Entrepreneurs Response to the 2020 Pandemic: Impact on Business Activities of SMEs in Lagos State.

Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) have always been faced with various challenges in their journey to attain success. Researchers have identified these challenges to include inadequate funding, inadequate information management and recording keeping, poor infrastructure, lack of managerial skills and many others. With the 2020 pandemic, SMEs had to encounter a new set challenges that seems to threaten the very existence/sustenance of the enterprises. The 2020 pandemic came with attendant negative consequences on both human lives as well as the institutional structures and systems that have been put in place for the functioning of the economy. This study set out to examine the immediate and far-reaching impact that 2020 pandemic had on the activities of SMEs and also measures that could be put in place for the continuous survival of SMEs being the engine and catalyst of growth and development of economies of many countries. The research design for the study is Survey. To guide the study four research questions and three hypotheses were generated. The sample for the study were 101 SMEs located within the Lagos State Metropolis. The instrument for data collection is a questionnaire titled, “Questionnaire on Entrepreneurs Response to Pandemic 2020: Impact on Business Activities of SMEs in Lagos State” which had a Cronbach Alpha coefficient value of 0.60. Data collected from the study was analysed using regression statistical tool on the SPSS version 20. The result from the study revealed that entrepreneurs’ response to 2020 pandemic significantly impacted the product/service package cycle, patronage, profitability and innovative tendency of SMEs. It is recommended that all efforts be geared towards creating an enabling environment for the sustainability of entrepreneurial activities of SMEs in the state as they have been identified as the engine of growth and development of all economies

Adaptation Strategies to Climate Change by Food Crop Farmers in Oke-Ogun Area of South Western Nigeria

The study examined the adaptation strategies to climate change in Oke Ogun Area of South Western Nigeria. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select two of the ten local government areas in the area, two wards in each LGA,6 communities in each ward, from which a total of 160 out of 800 food crop farmers were randomly sampled. Data were subjected to statistical analysis using frequency counts and percentages. Pearson product moment correlation (PPMC) and chi-square were used to determine the relationship between variables. Majority of the respondents were males (77.5%), having low level of education (68.7%). Also, majority were aged 41 to 60 years, with farming experience ranging from 11 to 50 years (59.3%). Majority (90% and 58.8%) of respondents had access to credit facilities and extension contacts respectively. Majority (60%) of the respondents had an unfavourable perception of climate change effects. Ninety nine percent of the respondents practised multiple cropping under dry land and crop rotation, while 10.6% adopted agricultural insurance as parts of their adaptation strategies to climate change. Crop rotation (mean = 2.77). Invasion of cattle and herdsmen (mean = 2.50) inadequate supply of agricultural inputs (mean = 2.41) and lack of access to credit facilities (mean = 2.33) were the important constraints to farmers adaptation strategies. Inputs supply to the local farmers should also come with government subsidy. This will go a long way in alleviating the sufferings of the farmers, as regards inadequate supply and delivery of agricultural inputs

Adaptation Strategies to Climate Change by Food Crop Farmers in Oke-Ogun Area of South Western Nigeria

The study examined the adaptation strategies to climate change in Oke Ogun Area of South Western Nigeria. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select two of the ten local government areas in the area, two wards in each LGA,6 communities in each ward, from which a total of 160 out of 800 food crop farmers were randomly sampled. Data were subjected to statistical analysis using frequency counts and percentages. Pearson product moment correlation (PPMC) and chi-square were used to determine the relationship between variables. Majority of the respondents were males (77.5%), having low level of education (68.7%). Also, majority were aged 41 to 60 years, with farming experience ranging from 11 to 50 years (59.3%). Majority (90% and 58.8%) of respondents had access to credit facilities and extension contacts respectively. Majority (60%) of the respondents had an unfavourable perception of climate change effects. Ninety nine percent of the respondents practised multiple cropping under dry land and crop rotation, while 10.6% adopted agricultural insurance as parts of their adaptation strategies to climate change. Crop rotation (mean = 2.77). Invasion of cattle and herdsmen (mean = 2.50) inadequate supply of agricultural inputs (mean = 2.41) and lack of access to credit facilities (mean = 2.33) were the important constraints to farmers adaptation strategies. Inputs supply to the local farmers should also come with government subsidy. This will go a long way in alleviating the sufferings of the farmers, as regards inadequate supply and delivery of agricultural inputs

Growth Performance And Nutrient Utilization Of Clarias Gariepinus (Burchell) Fry Fed Processed Sweet Potato (Ipomea Batata)

