RURAL HOUSEHOLDS' SOURCES OF WATER AND WILLINGNESS-TO-PAY FOR IMPROVED WATER SERVICES IN SOUTH-WEST, NIGERIA

Households' source of water is one of the core development indicators recently gaining prominence in Nigeria. This study examined rural households' sources of water and its Willingness to Pay (WTP).  A cross sectional survey involving the use of questionnaire was adopted while a dichotomous choice (DC) with follow up was used as elicitation method. A multi-stage random sampling technique was used to select 437 rural households. Descriptive statistics and Tobit model was used as analytical tool for the study. Results from this study revealed that almost 70% fetched from unimproved water sources. Only 74.4% of the respondents showed WTP for improved water sources. Age(p<0.01), Sex (p<0.01), Education (p<0.01), Occupation(p<0.01), Income (p<0.01), Price of water(P<0.01), Quantity of water (p<0.01), Household size(p<0.01) and Distance(p<0.01) to existing water sources significantly influenced rural households' WTP for these services. Therefore, good water sources should be cited nearer to rural community at a relatively low price by rural households. &nbsp

PATTERNS AND DETERMINANTS OF LIVELIHOOD DIVERSIFICATION AMONG FARM HOUSEHOLDS IN ODEDA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, OGUN STATE, NIGERIA

The study examined the patterns and determinants of livelihood diversification among farm households in Odeda Local Government Area, Ogun state, Nigeria. The study data was primary data obtained in a cross section survey of 70 randomly selected households drawn by a three stage sampling technique from 14 randomly selected farming villages in the study area. The data were obtained by personally administered questionnaire and was focused on the socio-economic characteristics of the farm households, the various income generating activities and income from all sources. The level of  livelihood diversification was determined using Herfindahl index. The study data were analysed for each households by descriptive and regression (logit) techniques. Evidence from regression analysis shows that income from non-farm sources accounted for 37.1 percent  of the farm households income. Only few (22.9 percent) farm households depended solely on only one source of income which was farming. Households of Divorcee tends to be significantly much diversified than the average of the sample while increase in education as well as farm income tends to lower the extent of livelihood diversification. Islamic adherent are less likely to have diversified income portfolios than their  Christian counterpart. The results shows that low farm income is a critical factor encouraging livelihood diversification in the study area. Thus, policy aim at keeping farm households in Agriculture will need to focus on measure to raise their farm income.Â

VALUE CHAIN ANALYSIS OF CASSAVA PRODUCTS IN OGUN STATE, NIGERIA

This study investigated the value chain analysis of cassava products in Ogun State Nigeria. Multistage was used to select 180 cassava processors and marketers. Socio-economic data were obtained from respondents with the use of pre-tested questionnaire. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, budgetary technique and Analysis of variance (ANOVA). The study revealed that majority (84.3% and 52.8%) of Cassava peel processors and marketers were female. In addition, 60.2% of the processors have secondary education while 51.4% of the marketers also have secondary education. The value chain activities carried out by the processors were, Gari; harvesting, transportation, peeling, fetching, grating mill, sieving, toasting/drying and packaging. Fufu; harvesting, transportation, peeling, fetching, soaking, sieving and packaging. Lafun; harvesting, transportation, peeling, washing, fetching, soaking, slicing, grating mill, sieving, drying and packaging. The marketing activities includes; transportation, bagging and storage (Elegbede, et al., 2018) while marketers transported, packaged and put products in storage for future sales. The mean gross margin for gari, fufu and lafun processors and marketers along the chain were N35876.13, N120463.61 and N48098.72 respectively per annum while net farm income was estimated as N35477.85, N115259.44 and N48098.72. Also, the marketing margin for gari, fufu and lafun was estimated as N25273.07, N2982.65 and N21453.49 respectively per annum while the net marketing margin per annum was estimated as N18766.84, N22489.30 and N16203.81 respectively. Conversely, the marketing efficiency for the cassava products and by-products was estimated as 74.26%, 75.44% and 75.53% respectively for gari, fufu and lafu with lafu having the highest marketing efficiency when compared with the other cassava products (gari and fufu). From the results of the net farm income and marketing margin, it was discovered that fufu is more profitable along the cassava product value chain when compared to the other products (gari and lafu). This study therefore recommends that processing and marketing of lafun and fufu is efficient and their trade is profitable. Also, cassava processors and marketers should form cooperative groups to increase access to credit for higher output and trade of products.   &nbsp

