Research On World Agricultural Economy

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Research on World Agricultural Economy
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Volume 02 | Issue 02 | June 2021
Editorial Team
Editor-in-Chief
Cheng Sun
Executive Chairman, World Confederation of Productivity Science China Center
Chief Scientist, International Development Information Organization, UN ECOSOC
Editorial Consultants
Yulong Yin
Academician, Chinese Academy of Engineering
Tingyun Kuang
Academician, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Editorial Board
Zhengbin Zhang
Agricultural Resources Research Center, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Zhiguo Wang
China Association for Science and Technology
Lijian Zhang
Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences
Xiaoyong Huang
Research Center for International Energy Security, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences
Ruhong Mei
China Agricultural University
Zhizhong Huang
Shandong High-end Technology Engineering Research Institute,China
Yunbiao Li
Researcher, Jilin Province Science and Technology Information Research Institute,China
Professor of Jilin University,China
Mingzao Liang
Institute of Agricultural Resources and Agricultural Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences
Lin Shen
China Agricultural University
Jianping Zhang
Institute of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, Ministry of Commerce,China
Xiuju Zhang
Institute of Agricultural Environmental Ecology, Hunan Academy of Agricultural Sciences,China
Alamgir Ahmad Dar
Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences & Technology-Kashmir, Shalimar, Srinagar 190025,India
Juan Sebastián Castillo Valero
University of Castilla-La Mancha,Spain
Shuxiang Zhang
Institute of Agricultural Resources and Agricultural Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences
Chunlei Zhang QR code on official website:
Oil Crops Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science
Volume 2 | Issue 2 | June 2021 | Page 1-42
CONTENTS
1 Gender Roles and Economic Differentials in Aquaculture of Kainji Lake Basin, Nigeria
Julius Emeka Omeje　Anthonia Ifeyinwa Achike　Attahiru Mohammed Sule　Chukwuemeka John Arene
11 Assessment of Use of Improved Production Technologies among Goat Farmers in Abia State Nigeria
Onu, S. E.　Obinna, L. O.　Ufomba V. U
20 Entrepreneurship Skill for Empowering Women in Cocoyam Production in Abia and Imo States, Nigeria
Lake Basin, Nigeria
Ugboaja, C. I.　Onu S. E.
26 Sustainability of the Youth Empowerment Scheme (YES): A Case Study of Agricultural and Rural
Management Training Institute
Segun-Alalade A.F.　Ibitoye O.M.　Alalade O.A.　Adesina B.S.　Elisha-Nissi D.O.
32 Effect of Polymerized Alkaline Conditioning Fertilizer on Peppers and Disease in Acid Field
Ding Wanhua
37 Soil Health
Daoren Tuya　Wang Qi　Mei Ruhong
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Research on World Agricultural Economy | Volume 02 | Issue 02 | June 2021

http://ojs.nassg.org/index.php/rwae
Gender Roles and Economic Differentials in Aquaculture of Kainji

Lake Basin, Nigeria
Julius Emeka Omeje1*　Anthonia Ifeyinwa Achike2　Attahiru Mohammed Sule3　Chukwue-
meka John Arene2
1. National Institute for Freshwater Fisheries Research New Bussa, Niger State Nigeria
2. Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Nigeria, Nsukka
3. Division of Socio-economics and Extension, National Institute for Freshwater Fisheries, Nigeria
ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT
Article history The existing power differences among men, women and youths in aqua-
Received: 23 April 2021 culture pre-empted the study on gender roles and economic differentials
in aquaculture of Kainji Lake Basin, Nigeria. Specifically, the study as-
Accepted: 27 May 2021 sessed sources of production resources, gender roles, cost and returns and
Published Online: 31 May 2021 existing gender gaps in aquaculture. Using a survey design, a two-stage
sampling procedure was used to select 81 males and 39 females from a
Keywords: population of 229 fish farmers. Data were presented using descriptive sta-
Gender tistics and analyzed with budgetary technique and gender gap ratios. Key
result shows that the men and youths had direct access to land through
Aquaculture inheritance and purchase while the women (61%) accessed land through
Catfish a family relation. The men and male youths performed majority of the
Economic gender roles involved in preparation of ponds, fingerlings stocking, fish
management and post-harvest activities while the women and female
Men
youths were actively involved in fish management, liming and grading.
Women Economic indicators show that the men and youths have a higher return
Youths on investment than the women implying that such power differences
still exist. Hence, it is recommended that women should be organized in
groups for empowerment. This will enable them utilize their collective
strength through division of labour in fish farming.
　
1. Introduction the aquaculture value chain, notably in the processing
and marketing of fish, fisheries resource management
Gender, a social construct which determines the and policy decision making (Lentisco & Lee, 2015). In
roles of men, women and youths in a given society is Bangladesh for instance, women perform most of the
highly relevant in the development of aquaculture in routine operations such as fertilization of ponds and
Nigeria. This is because the men and women play key fish feeding as well as other day-to-to operations. In
roles along the value chain. According to Kumar, Ea- several cases, they harvest fish for family consumption
gle and Tucker (2018), the aquaculture sector is male with the help of their children while the husbands (men)
dominated because of the capital intensive nature and only help when the water in the ponds is too deep,
the technologies associated with its development. How- requiring more specialized gear to be used for fish har-
ever, the roles of women are observed in every link of vesting (Quddus, Jui, Rahman & Rahman, 2017). In
*Corresponding Author:
Julius Emeka Omeje;
juliusomeje@gmail.com
Distributed under creative commons license 4.0 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.36956/rwae.v2i2.353 1

Nigeria, Aguihe, Sule & Olowosegun (2013) reported grows thereby making them lose out from the benefits
that the men carry out almost all the processes in breed- from the aquaculture boom. The above observation in-
ing and management of improved catfish in kainji Lake formed the need for this study especially, the dearth in
Basin while the women were only involved in feeding information on gender roles and economic differences
of fry’s/fingerlings. Thus, implying that these gender of men, women and youths in aquaculture of Kainji
roles vary across place, society and family settings. lake basin, Nigeria. Specifically, the study assessed the
It is widely recognized that women’s engagement in sources of production resources, examined gender roles
aquaculture is numerous, significantly contributing to and the perceptions of respondents to participation
the overall well-being of household members; howev- in fish culture, estimated the cost and returns of men,
er, their contributions are not commensurate with the women and youths as well as the corresponding gender
return they get because of deep-rooted gender dispar- gaps in aquaculture of Kainji Lake Basin Nigeria.
ities in social, cultural and economic spheres (Harris-
son, Leitch & McAdam, 2016). Gender in one way or 2. Methodology
the other, affects the distribution of labour, resources, 2.1 Study area
wealth, decision-making, political power as well as the
enjoyment of rights and entitlements within the family The study was conducted in Kainji Lake Basin, an
as well as in public life (Paul & Meena, 2016). Ac- area in the south of Niger State and north of Kebbi State,
cording to Kenya Market-led Aquaculture Programme Nigeria. The area is located between Latitudes 90 50’ and
[KMAP], (2016), women face stiffer constraints in 1055’ North and Longitudes 40 23’ and 4051’ East (Omeje,
access and use of production resources than their male Achike, Arene, Ifejika & Ifeijika, 2020). The lake is di-
counterparts who are heads of households. Statistics vided into three strata; upper stratum, middle stratum and
shows a significant difference in gender access to pro- lower stratum. The upper and middle strata are dominated
duction resources (Ayodele, Fasina & Awoyemi, 2016). by fisher men (capture fisheries) while the lower stratum
These uneven access to production resources and un- is dominated by fish farmers or aquaculture with catfish
equal distribution of return between men and women the most cultured fish species. There are about 362 fishing
means that the development of aquaculture does not communities around the lake; whereas, capture fisheries
benefit the whole gender community as expected. On and aquaculture is one of the major economic activities of
this note, Kruijssen et al. (2018) proposed a gender the inhabitants around the lake.
perspective in value chain analysis to address the issue
of gender differences in aquaculture and increase the
output and benefits associated with the business. This
involves the assessment of gender roles of men, women
and youths, and how they inter-relate with each other;
which provides the possibilities of counteracting con-
straints and gain the maximum benefits from the aqua-
culture business.
Gender issues in aquaculture needs to be addressed
squarely through the exposure of women and youths
to equal access to production resources like the men
(Gallant, 2019). Addressing this gap is of particular rel-
evance to the growth of aquaculture sub-sector which
has become a significant economic sector. Aquaculture
is reported to have a notable economic potential to con-
Figure. Map of Kainji Lake Basin
tribute to women’s economic and social empowerment
as well as bring about gender equality and economic Source: Sule, Olowosegun, Sanni, Landu and Tanko, (2015)
development (Manyung-Pasani, Hara & Chimatiro,

2.2 Sampling and data collection
2017). Although, Ferrer, Perez, Roxas & Avila (2014)
reported that men and women complement each other A two-stage sampling procedure was adopted in the
in reproductive and productive roles; Brugere & Wil- selection of 120 (81 males and 39 females) respondents
liams. (2017) noted that women tend to lose their con- from a population of 229 table-size fish farmers. The
trol over economic activities as aquaculture production
2 Distributed under creative commons license 4.0 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.36956/rwae.v2i2.353

first stage involved the purposive selection of 20 com- Sirlinger & Waltner, 2015). Key ratios include gender
munities based on the preponderance of fish farmers. gaps (absolute gender gap and relative gender gap) and
The communities include; New bussa, Yauri, Rofia, gender ratios.
Kokoli, Zamare, Utonu, Duga, T. Gungawa, Musawa, Absolute gender gap =Differences in values for men,
Gafara, Wawu, Wara, Monai, T. A. Danbaba, Malale, women and youths in absolute terms
Mahuta, T/Na’ilo, Shagunu, Mashaya, and Cover Dam. ai
The second stage involved the proportional selection Relative gender gap= ( − 1) *100
bi
of 20 fish farmers each from Monai and New bussa,
ai
15 from Malale, 10 each from Shagunu and Kokoli Gender ratio=
bi
and three each from Yauri, Rofia, Mahuta, Zamare,
Where; ai=values for men, women and youths
Utonu, Duga, Mashaya, T. Gungawa, Gafara, Wawu,
bi=values for men, women and youths
Wara, T. A. Danbaba, Musawa, T/Na’ilo and Cover
Dam, making a total of 120 table-size fish farmers. The 3. Results and Discussion
sample frame used for the selection was retrieved from
registered members of the fish farmer’s association in 3.1 Socio-economic characteristics of fish farmers
the area. Data were sex-disaggregated and categorized
The result on socio-economic characteristics of the
into 3 major groups. The first and second groups were
fish farmers is presented in Table 1. The results show
the men and women who were males or females above
that majority of the men (54.74 %) and women (56.12
35 years of age while the third group comprise of the
%) were within the age bracket of 41-50 years while
youths who were male and female below 35 years of
majority (76.82 %) of the youths were within the age
age.
bracket of 21-30 years. This shows that majority of
2.3 Data analysis and model specification the farmers were still in their economic active age
which corresponds to the finding of Akarue and Areg-
Data were presented using descriptive statistics such as bor (2015) that majority (74.72 %) of fish farmers in
mean, percentage, likert-type scale and pie charts. Also, Delta state were within the age bracket of 21-40 years.
data were analyzed using budgetary technique and gen- This indicates how lucrative fish farming is in the area
der gap ratio analysis as adopted by (Maltschnig, Pailer, which has become attractive to “young aged” actors as
Sirlinger & Waltner, 2015). The models are specified as reported by Ifejika et al. (2015). Furthermore, major-
thus; ities 92.12 %, 100 % and 74.67 % of the men, women
and youths respectively, were married while the mean
2.4 Profitability indices
years of experience was 8.90, 5.00, 4.86 respectively.
Net Income after Tax (NIAT) This result corresponds to the result of Ukpe, Audu,
NIAT= Revenue-Total expenses 1 Djomo & Akise (2017) who reported that 60% of fish
Net Profit Margin farmers in Taraba state had experience of 6-10 years.
Profit after tax This is a good sign in the fish farming value chain as
Net Profit Margin= *100 2 the result shows that the fish farmers have a good num-
Revenue
Where: Revenue=Unit Price* Quantity supplied ber of years of experience in managing risks and others
Cost of Goods sold=Cost of processing fish in a month shocks that can possibly affect the business. Finally,
Return on Investment findings show that the men (49.64 %), women (44.21
%) and youths (67.99 %) had tertiary educational qual-
Net income after tax
Return on Investment = *1003 ification. A high literacy level in fish farming have
Total Expenses
been established to enhance the management of fish
farms through the adoption of improved farm practices
2.5 Gender gap analysis
(Ogunmefun & Achike, 2017). The high literacy level
These are indicators that correlate two reference values in the area could be attributed to the presence of higher
through a simple calculation rule. Instead of just showing academic and research institutions such as Federal Col-
information on gender, it is possible, by calculating gen- lege of Freshwater Fisheries Technology, Federal col-
der-specific ratios, to highlight differences between men, lege of wildlife management and NIFFR. Hence, grad-
women and youths more clearly, thus making gender-sen- uates and trainees from these institutions must have put
sitive statistics more informative (Maltschnig, Pailer, their knowledge into practice.

Table 1. Socio-economic Characteristics of Fish Farmers

Men Cooperativ
Men Women Youths Bank Loan
(N=64) (N=10) (N=46) 2% e society
Percent Mean Percent Mean Percent Mean 6%
Age 44.56 42.90 29.89
21-30 0.00 0.00 76.82 Family &
31-40 32.31 36.49 23.18 Friends
41-50 54.74 56.12 0.00 31%
>50 12.95 7.39 0.00
Marital Status Self Finance

Married 92.12 100.00 74.67 59%
Single 7.88 0.00 25.33 Money
Lenders
Experience 8.90 5.00 4.86 2%
1-5 23.47 65.32 66.84
6-10 59.31 29.73 31.52
11-15 12.09 4.95 1.64 Figure 1
>15 5.13 0.00 0.00
Level of Education WOMEN

Primary 21.43 26.58 11.67
Secondary 28.93 29.21 20.34 Self
Tertiary 49.64 44.21 67.99
Finance
Source: Field survey, 2020 30%
3.2 Sources of finance and production resources

The information on the various sources of finance for
the men, women and youths (figure 1-3) shows that the
men (59 %) and youths (63 %) used personal savings
Family &
to finance their fish farming business while majority
Friends
(70 %) of the women financed their fish farming busi- 70%
ness through the help of a family relation or friend.
This shows the level of dependence of women on their Figure 2
spouses and family relations in financing their economic Youths
enterprise such as fish farming. Furthermore, this indi- Bank Loan
Cooperative
cates the poor level of accessibility to formal credit insti- 2%
society
tutions by the men, women and youths in the area. Thus, 11%
necessitating the need for the fish farmers to explore ex-

isting agricultural credit schemes such as the Agricultur- Family &
Friends
al Credit Guarantee Scheme Fund (ACGSF) as reported 22%
by Omeje, Nwabeze, Ifejika, Faleke & Jimmy (2018) as Self Finance
well as the Anchor Borrower Programme of the Central 63%
Money
Bank of Nigeria. This is because formal credit has shown Lenders
2%
to impact positively on outputs of agricultural com-
modities (Chandio, Yuansheng, Sahito & Larik, 2016).
Figure 3
However, the utilization of this formal source of finance
depends on the ease of access. As indicated in Table 2, Figure 1-3. Sources of finance used in fish farming
the men, women and youths indicated that it is difficult
(>1.5) to access credit from commercial banks, money Table 2. Ease of access to loan
lenders and cooperative societies. However, the men and Source Men Women Youths
youths indicated that it is easy (<1.5) to access funding Bank Loan 2.29 2.00 2.10
Money Lenders 1.91 1.70 2.02
from family and friends while the women on the other Cooperative societies 1.85 1.70 1.78
hand, indicated that it is difficult to access fund from Family and Friends 1.31 1.60 1.39
family and friends even though it was their major source Source: Field Survey, 2020
of finance. This suggests that the women have to lobby Note: <1.5=easily, >1.5 Difficult
or persuade their spouse and family relations to release Furthermore, result in figure 4-6 shows that the men
fund for investment in fish farming.

