Adoption of Silvopastoral Agroforestry System for a Sustainable Cattle Production in Nigeria

Silvopastoral systems are agroforestry systems that involves a combination of tree growing with the production of livestock. This type of agroforestry system has the potential to improve hydric  balance, enhances biodiversity conservation, increases organic livestock proximity index, allows  cleaner cattle production, improves cattle production per hectare, improves carbon sequestration, reduce greenhouse gases and significantly reduce /eliminate herder -farmer conflicts in Nigeria .  Hence, this paper reviews and introduces the adoption of silvopastoral agroforestry system for a sustainable cattle production in Nigeria using literatures. Types of silvopastoral systems includes  Fodder bank systems, live fence or boundary systems, hedgerow intercropping systems and tree plantation with animal grazing systems. There is limited information on silvopastoral system in Nigeria, hence the need to carry out more research and studies on its acceptability and sustainability in the future

Yard wastes generation, management and utilization in nigeria

Yard waste is a major constituent of municipal solid waste (MSW) that contain elements that can be used by microorganisms during biological degradation of MSW but whose economic values are less than the cost of collection, transportation, and processing for beneficial use. It is generated from the gardens, plant nurseries, road sweepings, and so on. Yard waste generation is inevitable in any society, and it is clear that rapid urbanization has resulted in significantly more yard waste generation than previously. Gardening is common in communities, whether rural and urban, resulting in garden wastes such as leaves, wood trimmings and grass clipping.  At present, most of the yard wastes in Nigeria are illegally dumped into abandoned waste lands or burn up which is very harmful and had raised concerns for the environmental and human health.  However, due to a lack of corresponding policy support and management requirements for yard waste usage in Nigeria, this study proposes remedies and proposals for yard waste utilization that are appropriate for Nigeria, based on successful technologies and regulations. So based on the real situation in Nigeria, it is imperative to replace the traditional methods of yard waste management with innovative ones to promote their proper utilization.

Socio-Economic Characteristics Analysis of Backyard Poultry Farming in Etsako Central Local Government Area, Edo State, Nigeria

The study analyzed the Socio-Economic Characteristics of Backyard Poultry Farming in Etsako Central Local Government Area, Edo State, Nigeria using multi-stage sampling technique to select three out of six districts in the Local Government Area with a well structure questionnaire administered to 150 randomly selected respondents while only 107 were retrieved. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics tools. The results revealed that majority (72%) of the respondents were female with most (65.4%) of them not older than 40 years in age. Most (86%) of them has one formal education or the other and are involved in only poultry rearing (58.9%) while 41.1% rears both poultry and small ruminants with 68.2% of them rearing local breeds of poultry. The result revealed that majority (72.9%) of the respondents practice extensive system of rearing with no fewer than 49.5% having flock size of between 1 and 10 birds. Most respondents (84.1%) engaged in backyard poultry rearing for income purpose. Inadequate funding (79.4%) and activities of predators (77.6%) remain the most reported severe constraints to backyard poultry rearing in the study area. It is recommended that Stake holders should make financial supports in terms of grants and single digit loan available to the respondents while the farmers too could group themselves into cooperative and thrift societies to enable them create avenue for soft loan among themselves

Socio-demographic correlates of childhood malnutrition in a rural community in Southwest Nigeria - A call for targeted interventions for vulnerable children

BACKGROUND: Nigeria has the second-highest burden of stunted children globally. Yet, only two out of ten malnourished Nigerian children benefit from intervention programs to address malnutrition. This study describes some socio-demographic factors associated with malnutrition among children living in a rural community in Southwest Nigeria. METHODS: This study was a community-based cross-sectional study involving 364 children randomly selected from their homes aged 1–15 years. Factors such as socioeconomic status, birth order, and whether the mother was alive were obtained. Weights, heights, and body mass index (BMI) were measured and interpreted using the WHO z-scores. Chi-squared test of associations was used for categorical variables and an independent t-test was used to compare the mean BMI between both genders. The level of significance was set at a p-value <0.050. RESULTS: There were 185 (51%) females: 173(48%) belonged to the age group 1–5 years and 168 (46%) belonged to the lower socio-economic class. Over 80% of the participants had normal nutritional status: 19 (6%) were underweight, 36 (10%) were stunted, and 29 (8%) were thin (low BMI, <-2SD). Maternal demise was associated with thinness. Males from lower socio-economic classes and first-born males had a higher mean BMI than the females (p<0.050). CONCLUSION: Although malnutrition prevalence was low, there is a need to use targeted interventions to further reduce malnutrition among vulnerable children. There is also a necessity for more studies to identify and address the risk factors for stunting in the study area

Comparative Evaluation of Fodder Yield and Leaf Quality of Some Selected Tree Species

