An estimation of the willingness to pay for improved water and sanitation services among rural farming households - A case study of Ijebu East Local Government Area, Ogun State

A study was carried out in Ijebu East Local Government Area (LGA) of Ogun State to investigate the willingness to pay for improved water and  sanitation services among rural households. This was done against the backdrop that findings suggested that households in rural areas were behind in terms of these services and as a result would be defeating one of the goals of the MDGs. Both willingness to pay (WTP) and actual ability to pay (AATP) was estimated for the households selected in the rural areas of this LGA. Findings from the research showed that for both options of payment for water and sanitation services, the ATP was less than WTPwhich is an indication of the fact that there was no reluctance on the part of the respondents to pay for the services. The probit regression model  showed the factors that determine the willingness of rural households topay for better access to potable water. Household monthly income,  awareness of health implication of unsafe drinking water and sex of  household head were found to significantly influence household’s  willingness to pay for better access to potable water. Also, the factors that determine the willingness of rural households to pay for improved toilet or sanitary service included household monthly income, awareness of health implication of poor toilet facility, sex of the household head, education of household head, as well as the presence of unmarried daughters above 18years of age which were found to significantly influence household’s willingness to pay for improved toilet facility in both village settlements.Key words: Willingness-to-pay; actual ability-to-pay; sanitation service

Farmers’ perception of the effect of climate change on yam production in Kajola local government area of Oyo state, Nigeria

The study was carried out in Kajola Local Government Area of Oyo State. Simple random sampling technique was used to select 100 yam farmers from the list of registered yam farmers in the local government area. Data generated were presented using frequency tables and percentages. Majority (63.0%) of the respondents were between 31-40 years, a large proportion had no formal education and are predominantly (75%) married and many (64%) has been in yam production for 5-15 years. Respondents were aware of the general decrease in yearly amount of rainfall (83.0%), reduction in rainfall days (77.0 %), decrease possibility of loss of soil nutrients (66.0), increased frequency of drought in recent decades (71.0%) and increased intensity of drought in recent decades (67.0%). A large number of respondents (91.0%, 92.0%, and 87.0%) respectively identified seasonal flooding, leaching of soil, fertility and high intensity of sunlight were severe constraints posed by climatic variation on yam production. Most (67.0%) strongly agreed that the common occurrence of flood in recent times reduces the qualitative and quantitative production of yam. Also 50.0% of respondents strongly agreed that the rising sunlight intensity has an indirect effect on yam production since it reduces labour availability. Majority (63.0%) reported that unpredictable nature of the sun intensity, temperature, rainfall and relative humility negatively affect yam production. Sixty three percent of the respondents had favourable perception of climate change towards their yam production while thirty seven percent of the respondents did not have favourable perception. The study concludes that respondents in the study area had favourable perception of climate change and recommends that enabling environment should be provided by the government and NGOs for their extension agent to take advantage of respondents’ favourable perception in packaging and implementation of adaptation strategies that yam farmers in the study area will adopt to checkmate adverse effects of climate change in order to boost their productivity.Key words: Climate Change, Yams, Kajola, Flooding

Socio-Economics and Marketing of Chewing Stick in Ogbomoso Metropolis of Oyo State, Nigeria

The study assessed trade in chewing stick in Ogbomoso metropolis of Oyo state with a view to identifying and describing the socio-economic characteristics of the chewing stick wholesalers and retailers, identifying and describing the channels of distribution, determiniming the cost and returns structure in chewing stick trade as well as identifying the major problems facing trade in chewing sticks. Purposive random sampling was employed for the selection of one hundred (100) marketers who were interviewed with semi-structured questionnaires to obtain data on their socio-demographic characteristics, years of experience in the business, costs and revenues. Data generated were analyzed using simple descriptive statistical techniques such as frequency distributions, percentages, cross tabulations, marketing margin and correlation analysis. The result shows that 38.2% of the chewing stick Marketers falls within age of 31-46years and 16-30 (35.3%) with females constituting as much as 60%. A greater part (80%) of the respondents was married, with majority (52%) of them having a household size of 1-5 persons. More than half (55.4%) of the respondents have primary school leaving certificates while 35.3% have secondary education. The Marketers have trading experience ranging between 1 to 5 years (52.9%), 6 to 10 years (35.55%) and 11 to 15 years (11.8%). The study concludes that chewing stick trade is a major means of livelihood in Ogbomoso metropolis, providing income for the sustenance of persons engaged in it and their dependants. As a Non-Timber Forest Product collected from the wild; urgent steps need to be taken for its domestication and cultivation to avoid untimely extinction of the source of livelihood of these respondents and their dependants.Keywords: Non-Timber Forest Products, Chewing stick, Marketing, Channels of distribution, Gender