(37 %) and the youths (38 %) use lands that were acquired
through inheritance and purchase respectively, while Youths
majority (61 %) of the women use lands belonging to a Relation
family relation (their spouses). In Nigeria, it is reported 12% Lease
21%
that less than 16 % of women have explicit land rights
and ownership (FAOSTAT, 2020). Moreover, FAO (2011)
reported that closing gender gap in land holdings will
require a holistic approach through land reforms, strate- Inherited
29%
gies, policies and legislation within existing socio-cultural
norms. This is because most traditional institutions fa- Purchase
vour men than women in land allocations. In most cases, 38%
women have access to land through their relationships Figure 6

with a relative or through marriage where they use lands
belonging to their husbands. Another impeding factor to Figure 4-6. Access to land used for pond construction
women’s land ownership especially in Northern Nigeria
like the Kainji Lake Basin is the practice of purdar system 3.3 Gender roles in table-size fish farming
(women seclusion). The systems impede women from en- The results for gender roles in fish farming is presented
gaging in direct or highly labourious agricultural activity in table 3. From the table, the roles of pond digging/ con-
because of the religious belief system. Thus, the men tend struction of dykes were carried out by the men and male
to participate in activities such as outdoor fish farming and youths. More so, the male youths and men dominate in
other labourious agricultural activities (Gambo, Zahran & fingerling stocking and liming of ponds with ash. In pond
Sidahmed, 2016); thereby placing them at an advantage management, the men, women and youths were actively
over women in land ownership. involved in fish feeding, fish sampling and environmental
cleaning. The role of women in post-harvest was limited
Men
to fish grading after harvest while the men and the male
Relation youths perform the functions of net preparation, fish har-
18%
Lease vest (dragging), grading and weighing. From the result,
11%
one can see that the women and female youths contribute
to activities that are “light” in nature, while the men and
male youths perform heavy tasks which require strength
or vigor. This shows a key gender differences in division
Inherited of labour as reported by Sexsmith (2017). This is because
37% Purchase some roles may not fit well with women physique espe-
34%
cially when their feminine nature is put into consideration.
This gendered differences observed in the production
Figure 4 chain could lead to an unequitable distribution of benefits
among men, women and youths as reported by Farnworth
Women Sultana, Kantor & Choudhury (2015). This is because an
entrepreneur will most likely pay higher remuneration
to individuals who perform greater tasks such as; pond
Relation digging/construction of dykes and harvesting than those
61% individuals performing lesser/light functions such as;
Lease feeding and environmental cleaning. This gives credence
14% to Jahan et al. (2015) survey in Bangladesh who reported
that women accept lower pay than men because they are
short of alternatives. For this reason, unless other alter-
natives such as automation of the fish production process
is adopted, the roles of women and female youths in fish
Purchase farming value chain activities will continue to be limited
25%
to the functions observed in the study.
Figure 5

Table 3. Gender roles in table-size fish farming the men. Therefore, women need empowerment (policy,
Men Women Youths
finance, advocacy) to enable them have increased access
Preparation of Ponds/ Construction of Dykes to land for fish farming. Thirdly, the result show that the
Digging of ponds,
Male youths dig ponds, drain
actors in the production chain perceive that the skills in-
draining of water volved are exclusively designed to the interest of men and
water and fill bags with sands for
and filling of bags
with sands for dykes
dykes youths (=2.53), and that table-size fish farming is capital
Fish Stocking and Liming intensive (=2.53). The importance of capital in table-size
Fingerlings stocking
Male youths stock ponds with fish farming is quite enormous to meet the high operating
Liming of ponds fingerlings while both male and
and liming of ponds
with ash female youths lime ponds with
cost associated with feeding and other requirements of the
with ash fish for at least six months of which most women do not
ash
Fish Management have such financial strength to meet these demands.
Fish feeding, Male and female youths feed fish
Fish feeding, fish Table 4. Perceptions of respondents on participation in
fish sampling and clean the farm environment
sampling and envi-
ronmental cleaning
and environ- while male youths drag ponds table-size fish farming
mental cleaning with nets for fish samplings
Fish Harvest and Post-harvest Activities S/
Perceptions Mean Rank Inference
N
Preparation of nets, Male youths prepare nets, drag
dragging of fish, and weigh fish while both male 1. The skills involved are exclusively designed 2.53 3rd Agree
Grading to the interest of men and youths
grading and weigh- and female youths grade fish
ing after harvest
2. Most of the value chain activities requires 3.21 1st Agree
Source: Field Survey, 2020 one with masculine disposition
3.4 Perception on gender participation in table 3. The value chain is capital intensive 2.53 3rd Agree
size fish farming activities 4. Women don’t have access to land required
for participation in this value chain 2.65 2nd Agree
The perception of table-size fish farmers on gender par-
Source: field survey, 2020
ticipation in is presented in Table 4. From the result of the
analysis, the actors in the production chain indicated that 3.5 Estimation of cost and returns and gender
most of the value chain activities require one with mascu- gaps in aquaculture
line disposition which ranked first with the mean (=3.21).
Priority given to masculinity is linked to the manual op- The result of the analysis of value of fixed assets, rev-
eration of the activities in the production chain, hence, enue and gender based employment for the men, women
this perception seems plausible since the roles played by and youths in table-size fish farming is presented in table
women in table-size fish farming were those that can be 5.1. The result of the analysis shows that the youths were
classified as “light burden” functions. Morgan et al. (2015) the highest with about N 2,088,667.9 worth of fixed as-
reported that existing techniques employed in fish farm- sets followed by the men who had about N 1,889,516.52
ing are not acceptable for women because of perceptions worth of fixed assets while the women were the least with
that roles associated in the use of such techniques are not about N 1,264,221.42 worth of fixed assets. The amount is
gender sensitive. This is because the techniques employed used in purchasing or installing fixed items such as land,
to execute activities such as; pond digging, harvesting construction of ponds, piping and accessories, pumping
and weighing requires one with masculine disposition. machine, borehole and other fixed assets such as nets,
The men and the male youths who possess such physi- taps etc. The results imply that the men and youths have a
cal characteristics tend to participate more in this value higher value of fixed assets than the women probably be-
chain. Also, the result show that women were perceived cause they have more investment on the number and sizes
not to have access to land required for participation in of ponds, fish stocked as well as access to capital than the
table-size fish farming (=2.65). This finding agrees with women. This is supported by Ayodele et al. (2016) that
existing norm in the African tradition, that men have there is significant difference in men and women access
greater advantage and financial position to acquire land to production resources such as land, finance etc. This is
(Mabundza, Dlamini & Nkambule, 2014). This is due because the men and youths had larger productive assets
to the advantages accorded to men by the local tradition such as land used for large scale ponds for production than
and ancestral inheritance system which makes them have the women.
greater influence in decision making within the household On revenue, the result shows that the men receive
and communities. The women may have access to land; about N 14,913,538.4 as revenue per year, the women
however, their degree of access may differ with that of earn about N 3,176,647.2 as revenue per year and the

youths earn about N 9,972,308.1 as revenue per year. The not mean that women do not participate in the production
difference in the revenue received by the men, women and chain as the study has established the roles of women
youths could be largely attributed to the number of factors in production chain especially in fish feeding and envi-
such as; number of ponds stocked with fish, quantity of ronmental cleaning (Tafida, Nwabeze & Ayanda, 2011).
fish harvested from ponds and market price of fish. Hence, women could be perceived to contribute as unpaid
Information on gender based employees established family labour in the table-size fish production chain in
that an average of 2.18 men and 2.73 youths were em- Kainji Lake Basin.
ployed by the men involved in fish farming, while 1.3 The cost and returns in table size fish farming is
men and 2.50 youths were employed by the women and presented in Table 5.2. From the result of the analysis,
1.89 men and 2.90 youths were employed the youths in the net-income for the men was N 6233509.91 with
table-size fish farming enterprise in the area. Surpris- 41.80% net profit margin while the women realize about
ingly, findings show that there is no woman employed in N 1073576.33 net-income with 33.80% profit margin
the table-size fish farming as paid labour, but that does whereas, the net-income for the youths was N 5206967.07
Table 5.1. Information on Value of fixed assets, Revenue and employment in table-size fish farming
Men Women Youths
ITEM MN MUP (N) TP (N) MN MUP (N) TP (N) MN MUP (N) TP (N)
Fixed Assets
Cost of Land 1.00 833548.38 833548.38 1.00 450000.00 450000.00 1.00 1077391.30 1077391.30
Ponds 6.62 27354.83 181088.97 1.70 24500.00 41650.00 4.46 34586.96 154257.84
Borehole 1.39 439534.88 610953.48 1.14 478571.42 545571.42 1.29 481081.08 620594.59
Pumping Machine 1.00 139732.14 139732.14 1.00 149000.00 149000.00 1.00 138902.43 138902.43
Piping other assets 1.00 124193.55 124193.55 1.00 78000.00 78000.00 1.00 97521.74 97521.74
Total 1564363.78 1889516.52 1180071.42 1264221.42 1829483.51 2088667.9
Revenue
a) No. of Cycles/Yr 1.84 1.80 1.83
b) Kg/pond 1941.93 1640.00 1930.43
c) Price/Kg 630.48 633.00 632.93
Revenue/year
=a*b*c* MN ponds 14913538.4 3176647.2 9972308.1
Employment Wage/M TW/M Wage/M TW/M Wage/M TW/M

Men 2.18 12269.23 26746.92 1.33 14000.00 18620.00 1.89 11888.89 22470.00
Women 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Youths 2.73 9654.54 26356.89 2.50 10625.00 26562.5 2.90 9804.87 28434.12
Source: Computation from field survey, 2020
Note: MN=Mean Number; MUP=Mean Unit Price/Cost; TP=Total Price/Cost; TW/M=Total Wage per Month; Qty=Quantity
Table 5.2. Cost and returns in table-size fish farming per two cycles in a year
Items Men (N) Women (N) Youths (N)
Revenue from sales 14913538.4 3176647.2 9972308.1
Expenses
Cost of feed 6986065.57 1260800.00 3511282.61
Fertilizer/cow dungs 9089.52 2660.00 5089.13
Salt/ash 2579.06 2063.16 2361.11
Electricity bill/year 37786.77 28500.00 35503.44
Depreciation 40052.03 31312.25 40151.03
Fueling 124327.13 32476.68 53763.24
Transport 89633.33 59623.35 61573.44
Levies 24823.15 16845.43 18245.89
Labour 637245.70 542190.00 610849.40
Total 8680028.49 2103070.87 4765341.03
Net income=Revenue-expenses 6233509.91 1073576.33 5206967.07
Net Profit Margin 41.80% 33.80% 52.21%

Return on Investment 71.81% 51.05% 109.27%
Benefit Cost Ratio (BCR) 1.72 1.51 2.09
Source: Computation from field survey, 2020

with 52.21 % profit margin. This shows that the men and in terms of wage paid was 0.79 which means that there is
youths earn more than the women in table-size fish farm- no great inequality in the amount paid to men and youths
ing largely due to the numbers ponds stocked with fish by employed in table-size fish farming in the area. From the
the men, women and youths and partly due to the level of result of the ratio analysis, it is obvious that there is an
technical know-how. Moreover, it indicates that fish farm- existing gender-based power differences in aquaculture
ing is a lucrative enterprise as supported by Omobepade et which has been the major issue with gender (Paul & Mee-
al. (2015) and Adeosun et al. (2019) that aquaculture is a na, 2016). Most importantly, access and use of production
viable business. This is because the Return on Investment resources is key to high productivity and profits. Howev-
was 71.81%, 51.05% and 109.27% for the men, women er, unequal access to these resources by men, women and
and youths respectively implying that to every N 1 invest- youths in aquaculture will definitely lead to variations in
ed in table-size fish farming, about 77.38 kobo (average outputs and profits. Generally, gender differences in ac-
value) will be realized as profit ceteris paribus. cess to agricultural production resources have been a very
The gender gap ratio of table-size fish farmers (Table serious concern in many developing countries around the
5.3) shows that the ratio in terms of the value of fixed world (Oladosu, Afolabi & Buhari, 2018). This calls for
assets between the men and women was 0.67, the ratio be- empowerment in aquaculture by NGOs, governments and
tween the men and youths was 0.90 and the ratio between other funding agencies to effectively target the vulnera-
the women and youths was 0.61. This indicates that the ble groups (women and youths) in their interventions for
difference in the value of fixed assets between the men aquaculture development in Nigeria.
and women as well as between the women and youths is
quite larger than the difference in value of fixed assets 4. Conclusion and Recommendations
between the men and youths. However, in terms of reve-
The study established that men and youths used per-
nue, the ratio between the men and women was 0.21, the
sonal savings to invest in aquaculture as well as acquired
ratio between the men and youths was 0.67 and the ratio
land used for pond construction through purchase or
between the women and youths was 0.38. This means that
inheritance while family relations were instrumental in
there is unequal revenue generated by the men, women
financing women in fish farming. Majority of the roles in
and youths which is as largely due to the number of ponds
aquaculture were performed by the men and male youths
used in fish farming. Also, it implies that there is gross
while the women were actively involved in fish manage-
inequality in the revenue realized between the men, wom-
ment. Also, the net-income realized from aquaculture
en and youths in table-size fish farming. The ratio for
shows that the men receive a higher net-income than the
employees between the men and youths was 0.31 which
women and youths due to the higher level of investment
indicates the extent of inequality in terms of number of
in aquaculture by the men. Based on the findings of the
paid labour in table-size fish farming in the area. More so,
study, it is recommended that women should be organized
the results show that the ratio between men and youths
in groups for empowerment. This will enable them utilize
Table 5.3. Gender gaps in table-size fish farming
Indicators Absolute Gender Gap Relative Gender Gap (%) Gender Gap Ratio
Value of Fixed Assets
Men & Women 625,295 49.46 0.67
Men & Youths 199,151 10.54 0.90
Women & Youths 824,446 65.21 0.61
Revenue
Men & Women 11,736,891 369.47 0.21
Men & Youths 4,941,230 49.55 0.67
Women & Youths 6,795,661 213.93 0.38
Employees
Men & Women 1.80 0.00 0.00
Men & Youths 0.90 50.56 0.66
Women & Youths 2.71 0.00 0.00
Wage
Men & Women 0.00 0.00 0.00
Men & Youths 2691.24 26.84 0.79
Women & Youths 0.00 0.00 0.00
Source: computation from field survey, 2020