Abstract Tropical trees had served a wide range of purpose from supply of timber, fuel wood, pulp and fibre through to fodder, gum, drugs, and dyes. This study considered the fodder yield and leaf quality of three fodder tree species namely: Moringa oleifera, Albizia lebbeck and Gmelina arborea at seedling stage. The experiment was carried out in polythene pot laid out in a completely randomized design with ten replications. Study spanned over a period of twelve weeks. Seedlings were assessed for plant height, number of leaves and stem diameter. Leaf quality parameters assessed were elemental nutrient and proximate composition. Results obtained from the study showed that Moringa oleifera gave the highest mean plant height and mean stem diameter of 30.93cm and 3.52mm respectively while Gmelina arborea recorded the highest mean number of leaves (8.10) over the study period. Leaf quality analysis revealed that Albizia lebbeck leaves were richest in potassium and copper with values of 5.53% and 24.23mg/g respectively. Moringa oleifera was least in potassium content (4.55%). Proximate analysis result indicated that Moringa oleifera had the highest crude protein content of 17.88% while Albizia lebbeck was best in crude fibre content (2.00%). All three tree species recorded no significant difference in dry matter content of 45.08%, 45.00% and 45.63% respectively. These tree species should be encouraged within the farming system of farmer to aid animal production

Paediatric brought-in-dead at a tertiary health facility in South western Nigeria: Patterns and drivers

Background: ‘Brought- in-dead’ (BID) refers to the demise of an individual before presentation to a health facility. This study assessed the pattern of paediatric BID cases seen at a tertiary health facility in southwest Nigeria. Method: A cross-sectional, descriptive study was done at the Children Emergency Ward (CEW) of the hospital between January 2014 and December 2018. The patterns of BID cases and presumed causes of death were determined using a standardized checklist adapted from the WHO verbal autopsy instrument. Results: Ninety-eight BID cases were seen during the study, constituting 2.5% of total patients seen during the period. The median (IQR) age of cases was 24.0 (8.75 – 63.0) months and 72.4% were under-fives. Most had symptoms related to the haematologic (36.7%), respiratory (24.5%) or digestive (20.4%) systems. Severe anaemia 31(31.6%), gastroenteritis 19 (19.4) and aspiration 17 (17.3%) were the most common causes of death. The median (IQR) duration of illness before presentation was 3.0 (1.0 – 7.0) days but most presented from 4 – 7 days of illness. A significant relationship was found between the duration of illness and whether or not pre-hospital treatment was received (p < 0.0001). Unprescribed drugs purchased over the counter were the most commonly used treatment in 79.1% of cases (p < 0.0001). Conclusion: This study has highlighted the prevalence and pattern of paediatric BID in a tertiary health facility in southwest Nigeria and the factors that were associated with it. More efforts need to be geared towards community sensitization and pediatric health care to prevent factors drivingits menace

Solutions of Second Order-Linear Ordinary Differential Equation with Variable Coefficients by Iterative Method

Communication in Physical Sciences, 2021, 7(4): 513 – 519 Authors: Akeem B. Disu*, Emmanuel I. Ojonugwa, and Oyewole A Oyelami Received: 08 November 2021/Accepted 05 December 2021 The purpose of this study was to introduce an iterative method to solve second order linear ordinary differential equations with the variable coefficient for ordinary and singular points. This method was used to solve some examples of the equations. The solutions obtained proved that the method is effective, accurate and also reduced the large volume of the computational work that is generally associated with popular power series method

Drivers of anthropogenic air emissions in Nigeria - A review

This study presents a review of sources and atmospheric levels of anthropogenic air emissions in Nigeria with a view to reviewing the existence or otherwise of national coordination aimed at mitigating the continued increase. According to individual researcher's reports, the atmospheric loading of anthropogenic air pollutants is currently on an alarming increase in Nigeria. Greater concerns are premised on the inadequacy existing emission in-ventories, continuous assessment, political will and development of policy plans for effective mitigation of these pollutants. The identified key drivers of these emissions include gas flaring, petroleum product refining, thermal plants for electricity generation, transportation, manufacturing sector, land use changes, proliferation of small and medium enterprises, medical wastes incineration, municipal waste disposal, domestic cooking, bush burning and agricultural activities such as land cultivation and animal rearing. Having identified the key sources of anthro- pogenic air emissions and established the rise in their atmospheric levels through aggregation of literature re- ports, this study calls for a review of energy policy, adoption of best practices in the management air emissions and solid wastes as well as agriculture and land use pattern which appear to be the rallying points of all identified sources of emission. The study concluded that the adoption of cleaner energy policies and initiatives in energy generation and usage as against pursuit of thermal plants and heavy dependence on fossil fuels will assist to ameliorate the atmospheric loadings of these pollutants

BIO-TRANSFORMER OIL PRODUCTION BY ENZYMATIC TRANSESTERIFICATION OF PAPAYA SEED OIL

Bio-transformer oil from vegetable oil has received quite attention as a substitute to mineral based transformer oil with a view of minimize mineral based oils and reduce greenhouse gases pollution. The seeds of papaya are potential feedstock for bio-transformer production owing to their high lipid contents and available. In this study, papaya seed oils was extracted via soxhlet apparatus using n-hexane and the oil yields were in between 34–35% which is commercially viable. The oil extracted was transesterified using immobilized Candida rugosa lipase as a catalyst at room temperature with various molar ratios of methanol to oil. The highest bio-transformer oil yield for papaya seed oil was found to be 96% at methanol-to-oil ratios of 6:1. The results obtained from the characterization of RPSO bio-transformer oil was analytically compared with that of the transformer mineral oil and ASTM standard requirement. Similarities and differences have been discussed. Owing to comparable results in the RPSO bio-transformer oil, mineral transformer oil studied and the ASTM standard requirement and its increasing breakdown voltage with increasing temperature application. The study revealed that papaya seed oils have the potential of being used as alternative feedstock for bio-transformer production