Contribution of locust bean seed processing to the household of Rural Women in Oyo State, Nigeria

This study was carried out to assess the contribution of locust bean seed processing to the household of rural women in Oyo State Nigeria. Means of livelihood, existing processing techniques, level of income, contribution of locust bean and constraints hindering locust bean processing by women in the study area were examined. Multi stage sampling technique was used to select 12l women processors as respondents. Questionnaires were administered to the sampled respondents of which 120 were retrieved. The data were subjected to descriptive (frequency, percentage, mean) and inferential statistics. The results revealed that 33.3%% of processors were between the ages of 51 years and above. Majority (76.7%) of the respondents relied on locust bean processing as means of livelihood. All the respondents used traditional method of processing. The result revealed that there is no significant (p>0.05) relationship between the selected socioeconomic characteristic variables and contributions of locust bean seed processing. The result also showed positive and significant (p<0.05) relationship between livelihood income, perceived constraints and contributions of locust bean seed processing to the household of rural women. Difficult in locust bean processing (35.8%), scarcity of water/flowing river (18.3%) and inadequate capital (11.7%) were reported as most important constraints to locust lean processing in the study area. It was concluded that locust bean processing has the potential to improve the processors’ household economy thus allowing agricultural development and sustainability provided the constraints are adequately addressed.Keywords: Locust bean, Processing, Rural Women, Oyo State, Livelihoo

Molecular Characterization of Gut Bacterial Flora of Honeybee (Apis Mellifera Adansonii) From Some Selected Apiaries in Ogun State, Nigeria

Research related to physiology and pathology of honey bees in particular Apis mellifera adansonii has attracted a lot of attention. The present study is aimed to determine honeybee (Apis mellifera adansonii) gut microbiome from Apiary in Olabisi Onabanjo University and Osoba Avenue Odo-Epo, Odogbolu Local Government. Twenty (20) honeybees workers (A. mellifera) were collected into a small vile containing sugar powder from the apiary located in OOU and Osoba Avenue at Odo-Epo during rainy season in July and transported to Zoology and Environmental Biology laboratory in OOU and kept in ice-cubes (-50C) till daybreak. Standard microbiological analysis for isolation of bacteria was used, adopting Clinical Laboratory Standard Institute procedures. The phylogenetic analyses based on the 16S rDNA gene were further used to characterize the organism in order to establish  relationships among them. The results showed microbiota of the studied samples includes; Cedeca davisae, Cronobacter  dublinensis, Enterobacter aerogenes, Kluyvera cryocrescens, Klebsiella oxytoca, Providencia vermicola, Salmonella enteric, Providencia alcalifaciens, Serratia nematodiphila, Pseudomonas plecoqlossicida, Klebsiella michiganensis, Serratia marcenscens, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Aeromonas hydrophila and Enterobacter asburiae. Klebsiella spp. was more abundant and prominent in the digestive guts of honeybee workers both in OOU and Osoba Avenue, Odo Epo. The result of the percentage identity and closest accession of the isolates revealed that, Enterobacter aerogenes had the closest accession number and with highest percentage identity of (99%). The findings from this study showed that microbiota component communities of A. mellifera adansonii in OOU were composed of more Gram-negative bacteria than Gram-positive bacteria in Odo Epo

Application of geographic information system in the documentation of settlement pattern of Imeri, Ijebu-Mushin Ogun State Nigeria

The aim of the study was to demonstrate how Geographic Information System (GIS) can be used to document settlement pattern of Imeri, Ijebu-mushin Ogun State Nigeria. The method of data collection was through the collection of information gathered on the site with the use of Geographic Information System, Global Positioning System, and questionnaires and oral interview method. The research was carried out in Imeri Ogun state Nigeria. Information was derived from Imeri, a secondary village settlement in Ogun State. The results  indicate that, 2% of the building is used for commercial purposes, while 4% of the buildings are dilapidated. 5% of the building in Imeri is not yet completed as at the time of carrying out this research, 5% is used for both residential and commercial purposes and another 5% is used for religious purpose. 79% of the buildings are used for residential purposes and this percentage ranks highest regarding the use of building in Imeri. Also, 2% of the buildings are constructed with wood, while 5% are made of mud and not with plaster, 12% are made of concrete and also not with plaster, 18% of the buildings are made of concrete and are plastered while, 63% of the buildings are made of mud and are plastered. Therefore, it is recommended that GPS should be used often as a powerful technological tool that could help a lot in knowing the settlement pattern of a large area and ways to help a particular community when needed

Quality evaluation of chinchin produced from composite flours of wheat and germinated finger millet flour

