Building the capacity of agricultural extension personnel for effective implementation of agricultural transformation agenda in Nigeria

This paper reviews the capacity (number, quality and motivation) of the extension personnel in Nigeria; and describes farmers’ perception of the quality of extension service delivery using evidences from literature, reports of organizations as well as experiences from field research. Findings reveal a tremendous shortage in the number and quality of extension personnel across the country as major reason for the poor performance of the ADPs thereby leaving no hope for the “beautiful†transformation agenda. This paper strongly recommends immediate recruitment of new hands as well as full implementation of a well-designed capacity building programme so as to ensure a sustainable extension service delivery system where extension personnel can operate in the expected commercial (agriculture-driven) economy

Building the capacity of agricultural extension personnel for effective implementation of agricultural transformation agenda in Nigeria

This paper reviews the capacity (number, quality and motivation) of the extension personnel in Nigeria; and describes farmers’ perception of the quality of extension service delivery using evidences from literature, reports of organizations as well as experiences from field research. Findings reveal a tremendous shortage in the number and quality of extension personnel across the country as major reason for the poor performance of the ADPs thereby leaving no hope for the “beautiful†transformation agenda. This paper strongly recommends immediate recruitment of new hands as well as full implementation of a well-designed capacity building programme so as to ensure a sustainable extension service delivery system where extension personnel can operate in the expected commercial (agriculture-driven) economy

Assessment of training needs of poultry farmers in Zaria local government area of Kaduna State, Nigeria

This study assessed the training needs of poultry farmers in Zaria Local Government Area of Kaduna State, Nigeria. The study specifically described the socio-economic characteristics of poultry farmers, identified the training needs by poultry farmers, identified the institutional support enjoyed by poultry farmers, and identified farmers’ constraints to poultry production. One-hundred and fifty (150) poultry farmers were used as sample for this study. Interview schedule was used to collect relevant data. Descriptive statistics was used to analyze the data collected. Result obtained shows that farmer have high level of education. Also, proper record keeping was the major training need by poultry farmers while new agricultural technology ranked as the major institutional support enjoyed by the farmers. High cost of input was the major constraints to poultry production in the study area. This paper concluded that poultry farmers need training on adequate record keeping. It recommended agricultural institutions such as government, private organizations and NGOs should support farmers through intensive training and re-training especially on identified areas of needs in order to increase their productivity. &nbsp

Synthesis of N-benzothiazole derivative imide on polymeric chain, have possible biological activity

In this reserch Some new substituted and unsubstituted poly imides compounds. were synthesized by reaction of acrylol chloride with different amides (aliphatic and aromatic) in a suitable solvent in the presence amount triethyl amine (Et3N) with heating. The Structure confirmation of all polymers were confirmed using FT-IR,1H-NMR,13C-NMR and UV spectroscopy. Thermal analysis (TG) for some polymers showed their thermal stabilities. Other physical properties including softening points, melting point and solubility of the polymers were also measure

Synthesis, Characterization and Antimicrobial Activities of Some Nicotinamide – metal Complexes

Some transition metal complexes of nicotinamide have been prepared and characterized using melting point, conductivity measurement, infrared, electronic, HNMR and atomic absorption spectroscopic methods. . The antibacterial and antifungal studies of the metal complexes and the ligand have been evaluated against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus and Bacillus subtilis , Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger and penicillum species. It was found that nicotinamide formed stable metal complexes with these metal ions. The analysis of the spectroscopic data shows that nicotinamide act as monodentate, coordinating through the nitrogen atom of the pyridine ring. All the complexes exhibit 4- coordinate geometry. The results of the antimicrobial studies showed that the metal complexes have higher inhibitory activity than the original nicotinamide against the tested bacteria and fungi species.Keywords: Synthesis, Metal complexes, Nicotinamide, Antibacterial, Antifunga

Effects of sand and gating architecture on the performance of foot valve lever casting components used in pump industries

