Determinants of adoption and use-intensity of soil and water conservation practices among smallholder farmers in Nigeria

Smallholder farmers are faced with myriads of soil and water related issues in production, which makes them vulnerable to land degradation and low productivity. Land resource degradation remains a major threat to food security leading to persistent poverty among the agrarian and urban populace. Therefore, there is need for appropriate interventions such as improved soil and ground water conservation (SWC) practice. This study examined the dynamics influencing the use and extent of use of SWC practices among smallholder farmers in Nigeria with particular reference to Osun State. The sampling technique used involved random selection in many stages to select the representative sample of 240 respondents. Data collected through primary source included: farmers’ socio-economic attributes, farm level characteristics as well as the use of SWC practices in the study area. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, binary probit and negative binomial regression models. Findings from the count of SWC practices revealed that on the average, most farmers use at least one SWC practice. The results also indicated that fairly aged farmers were the set of people in the study area who adopted between 2 to 3 different SWC practices. Estimation of binary probit and its marginal effects at the means (MEMs) revealed that age of the farmers (p<0.01), gender (p<0.01), years of formal education (p<0.01) and farm size under cultivation (p<0.1) were significant determinants of SWC practices adoption. Similarly, the count model estimates revealed that age of the farmer (p<0.01), gender (p<0.01) and the size of farmland put under cultivation (p<0.05) significantly determined the log counts of SWC practices adopted by smallholder farmers in the study area. However, the test of overdispersion parameter showed that the model fits well. Therefore, there is need for massive campaign by the institutional establishments saddled with agricultural development policies on the need for SWC farming practices, so that the resource-poor farmers can have remunerative livelihoods in Nigeria.Keywords: Adoption, binary probit, conservation, negative binomial model, smallholders, NigeriaAfr. J. Food Agric. Nutr. Dev. 2019; 19(3): 14571-1458

An Empirical Analysis of Climate Change Effects on Selected Cereals Acreage in Nigeria: A Ricardian Approach

This study examined the relationship between the acreage of selected cereal crops and climate variables for the period 1995 – 2021 in Nigeria. The study was based on maize, rice, millet and guinea corn for all the states in Nigeria for the period of study. Data for acreage of selected cereal crops for all the time period were collected from the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics (N.B.S) while data on the two important climate variables required for crop growth – temperature and precipitation – used for the analysis were obtained from the Nigerian Metrological Agency. The results indicated positive response of the acreage of the cereal crops to increase in temperature which is possibly due to other factors that serve in cushioning the effect of the temperature such as irrigation; rainfall has mixed relationship with the acreage of the cereal crops except; the negative coefficient of trend variable shows a negative relationship with the acreage of selected cereal crops. The results of the elasticity of cereals acreage to climate variables show that the acreage of rice is inelastic to rainfall but elastic to temperature. However, maize, millet and guinea corn acreage are all appreciably elastic to precipitation and temperature changes. These results also reveal that with the passage of years and climate factors running contrary to agricultural productivities, cereal crops farmers in Nigeria were adopting new measures to cope with the negative effect of climate change. Climate adaptation measures which include the use of drought or heat resistant varieties, early sowing, mixed cropping, tillage system alteration and the utilization of land that has been considered too marginal for agricultural cultivation reduces the negative effects of climate change on cereal crops acreage and enhances the positive factors

Gillnet selectivity of Sarotherodon galilaeus of Asejire lake, Oyo state, Nigeria

Gillnet selectivity is a management tool that is used to regulate the mesh size used for exploitation of fisheries resources in aquatic ecosystems. This is done to prevent overfishing of various types. Gillnet selectivity of Sarotherodon galilaeus of Asejire Lake is estimated in this study. Three mesh sizes 50.8 mm, 63.5 mm and 76.2 mm were found used predominantly in Asejire Lake. These mesh sizes caught various sizes of fish within the range of 11–24 cm. The optimum lengths for mesh sizes 50.8 mm, 63.5 mm and 76.2 mm were 15.09 cm, 18.86 cm and 22.63 cm respectively. Therefore, 63.5 mm mesh size is recommended as the appropriate mesh size for exploitation of S. galilaeus of Asejire Lake.Key Words: Gillnet, selectivity, mesh sizes, overfishing, Sarotherodon galilaeus, Asejire Lak