Maize is an expensive energy source for feedstuff in fish management especially during the offseason, hence the need to source and utilize other cheaper, and non–conventional energy sources. This study investigated the growth performance of Clarias Gariepinus fry fed processed sweet potato meal as an energy source and its effect on the hematological values. Three experimental diets were compounded such that maize was 100% energy source in Diet 1 (Control). In diets 2 and 3, maize was replaced with sweet potato tuber (SPT) and sweet potato peel (SPP), respectively at 25% inclusion level. The diets were fed at 5% body weight to the C. Gariepinus fry (0.21 ±0.03) in polystyrene net cages suspended in 3 concrete tanks (2x3x1.2) m3 for 42 days in triplicates. Growth, nutrient utilization and hematological parameters were measured. The Mean Weight Gain (MWG) of the fry fed the maize based diet (1.96) was significantly higher (p< 0.05) than the fry fed SPT (1.37) and SPP (1.27) respectively. The MWG of fry fed diets 2 and 3 were not significantly different from each other. The FCR of the control and the SPT based diets were not significantly different from each other but both were significantly different (

Agricultural Academy

This paper seeks to promote sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas L. (Lam) through the diversification of its use in the Nigerian food industry. Sweetpotato was cultivated in few areas by farmers in Nigeria before the recent increase and spread in the last decade, and its use is limited to boiling, roasting and frying. The processing of sweetpotato, as highlighted in this paper, has the potential of making a significant impact on the economy. This is because processing offers the possibility of better storage, added value, lower transportation cost and new markets in the food, feed, and industrial sectors. It will facilitate the marketing of this crop, increase productivity and improve the standard of living by providing income for farmers. The use of sweetpotato in livestock feed will help to improve livestock nutrition and lead to cheaper meat production. Sweetpotato therefore, can play a major role as a food reserve for many rural and urban households, due to diversified usage. Recommendations include identifying and breeding the varieties that will be suitable for different end products so as to enhance its production. There is also the need to determine how the different varieties can be made available all year round by establishing multiplication sites. Industries or entrepreneurs who will be ready to buy must also be identified, for promotion of commercial production. Technical advice must also be provided so as to improve yields

Comparative analysis of rural households' wellbeing in selected states of the Niger Delta zone of Nigeria

The wellbeing of a household is determined by the level of utility accessed by individual members of that household. This study examined the level of household wellbeing in rural communities of selected Niger Delta states. Multistage sampling procedure was used to select respondents for the study. A total of 454 respondents were selected from the four sampled local government areas of Akwa Ibom (Ibeno and Ibesikpo Asutan) and Abia state (Ukwa west and Ikwuano) oil and non oil communities. Quantitative data was collected using interview schedule, while qualitative data was collected through focus group discussions and in-depth interviews. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. About 37.4 (OPC) and 26.8% (NOPC) households always had access to material living conditions, while access to quality of life were 46.6 (OPC) and 38.9% (NOPC. Most severe constraint faced by households in OPC was poor access to poverty alleviation programmes (422), and unavailability of credit in NOPC (483). The result also indicated that majority of the households in both communities had low levels of wellbeing and consequently fell below the community poverty line. The study recommends that efforts to improve household wellbeing in the study area should focus on improving agricultural activities as it was discovered that these activities were still the dominant livelihood activities in the communities. These farm activities form the base for household food supply, capital for other livelihood activities and overall wellbeing

Medicinal use, spatial distribution, DBH, ethnobotanical importance, trees

A study was conducted to survey trees ofethnobotanical importance in theUniversity of Ibadan Campus, Nigeria.Total enumeration of trees with diameter≥10cm at breast height (DBH) was done.DBH and total height of the trees weremeasured while GPS was used to recordthe location of the trees to map theirdistribution. Nearest neighbour analysiswas used to determine the spatialdistribution pattern of the trees. Treeidentification was done by a taxonomistwhile the medicinal values of the plantswere acquired through oral interview ofindigenous respondents and herbalpractitioners within and outside theUniversity community and ethnobotanists.Results showed that there was atotal of 54 species belonging to 25families. Mangifera indica was the most(21.60%) recorded while Terminaliasuperba had the highest mean tree heightof 29.8 m. The largest mean DBH (133.3cm) was observed in Adansonia digitata.The spatial distribution pattern of trees ofethnobotanical importance was clustered(Z=-26.25; p&lt;0.05). The study revealsthat leaves and barks were the parts of theplants that are mostly used to cureailments. The study recommended that thetrees should be domesticated