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[7] Farnworth, C. R., Sultana, N., Kantor, P. & Choud-
This study received its financial support from the Re-
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research and technology adoption processes: Lessons
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in aquatic agricultural systems in the Philippines.
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[9] Food and Agriculture Organization Statistics
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Assessment of Use of Improved Production Technologies among Goat

Farmers in Abia State Nigeria
Onu, S. E.*　Obinna, L. O.　Ufomba V. U
Department of Agricultural Extension and Rural Development, Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike
Article history The study provided an empirical evidence on the use of improved goat
Received: 22 April 2021 production technologies among rural farmers in Abia State, Nigeria. The
specific objectives of the study were to describe the socioeconomic char-
Accepted: 28 May 2021 acteristics of the respondent, ascertain the extent of use of improved goat
Published Online: 31 May 2021 production technologies, determine factors influencing use of improved
goat production technologies and identify the constraint to access and use
Keywords: of improved goat production technologies in the study area. A multi-stage
Use random sampling technique was adopted in selecting the sample size 120
respondents. Data for the study were collected through the use of question-
improved goat production technologies naire. The data collected for the study were analysed with both descriptive
farmers and inferential statistics. The result of the socioeconomic characteristics
revealed the mean age of the respondents was 43 years, majority 69.16% of
the respondents were married, about 45% had secondary education, a mean
household size of 6 persons, majority 66.67% were farmers, mean years
of arming experience at 5.7 years, mean income of #102,000, mean farm
size of 11 goats and majority (78.33%) of respondents were non- members
of cooperative societies. The result on extent of use of improved goat pro-
duction technologies, revealed that the respondents highly used most of
improved goat production technologies as affirmed with the grand mean of
x= 3.20. On constraint to use of improved goat production technologies, all
the respondents 100% agreed that lack of access to credit was a constraint
to use, 100% agrees on lack of credibility from source of technological in-
formation, 99.2% agreed that they were afraid of taking risk, 93.3% agreed
on difficulty in technology application among others. The OLS regression
estimates of the influence of socioeconomic characteristics the respondents
on the use of improved goat production technologies in the study area,
revealed that age at 10%, education at 1%, household size at 1%, farming
experience at 1%, farm size at 1%, income at 1% and access to credit at 5%
were the determinants of use of improved goat production technologies in
the study area and the null hypotheses rejected. In conclusion, greater use
of available improved technologies will promote productivity, and therefore
there is need for proper sensitization and awareness by relevant agencies.
The study recommended that credit should be made available to farmers
by relevant governmental and non- governmental agencies to increase the
level of use of available improved technologies.
1. Introduction
　 demand across the country. Besides meat, goats provide
other products like milk, skin, fiber and manure. Nigeria,
Goats are among the main meat-producing animals in with over 3.9 million goats is one of the largest goat pro-
Nigeria, whose meat is one of the choicest and has high ducing countries in Africa and playing a significant role
Onu, S. E.;
samsononu@gmail.com

in livelihood and nutritional security as well as providing gies have been rejected by rural farmers, giving rise to the
supplementary income to many marginal and resource need to examine technologies used by rural farmers in a
poor farmers, (Food and Agricultural organization; FAO,: particular locality so as to identify and meet their needs.
2015). Keeping in view the above facts, the present research was
However, the productivity of goats under the traditional designed to study the Utilization level of improved goat
production system is very low owing to their maintenance farming technologies by goat farmers.
under extensive system on natural vegetation and shrink-
ing common grazing lands and tree lopping. Moreover, Statement of problem
adoption of improved technologies and management prac- Available statistics show that the supply of goat meat
tices in the farmers’ flock is very low (Singh and Kumar, fell short of it's demand. Ijere (2012), asserts that while
2007). Adoption behaviour of goat farmers depends on the average growth rate of the Nigerian population is be-
knowledge, economic motivation, family education status, tween 2.5 - 3.0%per annum, domestic food production
extension agency contact, social participation and income lags behind at a growth rate less than 2% per annum,
(Kumar et al., 2014). The adoption is low in important sci- thereby creating food supply gap. The decreased output
entific practices due to lack of exposure, henceforth exten- of agricultural produce over the years may not only be
sion agencies have to arrange training and demonstration connected to deviations of farmers from improved recom-
programs of improved practices to goat keepers (Singh, mended production technologies but also with lack of use
2017). of the existing improved production technologies leading
Technology information usage on the other hand refers to inefficiencies ( Ijere, 2012).
to the physical and mental acts involved in incorporating Despite the multiple roles goats play in the livelihood
the improved technologies found, into the farmers exist- of rural farmers and the economic growth of the country,
ing technology base. Technology use is an indicator of they are still neglected by farmers and sources of credit.
technology needs, because it leads an individual use the For efficient production in the goat production enterprise,
technology in order to meet his needs. Technology use is a lot of improved technologies have be developed and
concerned with what happens with a technology once it transferred to the field for use. There is is little or no infor-
has been obtained, and how it is applied to accomplishing mation on how farmers adopt and use these technologies,
a specific task. It is the final step in the technology seek- hence this study was conducted to investigate the use of
ing process. improved goat production technologies among farmers in
Goat rearing using improved management practices un- Abia state.
dertaken for maximization of returns from the enterprise
was considered as ‘commercial goat farming’ in the pres- Specific objectives of the study
ent context. The entry of large farmers, who have better
access to technical knowledge, resources and market, into (1) describe the socioeconomic characteristics of the
this activity would help in realizing the potential of goat farmers in the area
enterprise (Kumar, 2007). The trend of commercialization (2) ascertain the extent of use of improved goat produc-
has especially been prominent in the Northern States of tion technologies
Nigeria, where demand for marketing is relatively better. (3) determine factors influencing use of improved goat
Goat production can be singled out to be an ideal option production technologies
for the South Eastern part of Nigeria, given the abundance (4) ascertain the constraints to use of existing improved
of suitable rangelands and the accommodating climatic technologies.
conditions in the area. Hypothesis
In order to make the goat rearing a profitable enter-
prise, technologies have been developed by the research H01: There is no significant difference between farmers
institutions both at national and international level. Such socioeconomic characteristics and the extent of use of im-
improved practices developed have not been adopted by proved goat production technologies.
the farmers so far. Therefore, proper adoption of these
improved practices by the goat farmers will be the only 2. Methodology
means to hasten further development in this sector.
The study was conducted in Abia State. Abia State is
Improved technologies are various technical know-
located in the South-East agro-ecological zone of Nige-
how for the promotion and development of agriculture.
ria. According to National Population Commission, 2007
However in developing countries some of these technolo-
census report, Abia State has a population of 2,833,999

people, made up of 1,454,195 males and 1,599,806 fe- variable, with other predictors held constant.
males, and the population is predominately rural (62.25%) The OLS/Multiple regression expressed implicitly as
with only 37.75 % urban population. Abia State lies with- follows.
in Longitude 70 23E and 80 2E and Latitude 40 47N and Y = f (X1 X2 X3 X4 X5 X6 X7,X8X9X10X11X12, X13, ei)
60 12N. The population of the study comprised of all the …………………………….. (3.2)
goat farmers in Abia State, Nigeria. A multi-stage random The four functional forms of OLS in explicit form is
sampling technique was adopted in selecting the sample specified as;
size 120 respondents. In the first stage, 2 Agricultural Linear Function
Blocks each were randomly selected from the 3 Agricul- Y = ß + ß1+x1+ ß2x2+ ……..…………………….ßnxn+ ei
tural Zones in Abia State making a total 6 Agricultural Exponential function
Blocks. In the second stage, 2 circles each were randomly Log Y = ß + ß1+x1+ ß2x2+..……………………..ßnxn + ei
selected from the 6 Agricultural Blocks making a total of Semi-log function
12 circles. In the third stage, 2 cells each were randomly Y = ß0+ ß1lnx1 + ß2lnx2….............................… ßnlnxn + ei
selected from circles already selected making a total 24 Cobb Douglas function
cells. In the fourth stage five (5) goat farmers were ran- Log Y = ß0+ ß1lnx1 + ß2lnx2 ………………… ßnlnxn + ei
domly selected from each of the cells which gave a total Where,
of 120 respondents that were used for the study. The study Y = use of improved got production technologies (mean
made use of primary data. Data for the study were collect- score)
ed through the use of questionnaire. Data were collected X1 = Age (years)
on all the specific objectives of the study. The data col- X2 = Education level (Number of years spent in school)
lected for the study were analysed with both descriptive X3 = Marital status (1 = married, 0 = single)
and inferential statistics. All the specific objectives were X4 = flock size (number of goats)
analysed using descriptive statistic while the hypothesis X5 = farmers experience (years)
was tested using Ordinary Least Square regression model. X6 = household size (number of persons)
The formula to compute the mean count to be used in X7 = Occupation ( Farming = 1, trading = 2, civil ser-
this study is specified below. The mean ( ) is computed vice = 3, artisan= 4)
by multiplying the frequency (f) of the responses under X8 = farm income (N)
each category by assigned value and dividing the sum (∑) X9 = access to credit (yes=1 No = 2)
of the product by (N) number of respondents to the partic- X10= membership of cooperative (yes = 1, No = 0)
ular indicator as shown: e = error term
∑ fx (3.1) 3. Results and Discussion

X =
N
3.1 Socioeconomic characteristics of the respon-
Where, dents
∑ = Summation
F = Frequency Table 1. Distribution of respondents based on their socio-
X = assigned scores to response category economic characteristics
N = number of respondents Parameters Percentages Parameters
X = Arithmetic mean Age(years)
Farming Experience
(years)
H01: There is no significant relationship between farm- 20-30 12.3 1-5 50.00
er’s socio-economic characteristics and the level of use of 31-40 15.8 6-10 20.0
improved goat production technologies in the study area 41-50 37.5 11-15 20.83
was tested using Ordinary Least Square regression model. 51-60 22.5 16-20 9.16
61-70 4.16 Mean 15.7 years
Multiple regression helps to learn more about the rela-
Mean 42.8 years Farm income (N)
tionship between one dependent variable (Y) and two or Marital Status 10,000-50,000 10.83
more independent variables (X). It is used when we want Single 8.33 51,000 – 100,000 40.83
to predict the value of a variable based on the value of Married 69.16 101,000 – 150,000 41.67
two or more variables. It calculates a coefficient for each Widow 16.66 151,000 – 200,000 6.67
Divorced 5.38 Mean 102,012.22
independent variable, as well as its statistical significance,
Farm Size (number of
to estimate the effect of each predictor on the dependent Level of Education
goats)

Parameters Percentages Parameters technologies and that education have a positive and signif-
Farming Experience
Age(years)
(years)
icant influence on adoption.
No formal education 16.67 01 – 05 25 The result revealed that a large proportion (50%) of the
Primary 29.17 06 – 10 48.3 respondents had 6-10 persons in their household 45% had
Secondary 45.0 11 – 15 25 2-5 persons in their household 2.5% had 11-15persons
Tertiary 9.16 16 – 20 1.7
in their household and another 2.5% had 16-20 persons
Household Size
(numbers)
Mean 10.6 goats in their household. The mean household size is 6.4 per-
2-5 45.0 Access to Credit sons, which implies that there is enough persons in most
6-10 50.0 No 80.83 household to provide family labour in the goat production
11-15 0.25 Yes 19.17 enterprise. From a prior expectation, availability of family
16-20 0.25
labour reduces labour cost, increase productivity and net
Mean 6.4 persons
Primary Occupa- profit.
tion The result indicates that majority 61.67% of respon-
Farming 61.67 dents are famers, 16.67% are traders, 16.66% are civil
Trading 16.67
servants while 5% are artisans. Goat production are un-
Civil service 16.66
Artisan 5.00 dertaken by farmers majorly as they see it as an invest-
ment and insurance that provide income to meet seasonal
Source: Field Survey, 2019
purchases of seeds, fertilizers and other inputs in times or
Table 1 shows the distribution of respondents accord-
seasons of crop failure and fall in prices of crops (Mahama
ing to their age in the study area. The Table revealed that
2012). Also a major characteristics of livestock production
about 37.5% of the farmers were between the age range of
system is its integration into crop production system by
41-50 years, 22.5%were between 51-60 years 15.8% were
farmers, where the droppings serve as manure and help to
between 31-40 years 12.3% were between 20-30 years
replenish soil fertility while crop residues are been used
and 4.16% were between 61-70 years. With the mean age
in feeding the goats (Dube, 2015).
of the farmers at 42.8 years, it implies that the respondents
The result shows that a large proportion 50% of the re-
were still young, active and productive. The result agrees
spondents had 1-5 years of experience, 20.83% had 11-15
with the findings of Tiamiyu et al, (2009), that young
years, experience, 20% had 6-10 years, experience, while
farmers exhibit risk aversion and have higher tendency to
9.17% had 16-20 years, experience. The result revealed
adopt technologies that have long lag between investment
that the farmers had 5.7 mean years of experience. The
and yield.
implication is that a large proportion of farmers are new
The result showed that majority (69.16%) were mar-
in goat farming, are zealous and are willing to access and
ried, 16.66% were widowed, 8.33% were single and 5.38%
use improved goat production technologies. This result
were divorced. The result indicates that married people
agrees with the findings of Chilot et al; (2009); that farm-
are more involved in goat farming in the study area, this
ing experience does not matter or is inversely related to
is in a bid to provide food and diversify sources of income
adoption of improved technologies.
which helps them to meet basic financial obligations like
The result revealed that a fair proportion 41.67% were
payment of school fees, rents, medical bills, purchase of
within the monthly income of ₦101,000 - ₦150,000,
seeds, fertilizers etc.
40.83% were within the income range of ₦51,000 -
The result revealed that most of the respondents were
₦100,000, 10.83% were within the income range of
educated at different levels. A fairly large proportion 45%
₦10,000 - ₦50,000 while 6.67% were within the income
were educated at secondary school level, 29.17% had
range of ₦151,000 - ₦200,000. No respondent had above
primary education, 16.67% had no formal education, and
₦201,000 income. The study revealed that the respondents
9.16% had tertiary education. The high level of literacy
had a mean income of ₦ 102,012.22, and the implication
among the respondents is expected to have a positive
is that the respondent had a relatively moderate level of
influence on their level of access and use of improved
income.
goat production technologies. The result agrees with the
The result showed that a fairly large proportion 48.3%
findings of Abdelmagid and Hassan;(2012); that educat-
had 6-10 goats, 25% had 1-5 goats another 25% had 11-
ed farmers are more receptive to advice from extension
15 goats and 1.7% had 16-20 goats. The mean farm size
officers, deal more with technical recommendations that
is 11 goats. The result implies that farmers in the study
require litracy, are rational in their choice of technologies
area were mainly smallholder farmers. The finding is
rather than developing a negative attitude towards new
plausible because farm size is a determinant of technology