ENTERPRISE ASSESSMENT ACROSS CASSAVA WASTE (PEELS) VALUE CHAIN IN OGUN STATE

In this article, the Enterprise assessment across cassava peels value chain in Ogun State Nigeria is examined. Multistage sampling technique was used to select 180 cassava processors and marketers. Socio-economic data were obtained from respondents with the use of pre-tested questionnaires. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, budgetary technique, Stochastic Frontier Analysis (SFA) and Student t-test. The study found that majority (84.3% and 52.8%) of processors of cassava peels and marketers were female. In addition, 60.2% of the processors and 51.4% of the marketers had secondary education. The value chain activities carried out by processors were transportation, drying and packaging while marketers transported, packaged and put the peels in storage for future sales. The SFA revealed that cost of labour (p<0.01) and quantity of fresh cassava peels (p<0.01) were the main determinants of output of dried cassava peels by the processors. The inefficiency model revealed that the efficiency of producing dried cassava peels increased with increase in age (p<0.01), credit access (p<0.01), household size (p<0.01) and membership of cooperative society (p<0.01). Furthermore, the cost function revealed that cost of sieving (p<0.05) and depreciation on capital item (p<0.01) increased the production cost of dried cassava peels. The mean technical, allocative and economic efficiency of producing dried cassava peels were estimated as 94%, 83% and 78% respectively. This study concluded that production of cassava peels is efficient and its trade is profitable. The study recommends that cassava processors and marketers should form cooperative groups to increase access to credit for higher output and trade of peels

Performance and productivity changes of microfinance banks in south-west, Nigeria.

The Nigerian Microfinance sub-sector is yet to attain the desired level of global best practice. This paper thus investigates the performance and productivity changes of MFBs in South-West Nigeria, from 2006 to 2010, having had the Microfinance Policy launched in 2005. The study revealed that only 16.28% of the sampled MFBs met the recommended maximum PAR value of 5% in 2006 and that was the highest throughout the sample period. It was also revealed that 31.14% of the sampled MFBs reported a debt/equity ratio of above the recommended value of 2 in 2006, while 32.56% had gearing of over 2 in 2010. The MFBs experienced fluctuating performances in their productivity changes, with pure technical efficiency improvements in 2007 and 2009. However, the MFBs suffered technological decline throughout the study period. Overall, the MFBs experienced Total Factor Productivity improvement in 2007, while there were productivity deteriorations in 2008, 2009 and 2010

IMPROVEMENT OF TOMATO SEED LONGEVITY USING SOME DRY SEED PRE-STORAGE TREATMENTS

Pre-storage treatment to retard seed deterioration could either involve application of synthetic chemicals or plant/organic products. This study was conducted to determine the efficacy of some organic dry seed treatments and inorganic chemical treatments on the viability of stored seeds of four tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) varieties. The study was a factorial experiment fixed in completely randomized design. It comprised of four tomato varieties (Roma, UC-82, 2-lobes and 3-lobes) and five dry seed treatment materials (neem leaves, scent leaves, red chili, bleaching and Apron plus powders) in three replicates. Seeds stored without any treatment were used as the control. The tomato seeds were stored for 240 days under ambient condition (average temperature 30ºC and 75% relative humidity). Half-life of the stored seeds ranged from 286 to 2105 days. Generally, organic treatment doubled the longevity when compared to the control treatment. Performance of seed treatments depended on tomato seed variety. Use of neem leaf and scent leaf powders had greater potentials to replace the commercial inorganic seed treatment materials for tomato seed preservation under the same environmental conditions.   &nbsp

Determinants of Agricultural Labour Productivity in the West African Sub-Region, 1970-2004

This paper examined the patterns and determinants of agricultural labour productivity among countries in West African sub-region over the period 1970 – 2004. The study was based on panel data extracted from FAOSTAT, the online statistical database of the Food and Agriculture Organisation as well as the database of United Nations Statistics Division and the Microsoft Encarta Encyclopaedia CD-ROM. The data were analyzed by a combination of descriptive and regression methods. The study revealed that eight (8) of the sixteen (16) West African countries (Cote d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Niger, Senegal and Togo) had average labour productivities that were lower during the 2000-2004 period than the average they stated with during the 1970s. The West-African average labour productivity ranged between 484.72 and 536.52 from 1970 to 2004. Regression analyses revealed that agricultural labour productivity among countries in the sub-region would rise with increase in literacy rates, increase in capital formation (savings), increase in rates of fertilizer and tractor use as well as increase in proportion of agricultural land put under irrigation (p<0.01). However, periods of military rule and civilian dictatorship (one party state) were identified as being associated with significantly lower agricultural labour productivity in the sub-region. It is recommended that Governments in West Africa should intensify their efforts in providing basic education to their people as well as providing support for increased private sector participation in the procurement and distribution of critical inputs like fertilizer, tractors services, etc. &nbsp

