Effect of national open apprenticeship scheme on youth employment in Ikwerre local government area of rivers state, Nigeria

The study assessed the effect of the National Open Apprenticeship Scheme on youth employment in Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State, Nigeria. Data were collected with the aid of the structured questionnaire administered to 120 randomly selected youths in the study area. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The results revealed high (79.2%) level of awareness and high (84.2%) level of participation by respondents in the scheme. More participation by the respondents in the scheme were on catering with 11.3% response and welding and fabrication with 10.0% response. Socio-economic effect of the scheme was more on employment generation with 87.5% response. Major problems of respondents in the scheme were, exclusion of some participants from resettlement benefits which accounted for 76.3% of the problem and insufficient resettlement package which accounted for 71.3% of the problem. Increasing the number of participants to benefit from the scheme’s resettlement package and improving the content of the resettlement package are recommended.Keywords: National, open apprenticeship scheme, youths, employment, Nigeri

Socio-Economic Characteristics As Correlates Of Adoption Among Yam Farmers In Rural Ikwerre Areas Of Rivers State, Nigeria

This study assessed the correlation between socio-economic characteristics of yam farmers and adoption of yam minisett technology. It was carried out in the Ikwerre rural areas of Rivers State, Nigeria. The sample size of the study is made up of 252 yam farmers who were randomly sampled. Interview schedule was used for data collection. Data were analyzed with the use of percentages and Pearson Product- Moment Correlation Coefficient (r). Results indicate that complete adoption is as low as 18.6%. Results of the r-values of socio-economic characteristics of yam farmers and adoption at 0.05 level of significance shows that age (r=-0.1149) and farming experience (r=-0.0897) were negative, very low and not significant. Income (r= 0.5540), yam farm size (r=0.5982) and extension contact (r=0.5851) gave positive, moderate and significant correlation. Education (r=0.7658) however, gave a positive, very strong and significant correlation with adoption. In view of the above results, it is recommended that extension efforts concentrated around middle age yam farmers who have higher: income, farm size, extension contact and education will yield a better adoption among yam farmers in this study areas. Keywords: Yam farmers, socio-economic characteristics, adoptionGlobal Approaches to Extension Practice Vol. 2 (2) 2006: pp. 74-8

Socio-economic Causes and Panacea to Youth Restiveness in Rivers State, Nigeria

Causes and panacea of youth restiveness in Rivers State of Nigeria was analyzed by this study. The random sampling method was used for data collection from 146 respondents. The questionnaire was used for data collection. Data analyses were achieved with frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation. Result showed that 66.4% of the respondents were males. The mean age of the respondents was 28 years. Findings showed that 45.9% of the respondents were unemployed. The major cause of youth restiveness was environmental degradation with the highest mean of 2.00. This was followed by unemployment and corruption with the mean of 1.90 respectively. Major damage caused by restive activities was illegal oil bunkery and oil theft with a mean of 2.8. The most effective panacea for reducing restive activities was provision of skill acquisition and employment opportunities with 49.3% response. This was followed by good governance with 49.0% response. In order to reduce youth restive activities in the state, the study recommends provision of skill acquisition and employment opportunities for the youths. Good governance by the political leadership in the state was also recommended.Keywords: Causes, Panacea, Youth, Restiveness, Rivers State, Nigeria

Application of Production Recommendations of Cassava/Maize/Egusi-Melon Intercropping System by Green River Project Farmers in Niger Delta, Nigeria

The study examined the current rate of application of the production recommendations of cassava/maize/egusi-melon intercropping system by rural farmers in Niger Delta region of Nigeria. Data collection was with the questionnaire which was randomly administered to a sample size of 270 respondents. Frequencies, percentages, analysis of variance and mean separation were used for data analyses. Results indicated a mean of 77.56 percent current rate of application of the recommendations by farmers in the region. Current rate of application was highest (80.78 percent) in Rivers State, followed by Bayelsa State (79.86 percent) and lastly by Imo State (72.22 percent). Significant variation in application existed in Rivers and Bayelsa States than with Imo State. The study recommends higher agricultural extension efforts among Imo state farmers to raise their application rate to be at par with those of Rivers and Bayelsa States

The Economic Benefit Of Kaolin Supplementation In Broiler Diets

The economic benefit of using kaolin (clay) as a feed additive in broiler diets was evaluated in an 8 week feeding trial. The experiment was carried out at the poultry section of Rivers State University of Science and Technology Teaching and Research farm, Nkpolu-Oroworukwo, Port Harcourt- Rivers State, South-south of Nigeria. A total of 120 Hubbard strain of broiler chicks weighing an average of 60g were allocated to four dietary treatments with 10 birds each being a replicate and 3 replicates comprising a treatment in a Completely Randomized Design (CRD).. Four diets were used comprising 0g kaolin/kg feed, 10g kaolin/kg, 20g kaolin/kg and 30g kaolin/kg representing treatments A, B, C and D respectively. The proprietary feed used in this study at both the starter and finisher phases was of top feed with protein contents of 22% for starter and 18% for finishers. They contained 2800 ME/Kcal/kg and 2900 ME/Kcal/kg respectively. Weekly weight gain and daily feed intake were recorded while the cost of feed was also determined. The result showed that significant differences (P<0.05) existed in feed intake and feed conversion ratio. With respect to feed intake, the control (0g kaolin/kg) recorded the highest while all the treated groups had the least and comparable intakes. Also feed conversion ratio was best in the 10g Kaolin/kg and 30g/kaolin/kg. The result showed no significant (P>0.05) differences in the cost/kg feed. The result also showed that the inclusion of kaolin in the diets reduced the cost of total feed consumed in all the treated groups when compared to the control. The cost for feeding in the control group accounted for N459.00 which is about 49.95% of the total cost of production in relation to feed consumed. Those on the treated groups accounted for N 423.0 (47.91%), N 441.20 (48.96%) and N 432.30 (48.45%) respectively for treatments B, C and D. The result indicated that there was no mortality in all the groups suggesting the safety of using kaolin in broiler chicken diets. The results of this experiment clearly demonstrate the economic benefits of the inclusion of kaolin (clay) in broiler chicken diets. Poultry farmers are therefore advised to take advantage of the economic gain obtained by the complimentary responses of chicken fed kaolin diets