adoption. The result agrees with the of (Djana, 2011), and 3.2 Extent of use of improved goat production
(FAO, 2013), that most farmers are peasants and operate technologies
at subsistence level.
The result indicates that majority 78.33% 0f respon- The result revealed a grand mean of 3.20 implying a
dents were non -members of cooperative societies, while high level of use of the improved goat production tech-
21.67% were members of cooperative societies. Being a nologies. The result revealed that the respondents used the
member of cooperative society affords farmers the op- slated floor system (x = 3.65), vaccination (x =3.34), goats
portunity of sharing technological information, thereby raised on plateforms (x = 3.36), flushing of does (x =3.36),
creating awareness, enhancing understanding of existing fostering of kids (x =3.33), formulation of concentrates (x
technologies, Akinola as cited by Simon; (2012); creates =3.29), colostrum feeding (x =3.29), feeding goats with
access to available technologies which in turn leads effi- concentrate (x =3.28), farm fumigation and disinfection
ciency and higher productivity. (x =3.28), changing of bucks (x =3.27), crosss breeding (x
The result revealed that majority 80.83% of respon- =3.08), odour transfer (x =3.00), dipping (x =2.93), De-
dents had no access to credit while19.17% had access to worming (x =2,92), giving mineral supplement (x =2.92).
credit. It is expected that access to credit will help farmers The result implied that respondents in the study area made
to increase their farm size, hire labour, purchase needed use of the improved goats production technologies lead-
inputs, equipment and adopt necessary technologies Ab- ing to higher productivity and generation of income. This
doulaye et al; (2014) Inadequate capital and poor access result disagrees with the finding of Mahama (2012), that
to credit from credit institutions are major reasons why farmers are not willing to adopt new or improved tech-
farmers still operate at subsistence level (Adunni Sanni; nologies due to their small size of holding and financial
2008). challenges associated with new technologies.
Table 2. Mean rating of respondents based on the extent of use of improved goat production technologies
Extent of use of improved goat production technologies Very often Often Rarely Never ∑ƒx
Slated floor system 78(312) 42(126) 0(0) 0(0) 438 3.65
Goat raised on platforms 65(260) 35(105) 18(36) 2(2) 403 3.36
Formulation of concentrates 35(140) 85(255) 0(0) 0(0) 395 3.29
Feeding goats with concentrates 47(188) 60(180) 13(26) 0(0) 394 3.28
Giving mineral supplement 30(120) 60(180) 20(40) 10(10) 350 2.92
Identification of does on heat 25(100) 73(219) 11(22) 11(11) 352 2.93
Cross breeding 27(108) 46(138) 38(76) 9(9) 555 3.08
Vaccination 65(260) 41(123) 14(28) 0(0) 411 3.43
Flushing of does 65(260) 35(105) 18(36) 2(2) 403 3.36
Colostrum feeding 35(140) 85(255) 0(0) 0(0) 395 3.29
Farm fumigation or disinfection 47(188) 60(180) 13(26) 0(0) 394 3.28
Deworming 30(120) 60(180) 20(40) 10(10) 350 2.92
Dipping 25(100) 73(219) 11(22) 11(11) 352 2.93
Are you aware that bucks (male goats) are to be changed at

60(240) 40(120) 12(24) 8(8) 392 3.27
recommended intervals
Fostering of kids 40(160) 80(240) 0(0) 0(0) 400 3.33
Odour transfer 40(160) 60(180) 20(40) 0(0) 360 3.00

Total mean 51.27
Grand mean 3.20
Source: Field Survey, 2019

3.3 Factors influencing use of improved goat pro- output decreases as the farmer’s age increases.
duction technologies The coefficient of education was positively related and
statistically significant at 1% level of probability. The
Table 3. OLS regression estimates of the socio-economic result implied that an increase in the level of education
determinants of use of improved goat production technol- of the respondents in the study area will lead to a corre-
ogies in the study area sponding increase extent of use of improved goat produc-
Exponen-
tion technologies in the study area. The result conforms to
Variables Linear Semi-Log + Double Log
tial the researchers a prior expectation that education enhance
-2338.142 8.980 103387.027 11.173
(Constant)
(-0.032) (9.566)*** (4.714)*** (4.507)***
farmers’ awareness, access to market as well as enhances
-194.886 0.007 -37351.323 -.773 extent of use of improved goat production technologies.
Age
(-0.255) (0.681) (-0.972) (-1.779)* Abudu et al., (2014) reported that increase in education
-26405.1 -0.303 -28338.511 -0.417
Marital status
(-3.097)*** (-2.794)** (1.236) (1.361) of farmers positively influenced access, participation and
Years of Education
3244.229 0.064 -34888.386 1.149 adoption of improved agricultural practices. This is en-
(1.805)* (2.501)** (1.151) (3.355)***
-302.356 0.005 1376.132 .068
couraging because Imonikhe (2010) states that education
Household size
(-0.122) (0.172) (0.106) (3.461)*** enhances farmers’ ability to make accurate and meaning-
1950.902 0.010 14972.501 .089 ful management decision.
Farming experience
(1.983)** (0.832) (4.160)*** (3.767)***
0.054 1.766E-6 8394.982 .048 The coefficient of coefficient of house size was pos-
Farm size
(0.247) (0.633) (0.767) (3.390)*** itively related and statistically significant at 1% level
0.422 1.823E-6 474.305 .113
Monthly income
(2.071) (0.705) (2.037)** (5.768)*** of probability. This result of implies that an increase in
Access to Credit
-0.057 1.967E-6 4482.591 .288 household size will result to a corresponding increase in
(-0.637) (1.740)* (4.112)*** (2.60)**
Cooperative member- 39594.605 0.659 29725.679 .637
the extent of use of improved goat production technol-
ship (0.651) (0.473) (1.363) (0.588) ogies in the study area. The increase of household size
R-Square 0.685 0.655 0.616 0.765 suggests that more family labour would be readily avail-
R Adjusted 0.618 0.609 0.597 0.733
able since relatively large household size is an obvious
advantage in terms of labour supply, where wage rate is
F – ratio 14.710*** 11.711*** 12.27*** 16.144***
relatively costly (Nwaobiala, 2013).
Field Survey, 2019 Key: * Significance at 10%, ** Significance at 5%, The coefficient of farming experience was significant
*** Significance at 1% ***, + = Lead Equation and the values in bracket at 1% and positively related to extent of use of improved
are the t-value
goat production technologies in the study area. The result
The result in Table 3 showed the Ordinary Least Square implied that a unit increase in the years of farming will
regression estimates of the socio-economic determinants lead to an increase in the extent of use of improved goat
of extent of use of improved goat production technologies production technologies in the study area. In agreement
in the study area. Four functional forms of multiple re- with this result, Onu and Maduka (2017) also found that
gressions were analyzed and Double-log functional form farming experience has shown to enhance the participa-
was selected based on magnitude of the R2 value, number tion increasing agricultural output.
of significant variables and F- ratio. The R2 (coefficient of The coefficient of annual farm size was statistically sig-
multiple determination) value was 0.765 which implied nificant at 1% and positively related to the extent of use of
that 76.5% of the total observed variations in the depen- improved goat production technologies in the study area.
dent variable (Y) were accounted for while 23.5% of the This result implies that a unit increase in the farmers’ farm
variation was due to error. F–statistics was significant size will lead to a corresponding increase in the extent of
at1% indicating the fitness of the model used. use of improved goat production technologies in the study
The coefficient of age was statistically significant at area.
10% and negatively related extent of use of improved goat The coefficient of income was statistically significant at
production technologies in the study area. This implies 1% and it is positively related to extent of use of improved
that as the age of farmers’ increase, their extent of use of goat production technologies in the study area. This im-
improved goat production technologies decreases. This plies that a unit increase in income will lead to an increase
inverse relationship implies that the age of the farmers’ in extent of use of improved goat production technologies
increase, their extent of use of improved goat production in the study area. This may be attributed to the fact that an
technologies in the study area decrease. The result is in increase in income will enable the farmers to adopt new
agreement with Effiong et al (2014) who found age to be farming strategies, buy new equipment, ease transporta-
negatively signed to output indicating that the farmers tion and improves investment into the enterprise.

The null hypothesis which stated that there is no sig- farmers and sources of technology must be enhanced and
nificant relationship between farmer’s socio-economic participatory approach must be used, to ensure that farm-
characteristics and the extent of improved goat production ers are fully involved, Chambers et al; (2009).
technologies in the study area was therefore rejected at 5% Again, a large proportion 99.2% agreed that they were
alpha level and concluded otherwise. afraid of taking risk. Risk refers to imperfect knowledge
of the future. It talks about chances of occurrence events
3.4 Constraints to use of improved goat produc- that leads to failure. The result implies that farmers were
tion technologies afraid of investing in the new technologies for fear of
failure and loss of finance. This result disagrees with the
Table 4. Distribution of respondents based on the con- finding of Tiamiyu et al (2009) that young farmers ex-
straints to use of improved goat production technologies hibit lower risk aversion and that older farmers are more
Constraints to use of improved goat production tech- Frequen-
Percentage
likely to adopt innovation as a result of accumulated
nologies cy
knowledge, capital and experience. Again about 93.3%
The technologies expensive to adopt 92 76.67 agreed that difficulty in technology application served as
Procedures were difficult to understand 67 58.83 a constraint in the use of improved technologies. The re-
sult implied that the respondents lack the technical know
Lack of veterinary experts around you 73 60.83
how to handle the innovation. This result is in agreement
Technologies were against your cultural or religious
beliefs
91 75.83 with the findings of Simon (2006) that farmers require
certain level of literacy in handling technical recommen-
Lack of access to credit 120 100.0
dation.
Lack of credibility from source 120 100.0 Again 86.67% of the respondent agreed that small farm
Farm size is small 104 86.67 size was the constraints to use of improved technologies.
The result implies that small farm size is a dis incentive to
Difficulty in applying technology 112 93.3
technology adoption. Most of the respondents are peasants
Lack of technical support 69 57.5 and operate at a subsistence level which conforms with
the findings of Djana,(2011).
You were afraid of taking risk 119 99.2
Another 76.67% agreed that cost adopting technolo-
Source: Field Survey, 2019 gies posed as a constraint to improved goat technology
use. The result implied that most of the farmers could not
Multiple responses recorded afford the technologies as a result of high cost Gertrude;
(2011). A major characteristics of Nigerian farmers is that
Table 4 showed Distribution of respondents based
they are poor and leave poor capital base FAO (2013).
on the constraints to use of improved goat production
Cost may not always be in terms of money or financial
technologies. On constraint to use of improved goat pro-
benefit, but if what the farmer is expected to give up is
duction technologies, all the respondents 100% agreed
less than what he is to gain, Okoosi, (2009).
that lack of access to credit was a constraint in the use
Furthermore, 75.83%, of the respondents agreed that
of improved technologies. Access to credit is expected
technologies were against their cultural and religious be-
to increase the adoption (use) of new technologies if the
lieve. The result implies that the respondents did not use
funds are not channeled to other household activities. The
technologies that were against their cultural and religious
result implied that lack of access to credit is a major factor
believes. For technologies to be adopted it must be com-
militating against the use of improved agricultural tech-
patible with the existing values, norms and experience
nologies. The result agrees with the findings of Abdoulaye
of the user. This findings together previous findings from
et al (2014), Aduani Sanni (2008), and Kasana et al (2010)
others researchers has led to the formulation of demand
that access to credit have a positive influence on adoption
driven extension by Government and other agencies, ac-
of new technologies.
cording to Getrude (2011).
Another 100% agreed that lack of credibility from
About 60.83% of the respondents agreed that lack of
source of technological information is another reason why
veterinary experts around them was one of the constraints
they don’t use or adopt improved agricultural practices.
to use of improved technologies , the result implies that
This result implies that sources of agricultural information
the respondents did not use technologies that required the
or technologies are not honest. Lack of credibility may be
expertise of veterinarians because of their none availabil-
in form of lack of follow up service, failure of technology
ity in the study area. This finding have a dire implication
to solve required problem e.t.c. The partnership between

in the health management of flock. There is inflated cost Farming Communities in Kaduna State, Nigeria.
of animal health service delivery which most times are Tropicultura 26(1): 48-52.
unavailable, Getrude, (2011). Huge financial burden is [3] Ani, A.O. and Undiandeye, U.C. (2010): Assessment
incurred by farmers in an effort to manage diseases within of Farmers‘ Adoption of Improved Agricultural
their flock. Bester et al (2010). Technology In Soybean Production in Michika Local
Again 58.83% of respondents agreed that difficulty in Government Area of Adamawa State, Nigeria. Jour-
understanding procedures of technology was a constraint nal of Arid agriculture. Vol.11. Pp. 107 – 111
to use of improved goat production technologies. The re- [4] Bester, J., Ramsay, K.A. and Scholtz, M.M. (2010).
sult implies that the technologies were complex for a large Goat farming in South Africa: Findings of a national
proportion of the farmers to understand. Technologies that livestock survey. Applied Animal Husbandry and Ru-
are too complex are not readily adopted by farmers and ral Development, 2: 9–13.
this conforms to the findings of Djana, (2011). Finally, [5] Christiana Augustine (2015) Analysis Of Adoption
57.50% of respondents agreed that lack of technical sup- Of Improved Cassava Processing Technologies By
port was a constraint in the use of improve goat technol- Women In Ankpa Local Government Area Kogi
ogy, the result implied that farmers at one or the other in State, Nigeria.
the adoption process required technical support from tech- [6] Djana Babatima Mignouna (2011) Adoption and Im-
nology developers or extension officers. This assistance pact of Improved Agricultural Technologies In De-
can be provided through individual and group training. veloping Countries: The Case Of Imazapyr-Resistant
Lack of technical support may lead to failure in usage of a Maize In Western Kenya. Thesis Submitted in Fulfil-
technology. ment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor
of Philosophy of Sokoine University of Agriculture.
4. Conclusion and Recommendations Morogoro, Tanzania.
[7] Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) (2012a).
The study provided an empirical evidence on use of Aquastat, Country Profile Ghana, Food and Agricul-
improved goat production technologies in the study area. ture Organisation, Rome, Italy.
It could be inferred from the study that the respondents, [8] Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) (2015a).
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ty, and make goat production a profitable enterprise. Livestock Production Technologies and its Implica-
Based on the findings of the study, the following rec- tions for Food Accessibility among Small Ruminant
ommendations were made; Farmers in Rural Wa Municipality of Ghana. Award
(1) Credit should be made available to farmers by rele- of Degree of Master in Management of Development
vant governmental and non- governmental agencies to in- Specialization “Food Security
crease the level of use of available improved technologies. [11] Gertrude., (2011). The Role of Livestock in Rural
(2) Agricultural development programmes (ADPs) Livelihoods in Ghana: Final Report presented by
should provide necessary technical support to the farmers Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) and De-
when needed. partment for International Development (DFID. Ac-
cra.
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[2] Adunni Sanni, S. (2008). Animal Traction: An Un- (2010). Knowledge and adoption of wheat technol-
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[16] Nwaobiala, C.U. (2013). Economic analysis of small Analysis of access to credit among rural cassava
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L.G.A of Abia State, Nigeria. International Journal of goro, Tanzania, 237pp.


