Effects of trust fund model credit intervention on welfare of farmers’ households in Oyo State

Over the years, successive governments in Nigeria prioritized agricultural sector in credit policies by establishing numerous agricultural credit programmes including Trust Fund Model (TFM). Several years on, TFM production cycles have been  completed and its benefits on welfare of farmers is expected to be obvious. This  study therefore investigated the effects of TFM on farmers’ households’ welfare in Oyo state. Simple random sampling was used to sample 40% of the beneficiaries  resulting in selection of 134 beneficiaries. Using interview schedule, data was  collected on beneficiaries’ socioeconomic characteristics, level of awareness of the  TFM components, constraints in accessing TFM funds and beneficiaries’ households’ welfare status. Data were analysed using descriptive (frequency, percentages and  mean) and inferential (Chi square and PPMC) statistics at p=0.05. Results reveal  that beneficiaries were aged 53±11.0 years, mostly male (85.2%), married (95.1%) and with household size of 6±3.0 persons. Amount of TFM funds received by  beneficiaries was N295,655±154,149. Less than half (41.8%) of the respondents  were highly aware of the components of TFM and were severely constrained by delay in processing of Interest Draw Back (0.74±0.88) and in release of disbursed funds  (0.71±0.77). Per Capita Expenditures (PCE) of N504, 816±420,330.00k suggest  that 63.9% of the respondents belonged to core poor category. It is concluded that  the TFM had not impacted positively on the beneficiaries. It is therefore  recommended that the administrative bottlenecks associated with fund release and  processing of interest drawback be addressed. Also, amount loanable should be  increased, while condition of collateral counterpart funding be relaxed.Keywords: Agricultural credit, Per capital expenditure, Core poor, Household welfar

Yield differentials among participating and non-participating rice farmers in public/private partnership in Benue and Ogun states, Nigeria

The shortfall in domestic rice production in Nigeria has been attributed to inadequate provision of productivity-enhancing agricultural support services to rice farmers. Input supply and guaranteed market that entrenched the shortfall are the focus of the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement in rice production. The extent to which this has impacted on rice production was investigated in this study. Respondents totaling 235 from two rice producing states in Nigeria were purposively sampled. The respondents were further grouped into two, namely: participating farmers (PFs) and non-participating farmers (NPFs). Data relating to preferred sources of market information, perception on enabling policy environment for PPP to thrive, level of access to agricultural support services, and yield from rice production were obtained from the respondents. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, multiple regression analysis and chow test at a0.05. The results show that both PFs and NPFs still relied on traditional sources to access market information. PFs had higher access to improved rice varieties, guaranteed market and extension services delivery than NPFs. The results of chow test show that the impacts of the explanatory variables were not the same across the two groups. Quantity of seeds and farm size contributed to reduction in quantum of yield gap for PFs, while farmers' age, access and timeliness of agricultural support services provision were for NPFs. Participating farmers had higher crop yield than nonparticipating farmers. Adequate supply of seeds aided the yield of participating farmers. Nonparticipating farmers had to utilize more quantity of fertilizers to have appreciable yield.Keywords: Agricultural support services, Yield differentials, Rice production, Public private partnershi

Burden of care and the body mass index of informal caregivers of haemodialysis patients in South-West, Nigeria

Introduction:Hemodialysis being a cost intensiveprocedure demanding so much from patient and their caregivers, most studies had focused on the burden of caregiving among formal and informal caregivers, but very little is known about relation between caregiving burden and lifestyle factors. The study aimed at examining the relationship between informal caregiving burden and body mass index (BMI) of caregivers.Materials and Methods: This was a descriptive quantitative cross-sectional study involving 204informal caregivers of haemodialysis patients from four dialysis centres in Lagos. Self-administered Structured questionnaire were distributed to collect information on socio-demographic data. Laboratory investigation were done to obtain information on hematological characteristics and urine profile. Anthropometric measurement was taken using stadiometer, weighing scale and sphygmomanometer. The BMI was calculated using weight/square of height. Caregiving burden was evaluated using the Zarith Caregiver Burden Instrument (ZBI). Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 23, descriptive statistics were presented in tables and charts, inferential statistic were tested with Chi-square at a significant level of p ≤ 0.05.Results: Mean age of the study population was 39.82 ± 5.63years (ranged 15 – 65) with 56.9% being females. Overall, 11.3% were obese, with a higher population among female respondents (6.9% vs 4.4%, P>0.05). Findings indicated that level of burden experienced by caregivers in each centre does not show much difference. More than half, (88.7%) of informal caregivers of haemodialysis patients irrespective of location of care, experienced moderate caregiving burden. There was also no significant association between BMI and burden of care (X2 = 6.30, P>0.05).Conclusion: Burden was associated with caring for haemodialysis patients but doesn't have a significant association with their BMI (obesity and overweight). Awareness programme is recommended on the implication of normal BMI on state of health of informal caregivers