Composite flour was produced from germinated finger millet and wheat and its potentials in producing nutritious chinchin, a traditional Nigerian snack was investigated. Finger millet was sorted, germinated, dried and milled into flour. Simplex Lattice Designs was used in generating different formulations (100:0, 88:12, 75:25 and 50:50) of wheat and germinated finger millet, respectively, and used to produce chinchin. The composite flour was analyzed for proximate, minerals, antinutritional and functional properties while the chinchin samples were subjected to sensory evaluation. The values obtained for moisture, protein, fat, crude fibre, ash and carbohydrate were in the ranges of 10.47 to 10.71%, 8.74 to 9.64%, 1.79 to 1.95%, 1.38 to 1.55%, 2.31 to 2.57, 73.58 to 75.31%, respectively. The loose and packed bulk density ranged from 0.61 to 0.62 g/cm3 and 0.005 to 0.013 g/cm3. The calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium and phosphorus content of flour ranged from 0.1150 to 0.1300 mg/l, 12.033 to 13.633 mg/l, 0.158 to 0.187 mg/l, 0.389 to 0.428 mg/l and 0.271 to 0.296 mg/l, respectively. The anti-nutritional properties reduced with processing. This study has shown the potentials of composite flour from wheat and germinated finger millet in production of nutritious chinchin. Keyword: Finger millet, wheat flour, chinchin, snacks, composite flou

Assessment of small scale horticultural nursery enterprises in some selected Local Government Areas in Ibadan Metropolis, Oyo State, Nigeria

The study assessed some selected small scale horticultural nursery enterprises in Ibadan metropolis. Data was collected through the use of well-structured questionnaires from 32 respondents and analysed using descriptive statistics and cost and return analysis. The result revealed that 93.7% of the respondents were male, 31.3% were between the ages of 31-40years with mean age of 43years,84.4% were married, 75% had between 1-5 household size with a mean house size of 5 persons. About fifty three percent (53.1%) of them were involved in horticultural practices as their primary occupation, 46.8% had tertiary education, however, majority 93.7% of them had one form of formal education with 14.5% mean years of experience, 75% of them belong to horticultural associations,81.2% source their credit through personal savings, majority (68.8%) rented their land through government, 50% source the seeds through other farmers while only 34.4% source their seeds through research institutions, categories of seedlings raised by the respondent are ornamental seedling (100%), forestry seedling (78.1%), medicinal seedling (65.6%) and agricultural seedling (81.3%) while Ixora (Ixora coccinea) (40.6%) was the most common species of seedling found in the nursery. On the average, the profit realized was ₦578, 925.00k per annum with Benefit cost ratio (BCR) of 4.8. Major problems confronting the enterprise were pest and insects, weeds, credit facilities, weather, transportation, low marketing patronage, cost of agrochemicals as well as availability of quality seeds. Keywords: Assessment, Horticultural, Enterprise, Gross Margin, Oyo, Nigeri

Economic Analysis of Cassava Flour and Garri Production in Ibarapa Local Government Area, Oyo State, Nigeria

Cassava, an edible root crop and a reliable and relatively inexpensive source of carbohydrate, is widely grown and processed into different foods such as cassava flour and garri. The study analyzed the costs and returns in cassava flour and garri production and also determined the factors influencing its production in the study area. A two- stage sampling technique was used to generate primary data used for this study. The first stage involved the purposive selection of Ibarapa North Local Government Area (LGA), because it has more cassava producers and processors than other LGAs. The second stage involved the random selection of 15 villages out of the 23 in the LGA. From the selected villages, 170 respondents were randomly selected while only 150 copies of the structured questionnaire administered were retrieved. Results from the primary data shows that 28.3% of garri producersproducers had no formal education and 46.7% were between the ages of 30 and 39years. The regression analysis shows that the quantity of garri sold (ß =5.4099), transportation cost (ß =-0.2994), peeling cost (ß = -0.4249), and grating cost (ß = 0.6878) were all  significant to the total revenue of cassava flour sold. Price, inadequate capital, transportation, land tenure and markets were factors influencing garri and cassava flour production. Analysis of the costs and returns revealed that processing cassava into garri gave a higher gross margin even though processing of cassava was profitable, indicating that there is a significant difference between flour and garri production. Inputs, market, good and infrastructural facilities should be provided so as to increase production capacity and hence food security. Keywords: Cassava, Cassava flour, Garri, Gross margin, Nigeri

Impact of globalisation on domestic family law: multi-tiered marriage in Nigeria as a case study

The concept of globalisation is commonly discussed as an issue in international law. However, little attention is paid to its influence in domestic family law. As a result of the growing trend of globalisation, legal and cultural norms of the host culture and the foreign culture are fused, thereby, leading to cultural homogenisation or cultural hybridisation, depending on the level of accommodation of the foreign norm by the host norm. One of the areas where hybridisation or homogenisation of cultural and legal norms manifests, especially in African countries including Nigeria, is in the marriage system, particularly in the conclusion of marriage contracts. In Nigeria, one of the impacts of cultural hybridisation is the evolvement of multi-tiered marriage, where a couple combines marriages under the statute law, customary law and religious law, especially Islamic law. This paper is an exploratory study of how globalisation impacts on how and why multi-tiered marriage is contracted in contemporary Nigeria. The paper also briefly discusses how the combination of marriages as a response to globalisation affects the operation of family law rules in Nigeria as well as the rights of the parties involved, especially the women