Entrepreneurship Skill for Empowering Women in Cocoyam Produc-

tion in Abia and Imo States, Nigeria Lake Basin, Nigeria
Ugboaja, C. I.　Onu S. E.*
Department of Agricultural Extension and Rural Development, Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike
Article history The study adopted survey design to determine the entrepreneurial skills
Received: 22 April 2021 for empowering women in cocoyam production in Abia and Imo States of
Nigeria. Objectives of the study were to determine the entrepreneurship
Accepted: 28 May 2021 skills available that are utilized for empowering women in cocoyam pro-
Published Online: 31 May 2021 duction and determine the extension strategies for empowering women
in cocoyam production. The hypothesis of the study states that there is no
Keywords: significant mean difference between the available entrepreneurship skills
Entrepreneurship and strategies utilized for empowering women in cocoyam production.
Questionnaire was the instrument for data collection constructed on a
Empowerment 4-point measuring scale which has (X=2.50) as the cut of point. Instru-
Women ment was validated by peer review of two experts in agricultural exten-
Cocoyam sion and statistics. The reliability was achieved by subjecting the data
collected from pre-survey to Cronbach’s Alpha which yield a reliability
Production
co-efficient rα = 0.83 which affirmed high reliability index. Multi-stage
simple probability and disproportionate sampling technique was used to
select sample size of 250. In Abia, 100 women cocoyam farmers were
sampled while 150 were sampled from Imo State. The instrument was ad-
ministered and retrieved by the help of research assistants such as exten-
sion agents and executives of women development union in the sampled
areas. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics of
frequency, mean and inferential statistics as t-test at 0.05 level of signif-
icance. The findings revealed that entrepreneurship skills were available
in empowering women with the pooled mean scores of (2.78) for Abia
and (3.13) for Imo State. The Imo women were better than Abia cocoyam
farmers. It was also indicated that strategies for empowering women
cocoyam farmers were used more in Imo State with X2=2.07 than Abia
State X1=1.97. The hypothesis of no significant mean difference was not
rejected because t = -0.003 at P ≥ 0.05 indicated no mean difference be-
tween the strategies utilized in Abia and Imo State for empowering wom-
en on entrepreneurship skills in cocoyam production. It was concluded
that women cocoyam farmers were less empowered and had less access
to land, fund and extension services in both Imo and Abia State. But the
Imo cocoyam farmers were marginally better than their Abia women co-
coyam farmers counterpart on the strategies used on empowering women
on entrepreneurship skills in cocoyam production. It was concluded that
cocoyam farmers were less empowered on entrepreneurship skills, hence,
they had less access to land, fund and extension services. The study rec-
ommended that more women should be employed into the WIA arm of
the ADP to enable them sufficiently empower women to get access to
entrepreneurship skills such as agronomic and business skills to enhance
cocoyam production.
　
Onu S.E.;
samsononu@gmail.com

1. Introduction group demonstration, workshops, seminars, conferences,

excursions and field trips, symposia, field days and agri-
Agriculture is the pillar of socio-economic develop- cultural shows. They pointed out that mass strategies are
ment in Nigeria. Majority of the farmers operate at the radio, television, internets, newspapers magazines, news-
subsistence small holder level. The subsistence agriculture letters, bulleting and pamphlets.
show case women as major player in providing house- Burk and Major (2014) contented that empowering
hold food security. Food and Agriculture organization women should not end in empowering them in acquisition
(FAO), (2011) observed that women play dominant role of basic literacy and agronomic skills but should gear
in agriculture and constitute a major ingredient for both toward granting them access to basic economic resources
economic growth and development especially in the rural for cocoyam production. In addition, market networks and
areas. It was also revealed that women constitute 60-90% connections in educating consumers on the nutritional val-
labour force in agriculture and produce 70-80% of house- ues of cocoyam to increase demand and profit margin of
hold food and nutrition security. Women now have been women respectively.
involved in doing most of the men work roles in farming Entrepreneurship is the ability of the individual to
activities such as bush clearing related activities in food identify business opportunity, establishing that enterprise
production generally and specifically regarding cocoyam by risking and managing his resources to run the business
production in Abia and Imo States respectively. These ac- profitably. Iheonunekwu (2012), defined entrepreneurship
tivities include; farm site selection, bush clearing, mound- as the capacity and willingness of establishing and man-
ing, ridging, planting, weeding, earthen-up, harvesting, agement of business enterprise successfully by making
sorting (Dike, 2016). Cocoyam production is entirely profit. The venture of women to involve cocoyam produc-
women business and training and educating them in this tion and making profit is the product of empowering them
regard will be socially and economically beneficial to the to acquire entrepreneurship skills in cocoyam production.
society. Entrepreneurship can as well be defined as the capacity
The entrepreneurship skills cannot be appropriately and willingness to develop, organize and manage business
acquired and utilized in cocoyam production by women venture along with any of its risks in order to make profit
if they are not informally and formally trained. The ex- (Armi, 2015). Schumpter (1976) saw entrepreneurship as
tension service has the sole responsibility to empower employment of gale of creative destruction to replace in
women to acquire the required entrepreneurship skills whole or part inferior offerings across market and indus-
through her arm of women in agriculture (WIA). Yemisi tries, simultaneously creating new products and new busi-
and Mukhtar (2009) noted that establishment of WIA ness. This involved a paradigm shift from old method of
programme ensured that extension service in each state agronomic and business strategies where value are added
of Nigeria has female extension workers at every level of and new method used in the production, processing and
operation from the state headquarters to the grass roots. marketing of cocoyam.
The formation of WIA farmers group is meant to facilitate Cocoyam production in Nigeria is dominated by wom-
the dissemination of agricultural innovations and provide en and is commonly described in Abia and Imo States as
women farmers with better access to farm inputs and cred- the women crop. Chukwu (2014) revealed that cocoyam
it than they would have as individuals which is some form is a generic name for Colocasia esculenta (Tara) and
of empowerment. Xanthosoma mafafa (Tennia) which is cultivated for its
It should be noted that any empowerment of the rural corms and cormels which are used as edible aroids. Chuk-
women whose majority (68.1%) had no formal education wu and Simsek (2015), observed that cocoyam has more
should start with writing, reading and numeracy train- food value than yam and cassava in terms of percentage
ing (Acha, 2014). Acha (2014) said that the surest way crude protein and essential minerals. Cocoyam corms and
in educating women in cocoyam production is by using cormels are recommended as edible starch for diabetic
extension strategies and methods and sharpening their patients due to its high glycemic property. Cocoyam as
entrepreneurship powers and insight in both agronomic food can be eaten for control, prevention and reduction of
and business and information and communication skills. some incidence and prevalence of health risks associated
Agbarevo (2010) and Asiabaka (2002), enumerated the with high blood pressure, cardiac problems, prostrate and
extension strategies that can be utilized in empowering breast cancers.
women as follows: individual strategies which include: in- The major problems associated with empowering
dividual demonstration, individual farm and home visits, women in entrepreneurial skills in cocoyam produc-
office and telephone calls. The group strategies include: tion are related to some socio-cultural and institutional

factors. The women are highly discriminated and mar- Null hypothesis
ginalized against in almost every facets of development
efforts in agriculture because, in extension system, the H0: The null hypothesis of this study states that there is
WIA arm are short-staff of women, notwithstanding that no significant mean difference between the strategies uti-
the ratio of extension staff to farm families is very low lized for empowering women on entrepreneurship skills in
(Yemisi, and Mukhtar, 2009). Food and Agricultural cocoyam production in Abia and Imo States.
Organization (FAO) (2011) observed that only 5% of
Methodology
women receive agricultural extension service from 15%
women extension agents worldwide. Women cocoyam This study adopted descriptive survey to assess the en-
farmers experience gender specific constraints such as trepreneurship skills for empowering women in cocoyam
access to land where the land tenure arrangement favours production in Abia and Imo states.
their men counterpart. When the land is available their The population of the study is all the women cocoyam
access amount to little economic rate of return. Ekong farmers in three (3) agricultural zones in Abia and Imo
and Olowu (2002) indicated that most of the time, wom- States. Purposive and multi-stage simple probability and
en farmers are denied access to funds and agro-inputs disproportionate sampling technique was used to select
because they cannot provide collateral for loan neither the sample size of 250. In the first stage three (3) agricul-
have they been sufficiently trained to utilize the entrepre- tural zones in Abia and Imo States thus; Ohafia, Umuahia
neurship skills in both agronomic and business activities and Aba from Abia State and Owerri, Orlu and Okigwe
in cocoyam production. Similarly, Ogbimi and Williams zones were purposively sampled from Imo State.
(2014) assessed the availability of productive assets such Secondly, five (5) local government areas each were
as land, credit facilities, improved farm inputs and tech- sampled from Abia State out of 17 and 5 out of 27 from
nology, extension services, transportation and storage Imo.
facilities and found out that women are marginalized Thirdly, 2 communities in Abia and 3 communities in
by men in accessing productive assets. Kimenju et al., Imo were selected from the sampled Local Government
(2015) observed that the decision to participate in the Areas respectively. Finally, 10 women cocoyam farmers
production of a particular crop is normally influenced each were sample from the 10 selected communities in
by market-driven and socio-cultural concomitants. The Abia and 15 selected communities in Imo States respec-
men and women were differentially affected in both tively which gave 100 women cocoyam farmers from
pre-planting and post-planting operations, productive re- Abia and 150 from Imo state.
sources, socio-cultural factors and decision to participate The instrument for data collection was the question-
in relation to market-driven forces. Ogbonna and Orji naire which was the source of the primary data. This in-
(2013) pointed out that cocoyam production has suffered strument was constructed on a 4-point measuring scale of
serious neglect due to low yield per hectare and low eco- Strongly Agreed [SA] = 4; Agreed [A] = 3; and Disagreed
nomic return. The study seeks to answer the questions [D] = 2 Strongly Disagreed [SDA] = 1.
that borders on entrepreneurship skills for empowering The instrument was validated by peer review of research
women to enhance cocoyam production in the study experts in Agricultural Extension and Statistics in Michael
area. Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike. The reliability
of the instrument was established by analyzing the data col-
2. Objective of the Study lected from a pilot survey using Cronbach’s Alpha which
yielded a co-efficient r α = 0.83 which showed that the
The general objective is to determine the extent en-
instrument was highly reliable. The instrument was admin-
trepreneurial skills are utilized in empowering women in
istered by the help of research assistants such as women
cocoyam production in Abia and Imo States. Specifically
union development executives in order to ensure prompt
to:
distribution and retrieval of the completed questionnaire.
i. identify available entrepreneurship skills utilized for
The data was analysed by descriptive statistics such as fre-
empowering women in cocoyam production in the study
quency, mean and inferential statistics such as t-test.
area;
ii. determine strategies utilized for empowering women Model specifications
on entrepreneurship skills in cocoyam production in the
study area; and
Mean X
=
∑ FX= 4 + 3 + 2 + 1 10
= = 2.50
iii. ascertain the constrains for empowering women in ∑F 4 4
Abia and Imo States cocoyam production

X1 − X 2 The Table 1 result above shows that entrepreneurship

tcal = skills were available for empowering women in Imo State
S12 S 22 At 0.05 level of significance
+ than Abia State judging from the pooled mean (1 for Abia
n1 n1
State and Imo State (2. Discrepancies were also found on
Specifications: the entrepreneurship skills in the available agrochemicals
used for empowering women for Abia State ( and Imo State
X = Mean responses based on each item of question- ( for business management skills ( for Abia State and (
naire for Abia and Imo States. for Imo State. These results showed that women cocoyam
X1 = Pooled mean responses for Abia based on all items farmers in Imo State were marginally better than their
in the tables. counterparts in Abia State and these results were based on
X2 = Pooled mean responses for Imo based on all items the benchmark of 2.50. The implication is that women in
in the tables. Abia State receive less empowerment in agronomic and
∑F = Summation frequency of the number of respon- business entrepreneurship skills in cocoyam production
dents. than their Imo counterpart. This result is in agreement with
∑FX = Cumulative frequency of responses from the FAO (2011) which indicated that only 5% of women re-
rating scale on each item of the questionnaire. ceived extension services worldwide indicating that women
S21 = Variance of the strategies used for empowering are poorly empowered not only in Abia and Imo States but
women in cocoyam production in Abia State. across the borders of agricultural communities in Nigeria.
S22 = Variance of the strategies used for empowering
Table 2. Cumulative frequency and mean ratings based on
women in cocoyam production in Imo States.
the extension strategies utilized for empowering women
n1 = Number of respondents sampled in Abia State.
on entrepreneurship skills in cocoyam production in Abia
n2 = Number of respondents sampled in Imo State. and Imo States
tcal = t calculated.
Available entrepreneurship
skills Abia State Imo State
3. Results and Discussions utilized by women in cocoyam ∑FX
X ∑FX
X Remarks
production (N = 250)
1. Individual extension teach-
Table 1. Cumulative frequency and mean ratings based on ing such as farm, home and
the available entrepreneurship skills utilized for empow- office visits, demonstration 158 1.58 263 1.75 SDA
ering women in cocoyam production in Abia and Imo in farmers farm and the use
States of contact farmers.
2. The group extension teach-
Available entrepreneurship ing such as demonstration,
skills Abia State Imo State seminars, workshops, field
utilized by women in cocoyam ∑FX
X ∑FX
X Remarks
days and field-trips, discus- 166 1.66 236 1.57 SDA
sions, role-play and exhibit
1. Pre-planting skills such as of specimen, samples, mod-
bush clearing and clearing, 285 2.85 419 2.79 A els and charts.
ridge and mound making 3. The mass media methods
2. Planting of cocoyam set like radio, television, tape
348 3.48 533 3.55 SA
sets/cormels recorder, films, videos, land 222 2.22 362 2.41 DA
3. Post-planting skills such and cell phones, posters, hand
as mulching, weeding and 353 3.53 582 3.88 SA bills, and pamphlets.
harvesting 4. Extension training and
4. Skills in application of teaching using individual,
agro-chemicals such as fertil- group and mass media on
223 2.23 369 2.46 DA
izer, herbicides, insecticides both agronomic and entrepre-
and pesticides 215 2.15 342 2.28 DA
neurship commercialization
5. Post-harvesting skills such skills in cocoyam production
as transportation, sorting and processing and market-
369 3.69 572 3.81 SA
and grading and storage of ing.
cormels in barns 5. The use of WIA, NGO and
6. Business management government, access to credit,
skills such as identification of land and linkage to cocoyam
224 2.24 348 2.32 DA
opportunities, record keeping, 212 2.12 347 2.31 DA markets in production and
financial and human manage- processing of cocoyam.
ment and marketing skills
Pooled Mean X=2.78 X=3.31 SA Pooled Mean X=1.97 X=2.07 DA
Source: Field Survey, 2016 Source: Field Survey, 2016