ANALYTICAL SOLUTION OF THE RELATIVISTIC KLEIN-GORDON WAVE EQUATION

In this study, the solution to Klein-Gordon equations with focus on analytical methods is discussed. The analytical methods used in this research are the Variational Iteration Method (VIM) developed by Ji-Huan He, Adomian Decomposition Method (ADM) by Adomian and New Iterative Method (NIM) developed by Daftardar Gejji and Jafari. The modified Adomian Decomposition method by Wazwaz was used to solve the linear inhomogeneous and nonlinear Klein-Gordon equations to accelerate the convergence of the solution and minimizes the size of calculation while still maintaining high accuracy of the analytical solution. All the problems considered yield the exact solutions with few iterations. The solutions obtained were compared with the exact solution and the solutions obtained by other existing methods. The solutions obtained by the three methods yield the same results and all the problems considered show that the Variational Iteration Method, Adomian Decomposition Method and New Iterative Method are very powerful and potent in solving Klein-Gordon equations and can be used to obtain closed form solutions of linear and nonlinear differential equations (ordinary and partial)

Development of a Guna Seed Extractor

Guna seed extraction presents an onerous task and has been the labour and time consuming operation that militates against the large scale production and processing of this important oil crop. To overcome this problem, a guna seed extractor that works on the principle of impact from breaker arms and macerators was developed. The seed extractor consists of a hopper equipped with flow rate control device, a seed extraction unit, winnowing unit and power system. Performance tests were conducted on the seed extractor using the fruits of two varieties of guna crop namely citrullus colocynthis and citrullus lanatus in the moisture ranges of 87.21-92.45% (wb) and 85.07-89.74% (wb) respectively, obtained by varying the fruit storage duration. Result of tests and analyses showed that the performance indicators (percentage effective seed extraction, cleaning efficiency, cleaning loss, percentage seed loss at concave, material retention and percentage seed retention) were significantly affected by fruit moisture content (storage duration), material feed rate and machine speed at 1 and 5% levels. Percentage effective seed extraction and percentage seed loss at concave increased with increase in fruit moisture content, material feed rate and machine speed Maximum percentage effective seed extraction of 95.1% at the moisture content of 92.45% for the colocynthis fruit, and 96.0% at 89.74% moisture content for the lanatus, was obtained at the material feed rate of 375 kg/h and machine speed of 939 min – 1. Maximum percentage seed loss at concave was less than 5%. Cleaning efficiency, cleaning loss and material retention in the seed extraction chamber, decreased with the increase in the fruit moisture content for both varieties of guna fruits, but increased with increase in material feed rate and machine speed, while percentage seed retention decreased with increase in moisture content, material feed rate and machine speed. Maximum cleaning efficiency of 94.15% and 91.28% for the colocynthis and lanatus varieties respectively, was obtained at the material feed rate of 375 kg/h, machine speed of 939 min -1, and fruit moisture contents of 87.21% and 85.07%. Maximum cleaning loss was less than 30% and percentage seed retention was high at low fruit moisture content, material feed rate and machine speed. Practically no seed damage was recorded. Regression models that could be used to express the relationship existing between the seed extractor performance indices and fruit moisture content, material feed rate and machine speed were established for each variety of guna crop

Role of oxidative stress in therapeutic administration of artesunate on sperm quality and testosterone level in male albino rats

The effects of antioxidants, vitamins C and E, on sperm quality, testosterone levels, superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and malondialdehyde (MDA) concentration were studied in artesunate treated rats. 25 male rats (160 to 250 g) divided into five groups were used for the study. Group 1 animals received normal saline and served as control while groups 2 to 5 received artesunate in therapeutic doses of 2.9 mg/Kg body weight on day 1 and 1.45 mg/Kg body weight on days 2 to 5 orally. Following artesunate pretreatment, groups 3, 4 and 5 rats received vitamin C (100 mg/kg), vitamin E (100 mg/kg) and a combination of both respectively orally for the 5 days. There was no significant difference in sperm viability and motility in all groups while count significantly (p<0.05) increased in group 3 animals treated with vitamin C. Serum testosterone level was significantly increased (p< 0.05) in groups 4 and 5. The MDA concentrations were significantly increased (p < 0.05) while SOD activity concurrently decreased significantly (p<0.05) in groups 2, 3, and 5 indicating an oxidative-counter oxidative relationship. It was thus concluded that artesunate at therapeutic doses and duration had no significant effect on sperm quality and serum testosterone level in male rats while vitamin C, and combination of vitamins C and E tend to promote reproductive functions in artesunate-treated male rats.Key words: Artesunate, vitamin C, vitamin E, sperm quality, superoxide dismutase activity, malondialdehyde concentration