Funding Information: The authors thank Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education, Krishnankoil for providing the facilities for various tests and characterizations. The King Saud University authors extend their appreciation to the Deanship of Scientific Research at King Saud University for funding the work through the research group project no. RG-148. This Research was funded by King Mongkut's University of Technology North Bangkok has received funding support from the National Science, Research and Innovation Fund (NSRF) (Grant No. KMUTNB-MHESI-64-16.1). Publisher Copyright: © 2021 The Author(s)This work addresses manufacture, testing and simulation of foot valve lever (FVL) for monoblock pump industry, using a cost-effective casting design process. The impact of different types of sands, such as air-set, dry and sodium silicate as well as gating designs, namely H-, U- and O-type, were studied with respect to surface roughness and porosity. The mold pattern was produced using additive manufacturing (AM) technology. Both experimental and numerical investigations were performed on the temperature distribution of molten metal at random locations for the different gating configurations or designs, considering mold filling and solidification. It was evident from the experimental investigation that contribution of air-set sand and O-type gating architecture showed limited consistency effects. Importantly, gating architecture was the most influential parameter to determine all specified quality outcomes, independent of sand mold. An order of O < H < U-type was obtained from the gating designs for minimal surface roughness and percentage of porosity. Furthermore, the microstructure analysis depicted only an irregular defect with minimum quantity at both surface and cross-section of O-type at two different locations. Optimum pouring temperatures of 740, 750 and 790 °C were obtained for mold filling of all 24 components of H-, O- and U-type of gating designs, respectively. The varying solidification temperature was observed from real time thermocouple reading, which was in close agreement with the numerical simulation. Evidently, O-type of gating design exhibited best performance for large-scale development of the FVL in terms of surface roughness, porosity and cooling effects.Peer reviewe

Role of the Three Tiers of Government in the Provision of Sustainable Agricultural Extension Service in Nigeria

This paper focused on how the three tiers of government actually work in delivering extension services, and whether there is synergy of responsibilities—both financial and managerial—to improve accountability and performance. This analysis provides some informed speculation on what could be expected in terms of outcomes/performance if roles and responsibilities are clearly stated. Thus, it aims to contribute to the process of transformation in the country to reach an agreement on which tier is best suited to undertake extension expenditure responsibilities and how these should be financed. What institutional arrangements would enable better performance in the delivery of extension services? The public extension delivery system operative in Nigeria was reviewed highlighting the major challenges and way forward. The need for a legislated agricultural extension policy championed by the Federal Department of Agricultural Extension (FDAE) was recommended

Role of the Three Tiers of Government in the Provision of Sustainable Agricultural Extension Service in Nigeria

This paper focused on how the three tiers of government actually work in delivering extension services, and whether there is synergy of responsibilities—both financial and managerial—to improve accountability and performance. This analysis provides some informed speculation on what could be expected in terms of outcomes/performance if roles and responsibilities are clearly stated. Thus, it aims to contribute to the process of transformation in the country to reach an agreement on which tier is best suited to undertake extension expenditure responsibilities and how these should be financed. What institutional arrangements would enable better performance in the delivery of extension services? The public extension delivery system operative in Nigeria was reviewed highlighting the major challenges and way forward. The need for a legislated agricultural extension policy championed by the Federal Department of Agricultural Extension (FDAE) was recommended

Farmers’ Perception of the Effects of Climate Change and Coping Strategies in Three Agro-Ecological Zones of Nigeria

The study assessed farmers perception of the effects of climate change and coping strategies in three agro-ecological zones of Nigeria. Three agro-ecological zones namely Middle-Belt, North-Central and North–East were purposively selected and one LGA where NAERLS extension model village is located was purposively selected from each of the 3 agro-ecological zones. One village was randomly selected in addition to the NAERLS model village. Twenty five farmers were randomly selected from each village. One hundred and fifty (150) validated structured questionnaires were used to elicit information from respondents. Data were analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. Farmers were fully aware of the effect of climate change and possible coping strategies such as the need for agricultural insurance, planting of drought and flood tolerant varieties and reduction of water loss through practices such as mulching and rearing of heat tolerant livestock. General perception was that climate change increases the rate of sickness/infection, reduces family income and that frequency of flood and that drought has increased. Chi-square analysis indicated a positive and significant relationship between perception of climate change and agro-ecology (X2 =23.52;