In Table 2, the result shows strong disagreement in the pre-planting operations with the mean of 2.78 for Abia
use of extension strategies for empowering women farm- and 2.65 for Imo. Women cocoyam farmers had limited
ers in cocoyam production considering the pooled mean access empowering them on entrepreneurship skills in
( for Abia and ( for Imo cocoyam farmers and the results processing of cocoyam corms into chips flour among
were based on the benchmark of 2.50. Hence farm, home, others with for Imo State. The implication was that
and office visits, and demonstration were not so much women were neglected and discriminated against being
utilized as strategies for empowering women in cassava empowered in getting access to extension education, in-
production for Abia = 1.58 and Imo 75. The implication puts, land and credits among others. This result is in terms
was that extension services were not very concerned in with Chukwu (2015) who revealed that because cocoyam
empowering women cocoyam farmers generally but ex- production was neglected these days and government and
tension services were better in Imo State using extension extension delivery system thought that giving access to
strategies than their counterpart in Abia State. This result women cocoyam farmers would be a waste of resources
agreed with the finding of Ekong and Oluwu (2002) that by implication constraining women access to education
women were denied access to extension services. One and input (empowerment) in cocoyam production.
would wonder how they will utilize entrepreneurship
skills when they were not properly trained, educated and Hypothesis testing
informed in cocoyam production.
Table 4. The t-test of no mean significant difference
Table 3. Cumulative frequency and mean ratings based between the strategies utilized for empowering women
on respondents opinions on constrains for empowering on entrepreneurship skills in cocoyam production in Abia
women in cocoyam production and Imo States
Available entrepreneurship
skills Abia State Imo State Category N X SD DF t-cal t-crit Level of Significance Remark
X X Remarks
utilized by women in cocoyam ∑FX ∑FX Abia 100 1.97 .46
1. Low level access to exten- Imo 150 2.07 .63 248 -0.003 1.96 0.05 Not Significant
sion education
Total 250
for empowering women on
280 2.78 398 2.65 A
entrepreneurship Source: Field survey, 2016
skills in both pre and post
planting operation. Table 4 indicated that there is no significant difference
2. Low level of extension between the strategies used for empowering women in en-
education for empowering trepreneur skills on cocoyam production in Abia and Imo
women in the processing of 325 3.25 422 2.81 SA
cocoyam corms into flour,
States, because, the t-cal = -0.003 was less than t-crit. @
chips and flex. P ≥ 0.05 and the null hypothesis was not rejected. By im-
3. Poor access to farm inputs plication extension strategies were not fruitfully used for
such as land, credits
empowering women in entrepreneurship skills in cocoyam
and machines for production 289 2.89 348 2.56 A
and process of production in the study areas.
cocoyam corms
4. Poor yield and small hold- 4. Conclusion
ing associated with
cocoyam production limit 295 2.95 416 2.77 A The study design was survey which determined the en-
extension activities due
to low rate of return. trepreneurship skills for empowering women in cocoyam
5. Lack of entrepreneurship production in Abia and Imo states, Nigeria. The instru-
education relating to ment for data collection was the questionnaire which was
record keeping, advertizing, 273 2.73 402 2.68 A
marketing and used to realize the objectives of the study. Descriptive
accounting and inferential statistics were used for data analysis. It
Pooled Mean X=2.92 X=2.69 A was shown that most of the entrepreneurship agronomic
Source: Field Survey, 2016 skills were utilized for empowering women in cocoyam
Table 3 indicated that Abia women cocoyam farmers production except for the use agrochemicals. The study
were more constrained with the pooled mean (2 than their also found out that the extension strategies were not nor-
counterpart in Imo State (2 these results were based on mally used in empowering women entrepreneurship skills
the benchmark of 2.50. Specifically respondents agreed in cocoyam production in the study areas. The women
that women had low level to extension education and in cocoyam farmers were found to face a lot of constrains
such as access to land, credit and extension service. Com-

paratively, Imo women cocoyam farmers were marginally [6] Chukwu, G, Okoye, B. C., Onwubiko, O., Okonkwo,
better than Abia women cocoyam farmers in terms of em- E. I. & Amadi, C. O. (2014)b. Gocken Technology:
powerment in the use and constrains of entrepreneurship Ehancing Health of Haplic Acrisols and Multiplica-
skills in cocoyam production. tion of Taro in Nigeria. Asian Journal of Science and
Technology
5. Recommendations [7] Dike, F. C. (2016). Evaluation of Gender Participa-
tion in Cocoyam Production for Food Security in
The recommendations made based on the findings were
Abia State, Nigeria. Unplished Thesis of Post Gradu-
as follows:
ate School. Umudike: Michael Okpara University of
i. The women cocoyam farmers should be empowered
Agriculture.
by the extension officers to form co-operative societies to
[8] Ekong, E. E & Olowu (2002). Women Access to Ag-
enable them gain access to land, credit to boost their pro- ricultural Production Resources in Akwa-Ibom State
duction capacity and income; Nigerian Journal of Rural Sociology Vol. 4, No. 1 Pp
ii. The women in Agricultural arm of the Agricultural 58 – 59
Development programme should collaborate with the gov- [9] Food & Agricultural Organization (2011). The
ernments of Abia and Imo States to employ more women State of Food and Agriculture: Women in Agricul-
extension officers to enable them reach out to more wom- ture. www.fao.org/gender/infographic/en Retrieved
en cocoyam farmers on the use of entrepreneurship skills 12/02/2017
for cocoyam production in Abia and Imo States; and [10] Iheonunekwu, S. (2012). Entrepreneurship Theory
iii. The extension system should empower women co- and Practice. Second Edition. 73 Mbaise Road, Ow-
coyam farmers in business entrepreneurship skills to en- erri: Crown Publishers Limited.
able them discover opportunities to market their cocoyam [11] Kimenju, S. C., De Groote, H., Kanugia, J., Mbogoh,
corms and cormels and their products in Abia and Imo S., & Poland, D. (2015). Consumer Awareness atti-
States. tudes towards Genetically Modified Food in Kenya.
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Sustainability of the Youth Empowerment Scheme (YES): A Case

Study of Agricultural and Rural Management Training Institute
Segun-Alalade A.F.1　Ibitoye O.M.2　Alalade O.A.3*　Adesina B.S.4　Elisha-Nissi D.O.3
1. Department of Sociology, University of Ibadan, Nigeria.
2. Finance and Supplies Department, Agricultural and Rural Management Training Institute (ARMTI), Ilorin, Nigeria.
3. Extension Management Division, Department of Rural Development and Gender Issues, Agricultural and Rural Man-
agement Training Institute (ARMTI), Ilorin, Nigeria.
4. Enterprise Management Division, Department of Rural Development and Gender Issues, Agricultural and Rural Man-
agement Training Institute (ARMTI), Ilorin, Nigeria.
Article history The study examined the sustainability of youth empowerment scheme
Received: 6 May 2021 using ARMTI as a case study. A three-stage sampling technique was ad-
opted in the selection of 112 respondents for the study using structured
Accepted: 28 May 2021 questionnaire. Descriptive statistics was used to analyse data. The result
Published Online: 31 May 2021 of the findings show that the mean age of the respondents was 34.5. The
study revealed more male (63.4%) participation in the programme, with
Keywords: majority (72.3%) being single. Major benefit derived by respondents were
Sustainability skill acquisition, (98.2%), positive change in attitude towards agriculture
(94.6%), and access to capital (90.2%). Inadequate fund or capital support
ARMTI by the government, poor post-empowerment support by the government,
Agriculture and uncertainty over the political environment to support continuity were
YES the major constraints to sustainability of the scheme. There was signif-
icant relationship between constraints (r = 0.462*) and perceived sus-
tainability of the youth empowerment scheme. The study concluded that
youth empowerment scheme was adjudged sustainable. Government, de-
velopment experts and donor agencies must ensure that sustainability of
the programme is taken into cognizance at every level of the programme
and efforts must be put into incorporation of monitoring and evaluation
from the beginning so as to prevent wastage of resources.
　
1. Introduction affected agricultural sector, with oil becoming the main
stay of the nation’s economy previously dominated by agri-
Agriculture has been described as the main stay of the culture. (Olajide, Akinlabi and Tijani 2012). It is worthy of
Nigerian economy since independence in 1960, contrib- note that this economic shift to oil signalled the inception of
uting significantly to the gross domestic product of the the myriad of socio-economic challenges faced by Nigeria
country (Oyesola and Obabire 2011). Nigeria during this till date (Adesina, 2013). The challenge of increased youth
period emerged as one of the world’s major producers and unemployment could practically be traced to the neglect of
exporters of cash crops such as cotton, palm kernel, co- agriculture and the over-dependence on oil (Adesina, 2013).
coa, groundnut, hides and skin, and rubber (Afolayan and The pathetic state of Nigeria’s economy has no doubt led
Ajibade 2012). However, the oil boom of the 1970s badly to widespread poverty and youth unemployment becoming
Alalade O. A.;
segunalalade@gmail.com

the most daunting development challenges hindering the fortune, brought about partly by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nation from achieving sustainable development goals. Ev- The implication is that the sustainability of the programme
idences abound to prove that this assumption is valid. For could be greatly hampered as a result of the economic
example, the works of Olajide, Akinlabi and Tijani (2012); downturn. The resultant effects of the dwindling economic
Aiyedogbon and Ohwofasa, (2012); Adesina, (2013); and fortune is expected to negatively affect government’s agri-
Oduwole, (2015), reported that poverty rate and youth un- cultural empowerment Programmes (Ogunlela, 2015). One
employment are the key factors leading youths to robbery, therefore begins to wonder how the government will cope
drug and human trafficking, terrorism, cybercrime, kidnap- with sustaining the programmes in the face of the current
ping, pipeline vandalism, and other social vices thus halting economic realities. The need therefore arises to determine
socio-economic development in Nigeria. Thus, in order to whether the YES programme is insulated from other future
get a lasting solution to the challenge of unemployment and unforeseen circumstances and unpredicted changes such as
poverty rate in Nigeria, the government must aggressively market dynamics, regime change, and instability in policies
carry out youth empowerment schemes. This is because, of government, which may occur upon the expiration of the
youth empowerment programmes offer a good platform incumbent administration. Evaluating the sustainability of
for engaging the youths in different vocational training and the programme will offer guidance and help to ensure that
participation in diverse skill acquisition programmes that the overall goal of bringing about a sustainable develop-
could ramify them from social vices while engaging them ment in the agricultural sector through youth empowerment
in meaningful socio-economic developmental and capacity is achieved. Going by the foregoing, the study sought to
building activities, and social bonding. achieve the following objectives;
Therefore, Nigeria grapples with the problem of unem- 1. identify the benefits derived from the youth empower-
ployment among youths in the country (Abefe-Balogun, ment scheme by the respondents;
2015), the Federal and State Governments have designed 2. examine perceived sustainability of the programme
and implemented several empowerment programmes par- and
ticularly in agriculture to enhance the economic capacity of 3. determine constraints to the sustainability of the youth
youths (Umeh and Odo, 2002). Such programmes include empowerment scheme.
but not limited to the Youth Initiative for Sustainable Agri-
culture (YISA), National Poverty Eradication Programme Hypothesis
(NAPEP), Youth Integrated Training Farm (Kwara State), Ho1: There is no significant relationship between ben-
Graduate Farmers Scheme (Osun State), Youth Empower- efits, and constraints faced by beneficiaries of the scheme
ment Scheme (O-YES) Agricultural Youths Empowerment and perceived sustainability of the scheme.
Scheme (AGRIC-YES), and youth empowerment scheme
of Oyo state (YES-O). 2. Methodology
This study is principally focused on the Youth Empow-
erment Scheme (YES), inaugurated by the Agricultural and The population for the study comprises all beneficiaries
Rural Management Training Institute in conjunction with of the youth empowerment scheme from year 2015 through
the Federal Government of Nigeria in 2013 with the aim of the year 2019. The determination of sampling frame was
training and empowering unemployed youths in agricultur- based on the information gathered from the desk officer of
al related business. YES is a federal government sponsored the programme at the Agricultural and Rural Management
program designed to equip youths with agripreneurship Training Institute, Ilorin. The table 1 below presents infor-
skills which would prepare the beneficiaries with the tools mation on the sampling frame.
to create job opportunities and become self-reliant after the Table 1. Selection of Respondents for the Study
empowerment cycle. Unfortunately, several studies show
Number of copies
that the present empowerment schemes in Nigeria might not Year
Sampling frame Beneficiaries randomly
of questionnaires
of beneficiaries selected at (50%) each
yield the expected results if the program content is not de- retrieved
2015 52 26 22
signed in a way that would enable the youths to participate
2016 48 24 24
effectively in resolving Nigeria’s protracted development 2017 45 23 19
challenges (Aiyedogbon and Ohwofasa, 2014). Further- 2018 53 27 25
more, experience has shown that government empower- 2019 49 24 22
ment programmes barely outlive the administration that Total 247 124 112
initiated them. In addition, the nation is currently in a se- Source: Field Survey, 2020
rious economic mess in the form of a dwindling economic A three-stage sampling technique was used in the selec-

tion of respondents for the study. The first stage involves consideration given to some non-graduates
the purposive selection of beneficiaries of the programme
Table 2. Distribution of Respondents’ Personal Characteris-
between the year 2015 and 2019. For the second stage, the tics (n = 112)
list of beneficiaries of the programme was gotten from the
Variable Frequency Percentage
desk officer of the programme. From the list, systematic
Age (years)
random sampling technique was used to select 50% of the 20 and below 4 3.60
beneficiaries of the programme in each year under con- 21 – 30 46 41.1
sideration. In all, a total of One Hundred and Twenty-four 31 – 40 53 47.3
Above 40 9 8.0
respondents were selected for the study. However, only One Mean Age 34.5
Hundred and Twelve Questionnaires were retrieved, indi- Sex
cating a response rate of 90%. Descriptive and inferential Male 71 63.4
Female 41 36.6
statistics were used to analyze the data collected through Education
questionnaire administration. Secondary 6 5.36
Tertiary 72 64.3
Sustainability was considered as perceived sustainabili-
Postgraduate 34 30.3
ty and measured by providing respondents with a set of 26 Marital Status
statements on sustainability in four main domains (economic, Single 81 72.3
Married 31 27.7
political, ownership and technical) using 5-point likert- type Membership of Association
scale of strongly agree = 5, agree = 4, undecided = 3, dis- Yes 78 69.4
agree = 2 and strongly disagree = 1. Sustainability index was No 34 30.6
112 100.0
computed and the empowerment scheme was categorised
as sustainable and unsustainable using mean (x̅ = 60.5) as Source: Field Survey, 2020
benchmark. Constraints to sustainability were measured as

