Understanding perception and adaptation to climate change among cocoa farmers in tropical condition

No Abstrac

Determinants of profitability of smallholder palm oil processing units in Ogun state, Nigeria.

A total of 70 questionnaires were administered to the palm oil farmers randomly selected from five purposively sampled towns in Ogun state. Selection was based on the predominance of producers in the towns as well as their geographical spread covering the entire land space of the state. The response rate was 95.71 percent. Altogether, data used for final analyses were obtained from 17 manual, 36 semi-mechanized and 14 fully mechanized palm oil processors. Data were analyzed by the use of descriptive statistics, multiple regressions and budgeting. The quantity of input used (palm fruits) and output (palm oil) were measured in kilogramme and litres respectively. Other by-products of processing were measured also in kilogrammes. Averages of market prices for the input and output variables obtained through the consumer panel approach were used in calculating profitability. The profitability analysis revealed that fully mechanized palm oil processing was more profitable than other methods of processing. The F-ratio value is statistically significant (P<0.01) implying that the model is adequate for use in further analysis. The coefficient of determination (R2) was 68%. Extraction cost and cost of palm fruits are negative and significantly associated with net returns, so also depreciation on tools and other fixed inputs. In contrast, no significant relationship was found to exist between net returns and such factors as processing experience and cost of labour. There is the need to improve palm oil processing techniques using mechanized (improved) systems in order to boost profitability among palm oil farmers in the study area and in Nigeria as a whole.Keywords: Oil palm, cost, net return, profitability, mechanized processing

VALUATION OF THE EFFECTS OF VARIATION IN INGREDIENT COMPOSITION ON THE EATING QUALITIES OF SUYA

The semimembranous muscle from singed beef carcass was trimmed of all visible bones and connective tissue. The meat was sliced into thin sheet of 0.15 – 0.3cm thick and between 5.0 – 9.0 cm long. The experiment comprised of five treatments. Treatment one (T1) In served as the control, with all ingredients present while ginger, red pepper, curry and white pepper were absent in T2, T3, T4 and T5 respectively. A total of 30 sticks of suya with an average weight of 34.92 + 5.03gram of meat per stick were prepared for each treatment. The stick meat was properly coated with each respective ingredient mixture. The coated stick meat was roasted on a glowing, smokeless fire for 30 minutes with regular turning of the product. The result of the study showed that the least product yield was recorded where the percent loss was highest (