Contribution of small-scale farming and local food supply to sustainable production and food security in Nigeria – A review

Prior to the year 1970, agriculture was the main source of livelihood and backbone of the Nigerian economy until the discovery of oil drastically decelerated its potential to sustainably maintain food security and generate significant export earnings. Despite its sudden fall in productivity, agriculture still remains the main sector providing the highest employment (70% of the population) for the populace. To tackle these problems, many policies were formulated (from 1960 to 2015) to resuscitate the sector but to no availdue to failure in tailoring suitable policies to engage small-scale farmers and address other socio-economic problems. This paper constitutes an in-depth review of agricultural production and food security in Nigeria with relative importance attributed to local food supply and small-scale farmers. The article analyzes several documents of the Nigerian Government and international organizations, such as the Food and Agricultural Organization, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and a number of peer-reviewed journals across various disciplines to provide a balanced inter[1]disciplinary review. The paper concludes that food insecurity is at its peak in Nigeria and urgent attention is required in the agricultural sector to compensate for the unstable food balance in the country. There is a need for the Government to take strong measures against the food deficit situation and to support the development of the primary agriculture sector. The paper pro[1]poses viable policies that could involve smallholders, aid transformation and positively restructure the agricultural sector

Use of Safety Pin on Garments in Pregnancy: A Belief and Cultural Practice with Potential Harmful Effect

Background: Culture has been known to influence practices and beliefs of people world over. Several cultural practices have been noted among pregnant women who were passed from one generation to the next with its potential harmful and beneficial effect. The use of safety pin in is one of such cultural practices that are widely practiced by many pregnant Nigerian women. Objective: We sought to gain a deeper understanding of the source of knowledge and motivation behind the use of safety pin on garments during pregnancy as well as explore potential harmful side effects of this cultural practice. Methodology: A total of 419 pregnant women completed questionnaires for a hospital-based cross-sectional study. Safety pin knowledge and motivation for use on garments were assessed using a pre-tested 16 item questionnaire. Consenting women either completed a self-administered structured questionnaire or utilized the help of trained research assistants. Chi-square tests were used to assess relationships between safety pin use on garments and predictor variables. Analysis was done with Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 17. Results: Of 419 participants, over half (n = 227) reported safety pin use on garments in pregnancy. About two-thirds (n = 177) of women who use safety pin reported older female relatives as their source of information. The mean age of the participants was 29.1 ± 5.74 (range 16–45 years). Traditional religion worshippers were more likely (81.2%) and Christians were least likely to use safety pin (50.7%) during pregnancy. Pregnant women with a tertiary education (50.4%) were least likely to use safety pin compared with women with no or less than a tertiary level of education. Protection of pregnancy against demons/witchcrafts was the reason given by 129 (56.8%) of participants using safety pin in pregnancy. Conclusion: The use of safety pin on garments during pregnancy is a common cultural practice in southwest Nigeria. Our findings also suggest that religion and education are important determinants of safety pin use. Although our study did not find a statistically significant difference in safety pin prick incidents among safety pin users, it remains a potential source of harm. Thus, there is a need to establish community and hospital based strategies that address potential cultural harmful practices while promoting culturally appropriate healthcare services

Teachers’ Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health Interventions for In-school Adolescents in Nigeria

High prevalence of early and unprotected sex, resulting in adverse reproductive health outcomes, has been reported among adolescents in Nigeria. While school-based sexual and reproductive health interventions for in-school adolescents is widely recognized, little is known on the kind of involvements desired by teachers and their perceptions of handling students’ reproductive health concerns. In this study, the teachers favoured school-based reproductive health education (RHE), but have divers’ opinions on what should be included in such RHE. Majority was not willing or comfortable in personal counseling of students but can teach RHE in classroom environment. They support the current approach of expelling pregnant school girls. The article advocates for gender-sensitive and developmental-oriented approaches that will ensure rehabilitation and re-integration of pregnant girls into the school system after their delivery, and recommend the need to build teachers skills and promote students-teachers dialogue in order to optimize school environment for addressing ASRH.La prévalence élevée du début précoce des rapports sexuels non protégés, ce qui entraîne des résultats sanitaires néfastes sur la reproduction, été rapportées chez les adolescents au Nigeria. Alors que les interventions de la santé sexuelle et de la reproduction en milieu scolaire pour les adolescents encore à l’école est largement reconnue, on connait peu le type d'implications souhaitées par les enseignants et leurs perceptions de la manipulation des problèmes de santé de la reproduction des élèves. Dans cette étude, les enseignants ont préféré l’éducation de santé de la reproduction en milieu scolaire (ESR), mais avaient des opinions diverses sur ce qui devrait être inclus dans une telle ESR. La majorité des enseignants ne voulaient pas adopter, ou ne se sentaient pas à l'aise avec, l'orientation personnelle pour les élèves, mais peuvent enseigner ESR dans un milieu de salle de classe. Ils soutiennent l'approche actuelle de l'expulsion des étudiantes enceintes. L'article plaide pour des approches sensibles au genre et qui sont orientées vers le développement et qui assureront la réhabilitation et la réinsertion des jeunes filles enceintes dans le système scolaire après leur accouchement et recommande la nécessité de renforcer les compétences des enseignants et de promouvoir les dialogues entre étudiants et enseignants afin d'optimiser le milieu scolaire pour s’occuper des DSRA

Teachers’ Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health Interventions for In-school Adolescents in Nigeria

High prevalence of early and unprotected sex, resulting in adverse reproductive health outcomes, has been reported among adolescents in Nigeria. While school-based sexual and reproductive health interventions for in-school adolescents is widely recognized, little is known on the kind of involvements desired by teachers and their perceptions of handling students’ reproductive health concerns. In this study, the teachers favoured school-based reproductive health education (RHE), but have divers’ opinions on what should be included in such RHE. Majority was not willing or comfortable in personal counseling of students but can teach RHE in classroom environment. They support the current approach of expelling pregnant school girls. The article advocates for gender-sensitive and developmental-oriented approaches that will ensure rehabilitation and re-integration of pregnant girls into the school system after their delivery, and recommend the need to build teachers skills and promote students-teachers dialogue in order to optimize school environment for addressing ASRH. Keywords: Adolescent sexuality, In-School Adolescents, Reproductive Health Education (Afr J Reprod Health 2013; 17[4]: 84-92

The composition and determinants of rural non-farm income diversification in Nigeria

Farming has been considered as main source of income for rural households in Nigeria, despite their involvement in other income generating activities. Focusing on income derivable from farming alone may be partially responsible for the ineffective poverty reduction strategies in Nigeria. Using the National Living Standard Survey data collected by the National Bureau of Statistics, this paper investigated the composition and determinants of non-farm incomes of rural households in Nigeria. The results show that the share of farm, non-farm wage (NFW)- and self-employment (NFS) incomes in total household incomes were 24.3%, 43.0% and 23.7% respectively. Households whose heads are male (0.647), had formal education (0.522), increased the likelihood of households’ participation in NFW activities, while access to credit (-0.307) and having larger farm size (-0.221) decreased it. Access to credit (0.379); community participation (0.103); larger family size (0.193) and possession of capital assets (0.069) increased the likelihood of participation in NFS-employment activities, while having larger farm size (-0.211) decreased it. The study concludes that policy targeting poverty reduction should focus on providing enabling environment for poor households’ access to non-farm activities in the study area