3.1 Benefits derived by respondents from the pro-
either a constraint = 1 or not a constraint = 0. Mean was ob-
grammes
tained and used to rank constraints according to severity.
Table 3 shows that while 98.2% of the respondents in-
3. Results and Discussion dicated skill acquisition as one of the key benefits derived
Results from table 2 reveals that the mean age of respon- from the scheme. The result is not surprising considering
dents was 34.5years, showing that the respondents were that participants are taught requisite farming skills during
indeed in their youthful years, energetic, vibrant and an the training exercises with relevant backup practicals
investment in them is worth it because youths are the future through which they are empowered for self-sustenance.
of every society. The result further shows that the pro- All agricultural activities inculcates practical training to
grammes in each state captured youths, who are the intend- the recipients, thus acquisition of skill in this programme
ed beneficiaries especially within the context of prolonged will make respondents to be self-sufficient in all areas of
youth age and postponed transition to adulthood. Youths are life thus encouraging sustainability of the programme. The
generally known for their activeness and energy to which resultis consistent with Tijani (2018), who reported that
Odubola (2009) asserted that it makes them more viable for training through skill acquisition and capacity building
agricultural activities. programmes will enhance the sustainability of the youths in
More males (63.4%) were involved in the empower- different fields of endeavour. Agriculture is widely known
ment scheme than the female counterpart (36.6%). The to provide employment to people, to which 88.4% of the
result affirms the commonly held notion that agriculture participants attested to. Employment opportunities generat-
is male dominated, owing to its energy demanding nature. ed during the training programme will no doubt traslate to a
This agrees with the finding of Oladele and Kareem (2003) means of alleviating poverty to which 79.5% of the respon-
that males are readily available for energy demanding jobs dents agrees with. Hence, agriculture is a field of study that
like agriculture. Majority of the respondents (64.3%) were prepare people for gainful employment and enables one to
graduates which is understandable considering that the pro- carry out successfully a socially “useful occupation.
gramme was specifically designed to enhance the capacity Table 3 also shows that 90.2% of the respondents indi-
of graduate youth. However, the inclusion of beneficiaries cated access to capital as one of the benefits of the scheme.
with secondary education shows that the programme does This is understandable considering the fact that the scheme
not discriminate based on someone’s educational status. works in synergy with the Bank of Agriculture so as to help
This is also pointing to the fact that many criteria might trained youths get access to loan with single digit interest
have been used in the selection of the beneficiaries, with rate after submitting a business plan carefully examined by

facilitators in ARMTI. The government helps these youths would in turn make them work tireless towards ensuring
open an account with the Bank of Agriculture, depositing that the objectives of the scheme are achieved.
Two Hundred Thousand Naira (#200,000.00) each into Furthermore, table 4 shows the perception of respon-
these accounts. These enables the beneficiaries to then ac- dents on the technical sustainability of the scheme. It was
cess loan to the tune of Two Million Naira (#2,000,000.00). revealed that statements that the beneficiaries could take ad-
For some set however, the government simply gave out vantage of cooperatives formed to access more government
starter packs consisting of One Hundred Laying birds,
feeds, drugs, and a cash of One Hundred Thousand Naira Table 4. Perceived Sustainability of the Youth Empower-
ment Scheme
(#100,000.00). Other benefits from the scheme are linkage
to market (70.5%) and linkage to input suppliers (81.2%). Perceived Sustainability Mean
Economic sustainability
Table 3. Distribution of respondents accroding to benefits
1. Expansion for increased profitability may not be possible in my 3.78
derived from the scheme business enterprise without continuous help from government.
2. My enterprise may be incapable of meeting my needs if there is 3.82
Benefits Derived Frequency Percentage
no further support from government.
Poverty alleviation 89 79.5 3. Some beneficiaries seem to be after the grants promised by the 3.22
Access to capital 101 90.2 government rather than being trained to be self-reliant.
Skill acquisition 110 98.2 4. Access to factors of production such as land, capital and inputs 3.90
Positive change in attitude towards agriculture 106 94.6 could be a challenge if government fails to provide them.
Provision of job opportunities 99 88.4 Ownership sustainability
Boost self-esteem and confidence 84 75.0 5. The government is willing to bear the loss in case of negative 2.81
Linkage to market 79 70.5 outcomes.
Linkage to input supplier 91 81.2 6. The programme appears to benefit all, despite party affiliations. 2.22
Multiple responses 7. Beneficiaries benefit more when there is positive result. 3.90
8. It appears beneficiaries cannot make decision on the enterprise 1.90
Source: Field survey, 2020
without approval from the government
9. The programme may be a sheer waste of time of beneficiaries 3.12
3.2 Perceived sustainability of the programme as people view the programme as political campaign rather than to
empower them
The result from table 4 reveals the beneficiaries’ percep- Technical sustainability
10. There seems to be adequate resources to empower the beneficia- 2.60
tion of the sustainability of youth empowerment scheme by ries.
ARMTI. As per economic sustainability, statement on access 11. Infrastructures appear to be available to be used by beneficiaries. 2.08
to factors of production such as land, capital and inputs had 12. There ought to be a special task force established to recommend 4.08
areas requiring improvement in the programme.
the highest mean (x̅ = 3.90) while the statement that some 13. The beneficiaries could take advantage of cooperatives formed to 4.11
beneficiaries seem to be after the grants promised by the access more governmental support
government rather than being trained to be self-reliant had 14. The programme could have done better in equipping beneficia- 3.89
ries with the skills to undertake agricultural projects.
the lowest mean (x̅ = 3.22). Such set of beneficiaries can be 15. The experience gathered looks insufficient to manage and main- 3.74
likened to free-riders who, according to Albert (2000), are tain a bigger farm enterprise
usually the unintended beneficiaries of a socially provided 16. The programme may not achieve set objectives as it is a means 3.43
to perpetrate corruption by the federal government
public good. These people are usually seen channelling any 17. Beneficiaries seem capable to source market for produce if 2.01
grant received into other non-agricultural ventures. government fails to buy.
18. Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) should get more 4.04
Table 4 also shows the result on the perception of bene-
involved in the programme.
ficiaries on the political sustainability of the scheme. It was Political sustainability
found that the statement that more relevant government 19. There seem to be laws in place to ensure the continuity of the 2.90
programme from one regime to another.
policies need to be enacted to support the programme for its 20. Government seems committed to building on the successes of 3.99
survival had the highest mean score (x̅ = 4.32). This result the programme.
is in tandem with Odubola (2009) who pointed out uncer- 21. The government seems to be fulfilling all its promises, to ensure 2.94
success of the programme.
tainty over the political environment to support programme 22. The programme may be scrapped as soon as the incumbent 3.52
continuity in the country, a trend that keeps recurring as a government leaves office.
result of a systemic policy problem and continues to be a 23. The programme might fail because many of the achievements 3.58
claimed are untrue.
bane to effective agricultural development. 24. The programme is seen to be more of political propaganda; 2.20
As per ownership sustainability, table 4 reveals that the therefore, it may be discontinued by next government.
statement on beneficiaries benefitting more when there is a 25. Constitutional amendment processes are required to scrap the 3.12
programme
positive programme outcome had the highest mean score 26. More relevant government policies need to be enacted to support 4.32
(x̅ = 3.90). This will no doubt give beneficiaries the impres- the programme for its survival.
sion that they are major stakeholders in the scheme. This Source: Field survey, 2020

support (x̅ = 4.11) had the highest mean, with statement that thus, resulting in collapse of such programmes. Hence,
there ought to be a special task force established to recom- lack of continuity in government programme(s) means
mend areas requiring improvement in the programme (x̅ = unsustainability of the programme. These findings are
4.08) and statement that non-governmental organisations quite germane as Salako and Badmus (2014) stated that
(NGOs) should get more involved in the programme (x̅ = most government’s empowerment programmes often fail
4.04) ranking 2nd and 3rd respectively. to achieve the targeted goal due to inadequate funding.
Relating to policy issue, International Institute of Tropical
Table 5. Categorisation of Perceived Sustainability of the
Youth Empowerment Scheme Agriculture (IITA) (2005) advanced that overtime policy
instability, policy inconsistencies, narrow base of policy
Sustainability Percentage Minimum Maximum Mean
formulation, poor policy implementation and weak insti-
Unsustainable
(below mean)
36.6 47.0 88.5 64.5 tutional framework for policy coordination have remained
Sustainable constraints to effective agricultural development. All the
63.4
(mean and above) constraints identified by the respondents revolved round
Field survey, 2020 the issue of funding such as monitoring and evaluation
that involve cost of transportation, feeding and sometimes
3.3 Constraints to the sustainability of the scheme accommodation. In line with these, Tijani (2018) asserted
that government does not usually give programme partic-
Table 6 reveals inadequate funding/support by the
ipants support such as grant or loan to establish their own
government as the major constraint affecting the sustain-
enterprises and also fail to provide an enabling environ-
ability of the scheme. This is because fund is essential
ment after conclusion of programmes. Additionally, it is
to the success of any project/activities without which the
reported that government employment programmes do not
empowerment programme will drag, there will be lack of
always have adequate supervision (Akinremi and Sonaiya,
equipment or facilities to organise the training effectively,
2009), which results in poor service delivery.
payment of trainers and money to support the trainees to
take-off, put what was learnt into practice and this will 3.4 Test of hypothesis
greatly affect sustainability of the programme. Other ma-
jor constraints are: poor post-empowerment support by the Table 7 shows that a significant relationship exist
government; uncertainty over the political environment to between constraints and perceived sustainability of the
support continuity; inadequate monitoring and evaluation youth empowerment scheme. By implication, constraints
of the beneficiaries; negative attitude of other beneficia- such as insufficient funding, poor post-empowerment sup-
ries during training; and Favouritism in the process of se- port, uncertainty over the political environment to support
lecting beneficiaries as they ranked 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th continuity amongst others will threaten the sustainability
respectively. This result is consistent with the findings of of the programme. For instance, insufficient fund can af-
Tijani (2018) who pointed out inadequate funding, uncer- fect acquisition of inputs, hiring of labour, transportation
tainty over the political environment to support continuity of output to the market thereby threatening involvement
of programmes and regime change as major constraints and or sustainable production. This is supported by the
militating against the sustainability of government pro- findings of Adekunle, Adefalu, Oladipo, Adisa and Fatoye
grammes. In Nigeria in particular, regime change implies (2009) that several constraints faced by the youths are
non funding or scraping of programmes initiated by the responsible for their low level of involvement in agri-
previous government no matter how laudable they are culture. Also, table 7 further shows that sustainability of
Table 6. Constraints to the Sustainability of the Scheme
Constraints Mean Rank
Negative attitude of other beneficiaries during training 0.62 5th
Inadequate fund or capital support by the government. 0.87 1st
Programme is fraught with excessive bureaucracy 0.51 7th
Inadequate monitoring and evaluation of the beneficiaries 0.66 4th
Poor response of agricultural knowledge and information system to beneficiaries’ challenges 0.48 10th
Inability to benefit from Agricultural Knowledge and Information Systems 0.42 11th
Uncertainty over the political environment to support continuity 0.72 3rd
Poor post-empowerment support by the government 0.77 2nd
Inadequate access to agricultural knowledge and information system 0.49 8th
Lack of market for produce as envisaged 0.49 8th
Favouritism in the process of selecting beneficiaries 0.58 6th
Source: Field survey, 2020

the scheme is dependent on the benefits derived by the [3] Afolayan O.S.m and Ajibade L.T (2012). Temporal
respondents. Loan/credit to set up the business as well as Variation in Perennial Cash Crops Production in
ready market for the output can serve as incentives for Ondo State, Nigeria. Asian Journal of Natural and
continuous involvement in the programme. This is in line Applied Sciences, Vol. 1 No. 3.
with Ogunleye et al (2014) that the benefit offered by any [4] Aiyedogbon and Ohwofasa, (2012): Role of youths
programme will determine its sustainability. in agriculture development in Makurdi Local Gov-
ernment Area, Benue State, Nigeria. Journal of Agri-
Table 7. Relationship between benefits, and constraints
cultural Extension, vol. 13, pp. 40-45.
faced by beneficiaries of the scheme and perceived sus-
[5] Akinremi, S. and Sonaiya, A. (2009). Rural-Urban
tainability of the programme.
Socio Economic Link; The Example of Migration is
Variable r-value p-value Modern Migration in West Africa. Oxford University
Benefits 0.382* 0.000
of Press, London, p129.
Constraints 0.462* 0.002
[6] International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA)
*P≤ 0.05
(2005). Agriculture in Nigeria: Identifying Oppor-
tunities for Increased commercialization and invest-
4. Conclusion and Recommendations
ment.
The study concluded that the youth empowerment [7] Odubola, P. (2009). Prospecting for Strategic Advan-
scheme from ARMTI was not without its shortcomings tage: The Proactive Entrepreneurial Personality and
as identified by the beneficiaries. However, majority Small Firm Innovation. Journal of Small Business
of the beneficiaries of the scheme agreed the training Management, New York. Vol 40.pp. 85-97.
programme was successful. The programme’s aim of [8] Oduwole, T. A. (2015). Youth Unemployment and
imparting skill, changing of attitude of the youth to ag- Poverty in Nigeria. International Journal of Sociolo-
riculture as a vocation was significantly achieved. The gy and Anthropology Research. Vol.1, No. 2, Euro-
programme was laudable and impactful, and respondents pean Centre for Research Training and Development
found the Youth Empowerment Scheme to be sustainable UK (www.eajournals.org).
based on economic, political, technical and ownership [9] Ogunlela, J. (2015). Perspective: Putting Osun State’s
criteria of International Fund for Agricultural Develop- Salary Challenge in a Fairer Context. The Nation
Newspaper, Nigeria. Retrieved online from www.the
ment (IFAD 2007).
nation online ng.net July 3rd 2015.
In lieu of the foregoing, the following recommenda-
[10] Oladele, I. O., and Kareem, A. I. (2003). Adoption
tions were made:
Rate and Continued Use of Selected Arable Crop
• Subsequent programme should be gender sensitive in
Technologies among Farmers in Oyo State. Journal
order to balance male to female enrolment.
of Food, Agriculture and Environment. 3: 291-294
• Government, development experts and donor agen-
[11] Olajide O.T, Akinlabi B.H, Tijani A.A (2012). Agri-
cies must ensure that sustainability of programme is tak-
culture Resource and Economic Growth in Nigeria.
en into cognizance at every level of the programme and
European Scientific Journal. Vol. No. 22.
efforts must be put into incorporation of monitoring and
[12] Oyesola O.B and Obabire I.E (2011). Farmers’
evaluation from the beginning so as to prevent wastage of
Perceptions of Organic Farming in Selected Local
resources.
Government Areas of Ekiti State, Nigeria. Journal of
• There is an urgent need to ensure appropriate legisla- Organic Systems, 6 (1).
tion so as to insulate the programme from political shocks [13] Salako, A. and Badmus, O. P. (2014). Strategic Man-
that may come as a result of change in government. agement of Small firms in Hostile and Benign Envi-
ronments. Strategic Management Journal, 10, 75-87.
References
[14] Tijani, S. A. (2018): Sustainability of the Youth Agri-
[1] Adesina O.S (2013). Unemployment and security culture Empowerment Programmes in Osun and Oyo
Challenges in Nigeria. International Journal of Hu- States, Nigeria. Nigerian Journal of Rural Sociology
manities and Social Science, Vol. 3 No. 7. Vol. 18, No. 2, 2018.
[2] Abefe-Balogun, B. (2015). Osun State Youth Em- [15] Umeh, G. N., and Odo, B. I. (2002). Profitability of
powerment Scheme: A key to Sustainable Develop- Poultry Production among School Leavers in Anocha
ment. Journal of Economics and Sustainable Devel- Local Government Area of Anambra State, Nigeria.
opment 6(9): 260-267. Nigeria Journal of Animal Production 29: 76-80.


