alternate hypothesis accepted. The study recommended subsidization of fertilizer and seed cost for sustainability/better yield in maize production

Constraints to Increased Demand for African Breadfruit (Treculia africana) in Owerri Agricultural Zone of Imo State, Nigeria

The study aimed at providing information on the constraints to increased household demand for African Breadfruit (Treculia Africana) in Owerri Agricultural Zone of Imo State, Nigeria. A total of sixty respondents were used for the study. The objectives of the study were to identify the socio-economic characteristics of African breadfruit consumers in the study area, to determine the factors influencing household demand for African breadfruit and to identify the major constraints to increased demand for African breadfruit. One hypothesis was tested. Data was collected using a researcher-designed questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and multiple regression model were used for data analysis. Results showed that the mean age of breadfruit consumers was 42.9 years. Majority of the breadfruit consumers (58%) were civil servants as their major occupation and most (68%) of them engage in farming as their minor occupation. Age, household size, educational level, income level (household income) and price of substitute to breadfruit were significant and directly related to the household demand for African breadfruit. Most of the breadfruit consumers are constrained by much stress in preparing it and seasonality of the produce. It was recommended that youths should explore breadfruit production since majority of the breadfruit consumers fall within the active proportion of the labour force. Keywords: Constraints, household demand, African breadfrui

The Role of the Agricultural Economist in Agricultural Adaptation to Climate Change in the Oil Palm Industry in the Southern Nigeria

When human activities which cause climate change raise threats to the environment, the Agricultural Economist who is also a policy maker should take careful measures even if some cause and effect relationships are not established. The vulnerability of Nigerian Agricultural sector to climate change is of particular interest to policy makers in the economy accounting for higher percentage of the labour force. There are many adaptation options which can be adopted by farmers at low cost but proper estimates of adaptation cost and benefits are currently deficient due to the involvement of wrong climate change actors. As is the case with making an economic decision, the astute response by an Agricultural Economist will depend on equating and or comparing benefits and cost. When the expected benefits of adaptation are positive, the rational decision maker (the Oil Palm farmer) will take adaptive actions. Policy options in particular must become available. Climate change will almost surely make life even harder for the world’s poorest and most vulnerable Oil Palm farmer. An Agricultural Economist must play his role in reducing the society’s vulnerability to losses from climate change and avoid restricting farmers’ capacity to adapt by limiting their options. The devastating effects of climate change and the need for an integrated response requires resilient and adaptive institutions and exemplary actors like the Agricultural Economist to lead the process towards creating an enabling environment for adaptation to climate change. This paper described the potential role the Agricultural Economist can play in climate change adaptation, in the Oil Palm industry and aims to address the question: what policy and institutional changes are needed to encourage agricultural adaptation strategies/ practices to develop the industry and the nation as a whole. The paper concluded that advances in understanding of climate change adaptation can come from collection of better data, development of new methods and models, observation of changes in climate and its effects, by an Agricultural Economist in order to accommodate new dimensions brought about by climate change

The Pattern of Admissions in the Medical Wards of Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital (NAUTH) Nnewi

Objective: To determine the pattern of admissions in the adult medical wards of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital (NAUTH) Nnewi from December 1990 to December 1992 with particular focus on age, sex ratio, prevalence of local illnesses and duration of sojourn in hospital. Method: A retrospective analysis was done using the admissions register and folders of patients seen during the period. Results have been presented in tables and histograms. Results: The mean age at admission was 39 years, while 14.4% of cases were in the age group of 41 – 50 years and 61 – 70 years. Diabetes was the commonest indication for admission followed by congestive cardiac failure. The mean duration of sojourn in hospital was 12 days, while most (20.8%) cases were admitted for 11 –15 days followed by 20.3% of cases for 6 – 10 days. Despite the fact that the analysis spanned for only 2 years compared with longer duration in other studies, our findings were similar to those from other centres. Conclusion: In Nnewi, South-East of Nigeria, almost half (46.9%) of all medical admissions were due to chronic medical illnesses namely Diabetes, CCF, hypertension and CVA. This may reflect the fact that most cases of infections are treated at the primary and secondary care levels. Key Words: Medical Admission, Diseases Pattern, Age and Sex Distribution Orient Journal of Medicine Vol.16(1) 2004: 11-1

Effect of project work on secondary school students science process skill acquisition in biology

The study investigated the effect of students’ project work on secondary school science process skills acquisition in Biology. The study was carried out in Owerri North Local Government Area of Imo State. Three research questions guided the study and three null hypotheses were postulated and tested at 0.05 level of significance. The design of the study was quasi experimental design; specifically pre-test-post-test non-equivalent control group design. The sample consisted of one hundred and thirty four (134) SSII biology students. A Science Process Skill Acquisition Test (SPSAT) was used for Data Collection. The instrument was validated by experts and the reliability co-efficient obtained was 0.87 using the test-retest method in conjunction with the Pearson Product Moment Correlation analysis. The data collected were analyzed using mean and standard deviation for the research questions and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) at 0.05 level of significance for the hypotheses. The results revealed that students’ project work had a significant effect on science process skill acquisition in biology. It also revealed that Gender was not a significant factor in students’ science process skill acquisition in biology. Based on the findings of this study, it was recommended among others that workshops and conferences should be organized to update the teachers’ knowledge on the use of students project work as an instructional strategy for enhancement of students’ acquisition of science process skills in biology.Keywords: Project work, science process skill acquisition, gende