Effect of Polymerized Alkaline Conditioning Fertilizer on Peppers and

Disease in Acid Field
Ding Wanhua
Agricultural Rural Service Center, Bolao Town, Lingshan County, Guangxi Province, China 535429
Article history Based on conventional fertilization, the effects of different amounts of

Received: 22 April 2021 polymerized alkaline conditioning fertilizer on the prevention and control
of pepper disease were studied. The results of the experiment showed
Accepted: 20 May 2021 that the application of alkaline conditioning fertilizer to peppers had a re-
Published Online: 31 May 2021 markable effect on growth and development, increasing yield, increasing
income and controlling disease. And the effect of applying 2100 kg/hm2
Keywords: was the best, of 2625 kg/hm2 decreased, and of more than 1575 kg/hm2
organic fertilizer was obvious. The yield of applying 2100kg/hm2 was 58069.7kg/hm2, and
the net benefit was 468325.0 RMB/hm2. The yield increased by 46.0%,
alkaline conditioning fertilizer 29.2%, 16.1% and 2.0% respectively compared with treatment 1,2,3 and
pepper 5, with significant difference; the net benefit increased by 47.6%, 30.4%,
yield benefit 16.8% and 2.4% respectively. The results are similar to those of the plot
tests, and the application rate of the polymerized alkaline conditioning
disease control
fertilizer is 2,100kg/hm2. It is suggested that the same area in southern
China can be used for reference.
　
1. Introduction conditioning fertilizer applied to pepper were carried out
on the basis of conventional fertilization, and the effects
Lingshan County, Guangxi is located in the south sub- of the application on the prevention, control and suppres-
tropical zone, with good temperature, light, water and heat
sion of pepper’s diseases were studied.
resources. It is very suitable for developing autumn and
winter agriculture. Pepper is the pillar industry of local 2. Materials and Methods
characteristic economy, and is the important source of
farmers’ income. However, since autumn and winter pep- 2.1 Basic conditions of test soil
pers cultivation was developed from the 1990s, only one
The experiment and demonstration were carried out
time medium rice and one time autumn and winter pep-
pers have been planted per year, long - term and repeated at the planting base of pepper in Liuxiang Village, Bolao
cultivation has made soil-borne diseases more and more Town, Lingshan County, Guangxi Province. The cul-
serious. And the soil has been acidic and the effective tivation system of the base was as follows: each year,
content of medium elements lacked {1, 2}, which seriously only one time medium rice and one time autumn and
inhibited the improvement of pepper yield, quality and winter peppers were planted, and the cycle was repeat-
benefit. In order to explore the ways to repair the soil en- ed. The soil is a granitic parent material and periodical
vironment and optimize the cultivation technology of pep- water-logging sand mud field, with a soil layer thickness
per, the experiment and display comparison of the alkaline of 20cm. The soil contains organic matter 34.3g/kg, total
*About the Author:

Ding Wanhua (1978–),
male, native of Lingshan County, Guangxi, agronomist, engaged in agricultural technology promotion

nitrogen (N)1.48g/kg, total phosphorus (P)0.72g/kg, total ing fertilizer had positive effects on the good formation of
potassium (K)9.2g/kg, alkalizing nitrogen (N)184mg/kg, economic characters. Among them, treatment 4 showed
available phosphorus (P)46mg/kg, available potassium the best, treatment 5 overfertilized, and the effect de-
(K)201mg/kg, available calcium 128mg/kg, available creased compared with treatment 4. Compared with each
magnesium 31mg/kg, available silicon 422mg/kg, avail- other: the fruit number per plant of treatment 4 increased
able sulfur 42mg/kg, available boron 0.29mg/kg, and by 11, 8, 5 and 1 respectively compared with treatment 1,
available zinc 0.31mg/kg.PH 5.4; the yield of the preced- 2, 3 and 5. There was no significant difference in analysis
ing rice was 430 kg. of variance between treatment 4 and treatment 5, but very
significant difference between 4 and the others. The single
2.2 Test materials fruit weight of treatment 4 increased by 2.9g, 2.0g, 1.1g
(1) Polymerized alkaline conditioning fertilizer (con- and 0.0g respectively compared with 1, 2, 3 and 5, and the
taining organic matter ≥ 14%, CaO ≥ 26%, MgO ≥ 12%, difference compared with treatment 1, 2 and 3 was very
SiO2 ≥ 25%, P2O5 ≥ 12%, alkaline conditioning active significant. The fruit length of treatment 4 increased by
compound, Bacillus subtilis, etc.); (2) Conventional fertil- 5.8cm, 3.0cm, 1.9cm and 0.3cm respectively compared
ization: farmyard fertilizer 7500kg/hm2, urea 225kg/hm2, with 1, 2, 3 and 5, and the difference compared with treat-
calcium superphosphate 1125kg/hm2, compound fertilizer ment 5 was not significant, but was very significant with
1125kg/hm2 (N 18%, P2O5 7%, K2O 20%); (3) Pepper va- the others. The fruit pitch diameter was same between
riety: line pepper No. 8; planted on November 3, 2019. treatment 4 and 5, thicker 0.6cm, 0.3cm and 0.2cm re-
spectively than treatment 1, 2 and 3.
2.3 Test design and method Table 1. Economic Characters of Pepper
Five treatments shall be set in the plot test, namely: 1.
Number Fruit pitch
Conventional fertilization; 2. Conventional fertilization Treat-
of plants
Fruit number Single fruit Fruit length
diameter
ment per plant (pcs) weight (g) (cm)
+ polymerized alkaline conditioning fertilizer 1050Kg/ (zone) (cm)
hm2; 3. Conventional fertilization + polymerized alkaline
conditioning fertilizer 1575kg/hm2; 4. Conventional fer- 1 336 40DD 21.5DD 28.2DD 2.0
tilization + polymerized alkaline conditioning fertilizer

2 336 43 CC 22.4CC 31.0CC 2.3
2100kg/hm2; 5. Conventional fertilization + polymerized
alkaline conditioning fertilizer 2625kg/hm2. Three repe- 3 336 46BB 23.3BB 32.1BB 2.4
titions were operated, with each plot 72m2, and random
block was arranged. 4 336 51AA 24.4AA 34.0AA 2.6
Cultivation management: farmyard fertilizer, urea,
5 336 50AA 24.4AA 33.7AA 2.6
calcium perphosphate, compound fertilizer, polymerized
alkaline conditioning fertilizer as base fertilizer, were Note:15 strains were sampled at fixed point in each plot
sprayed as foliar fertilizer 5 times for each treatment, and
other cultivation managements are same. Each plot is 3.1.2 Good effect on the prevention and control of
15m long×1.2m wide (including ditch) ×4 qi (a rectangu- pepper disease
lar piece of land in a field, separated by ridges), each of
After the middle period of pepper growth, the occur-
which was 0.9m wide. The planting row spacing 35cm ×
rence of pepper disease was investigated once every 10
plant spacing 40cm, and 336 pepper plants were planted
days and 4 times continuously. The investigation results
in each plot.
(see Table 2) showed that only treatment 1 and treatment
The display contrast treatment and cultivation manage-
2 had umbilical rot, blight, anthracnose, blight, gray
ment are the same as the plot test. Each display treatment
mold, scab and bacterial wilt. The average incidence
area is 300m2 without repetition.
rates of umbilical rot, blight, anthracnose, blight, gray
3. Results and Analysis mold, scab and bacterial wilt of treatment 1 were 6.7%,
3.9%, 4.4%, 3.6%, 1.4%, 0.9% and 1.4% respectively.
3.1 Plot test effect Those of treatment 2 were 0.4%, 0.3%, 0.4%, 0.2%,
0.2%, 0.1% and 0.2%, respectively. The results showed
3.1.1 Good effect on pepper character formation that the application of polymerized alkaline conditioning
According to the observation and sampling survey in fertilizer had a good effect on the prevention and control
Table 1, 4 treatments with polymerized alkaline condition- of pepper disease.

Table 2. Occurrence of Pepper Disease

Grey mould dis-
Umbilical rot Blight Anthracnose Blight Scab disease Bacterial wilt
Treatment ease
Plant rate (%) Plant rate (%) Plant rate (%) Plant rate (%) Plant rate (%) Plant rate (%)
Plant rate (%)
1 6.7 3.9 4.4 3.6 1.4 0.9 1.4
2 0.4 0.3 0.4 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.2
3 - - - -
4 - - - -
5 - - - -
Note: Investigate each treatment plot for an average
Table 3. Pepper Yield Statistic
Plot yield Yield discount To 1 ratio With a 4 ratio

Treatment
I II III Average (Kg/hm2) (Kg) (%) (Kg) (%)
1 288.0 286.5 284.4 286.3EE 39764.1 0.0 0.0 -18305.6 -46.0

2 325.0 323.8 322.0 323.6DD 44944.7 5180.6 13.0 -13125.0 -29.2
3 360.5 361.0 358.8 360.1CC 50014.1 10250.0 25.8 -8055.6 -16.1
4 418.0 417.3 419.0 418.1AA 58069.7 18305.6 46.0 0.0 0.0
5 409.2 408.6 411.9 409.9BB 56930.8 17166.7 43.2 -1138.9 -2.0
3.1.3 Significant increase in pepper production tioning fertilizer contains Bacillus subtilis, which has
the following effects. Firstly, it can inhibit the growth
According to the statistical results of yield in Table 3, and metabolism of pathogenic microorganisms by pro-
the yield increase of treatment 4 was the best, the yield ducing metabolites at low concentration, thus affecting
was as high as 58069.7 kg/hm2. Compared with treatment the survival and activity of pathogenic microorganisms.
1, 2, 3 and 5, the treatment 4 yield increased 18305.6 kg/ Secondly, it can induce the resistance of plants and pro-
hm2, 13125.0 kg/hm2, 8055.6 kg/hm2 and 1138.9 kg/hm2 mote the growth of plants by adsorbing the mycelium of
respectively, with the increase rate 46.0%, 29.2%, 16.1% pathogenic bacteria to produce lytic substances, resulting
and 2.0% respectively, and the differences were all very in the leakage of protoplasm, causing the mycelium to
significant. Compared with treatment 4, treatment 5 in- break, or to produce antibacterial substances, through
creased the amount of fertilizer but failed to achieve the dissolving the cell walls or cell membranes of pathogenic
desired yield increase, and the yield decreased. From the bacteria spores, causing the perforation and deformity of
comparison of yield, it is suitable to control the applica- cell wall to inhibit the spore generation. Thirdly, Bacil-
tion amount of polymerized alkaline conditioning fertiliz- lus subtilis can produce substances similar to cytokinin
er at 2100 kg/hm2. and plant growth hormone to promote plant growth and
The main reason why the application of polymerized enhance its ability to resist pathogenic bacteria. Fourthly,
alkaline conditioning fertilizer can increase production it can protect the environment; when Bacillus subtilis is
and prevent and control diseases is that calcium can combined with organic fertilizer to act on crops or soil,
neutralize the insoluble organic calcium and soil acid it can colonize the rhizosphere or body of crops, purify
produced by crop metabolism, adjust pH value for crop and repair the soil, reduce the occurrence of crop diseas-
growth, and supplement the nutrients such as calcium es and facilitate pepper growth. The combination of or-
and magnesium to balance the nutrients in the soil, ganic matter and inorganic fertilizer in the fertilizer has
improving the nutritional status and benefit the robust long effect, which is beneficial to the steady growth and
growth of the peppers. Magnesium can enhance the increase the yield of pepper.
photosynthesis of peppers and play an important role
in carbohydrate metabolism, promoting the growth and 3.1.4 Obvious increase in peppers’ economic ben-
development of peppers. Silicon can increase the content efit
of soil salt base, promote the decomposition of organic
fertilizer and inhibit soil germs. It can make the epider- From Table 4, after deduction of fertilizer and labor
mal cells of crops siliceous and improve the resistance cost, treatment 4 had the best benefit, and the net benefit
to insect and disease {3-5}. Polymerized alkaline condi- of treatment 4 increased 47.6%, 30.4%, 16.8% and 2.4%

respectively compared with treatment 1, 2, 3 and 5. Treat- 2625 kg/hm2.

ment 5 increased the amount of fertilizer, but compared (2) The application of polymerized alkaline condi-
with treatment 4, its benefit showed negative effect. The tioning fertilizer to peppers could obviously promote the
results showed that it was the best when the application increase of yield and income. Among the four application
rate of polymerized alkaline conditioning fertilizer was levels, the effect was the best in 2,100 kg/hm2, decreased
2100kg/hm2. in 2,625 kg/hm 2 which was excessive. The yield was
58069.7 kg/hm2 when 2100 kg/hm2 was applied, and the
3.2 The comparison results displayed net benefit was 468325.0 RMB/hm2. The yield of treat-
The results of comparative yield (see Table 5) dis- ment 4 was 46.0%, 29.2%, 16.1% and 2.0% higher than
played that the yield of treatment 4 was the highest, reach- those of treatment 1, 2, 3 and 5, respectively, and he net
ing 57908.0 kg/hm2, and the net benefit was 466,950.5 benefits increased 47.6%, 30.4%, 16.8% and 2.4% respec-
RMB/hm2; treatment 4 increased 48.5%, 31.6%, 15.6% tively.
and 1.9% respectively compared with treatment 1, 2, 3 (3) The application of polymerized alkaline condition-
and 5, and the net benefit increased 50.2%, 33.0%, 16.2% ing fertilizer had better control and inhibition effect on
and 2.3% respectively. The comparison results displayed the occurrence of cord rot, epidemics, anthracnose, blight,
of the pepper are similar to those of the plot test and have gray mold, scab and bacterial wilt of pepper disease,
good reproducibility. which was beneficial to the robust growth of the peppers.
(4) The comparison results are similar to those of the
4. Conclusion plot test and have good reproducibility. According to the
results of the plot test and demonstration, the effect was
(1) On the basis of conventional fertilization, the appli- best when the application rate of polymerized alkaline
cation of polymerized alkaline conditioning fertilizer to conditioning fertilizer was 2100 kg/hm2. It is suggested
peppers obviously promoted the formation of economic that similar areas in the south of China can be used to im-
characters of peppers, and the effect was the best when the prove the planting efficiency.
application amount was 2100 kg/hm2, and decreased when
Table 4. Economic Benefit Comparison of Pepper
Output value
Adult (RMB/hm2) Net benefit
With a 4 ratio
Treatment
(RMB/hm2) Machine (RMB/hm2)
Mulch
ploughing
Seed Fat medicine Picking Total (RMB/hm2) (%)
1 337994.9 1500 1500 1500 15157.5 1000 20657.5 317337.4 -150987.6 -47.6
2 382030.0 1500 1500 1500 17362.5 1000 22862.5 359167.5 -109157.5 -30.4
3 425120.0 1500 1500 1500 18465.0 1100 24065.0 401055.0 -67270.0 -16.8
4 493592.5 1500 1500 1500 19767.5 1200 25267.5 468325.0 0.0 0.0
5 483911.8 1500 1500 1500 20870.0 1200 26370.00 457541.8 -10783.2 -2.4
Note: Farmyard fertilizer is 0.7 RMB/kg, compound fertilizer is 3.0 RMB/kg, urea is 2.2 RMB/kg, phosphate fertilizer is 0.7 RMB/kg, conditioning
fertilizer is 2.1 RMB/kg; foliar fertilizer is 1500 RMB/hm2, spraying fertilizer is 2250 RMB/hm2, pesticide and spraying artificial is 1500 RMB/hm2;
comprehensive price of pepper is 8.5 RMB/kg.
Table 5. the comparison results displayed
Yield Output value Total cost Net benefits With a 4 ratio

Treatment
(Kg/hm2) (RMB/hm2) (RMB/hm2) (RMB/hm2) (RMB/hm2) (%)
1 39001.7 331514.5 20657.5 310857.0 -156093.5 -50.2
2 43998.3 373985.6 22862.5 351123.1 -115827.4 -33.0
3 50101.5 425862.8 24065.0 401797.8 -65152.7 -16.2
4 57908.0 492218.0 25267.5 466950.5 0.0 0.0
5 56801.2 482810.2 26370.0 456440.2 -10510.3 -2.3

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calcium-silicon magnesium fertilizer on super rice in
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Soil Health
Daoren Tuya　Wang Qi　Mei Ruhong
Chen Yanxi Microecology Team, China Agricultural University
Article history Soil deterioration is caused by biological, physical and chemical factors
Received: 22 April 2021 and can not be attributed to chemical fertilizers. Based on the concept of
soil health, we use biological, physical and chemical measures to regu-
Accepted: 24 May 2021 late ecological balance and achieve the remediation goal. Soil is a small
Published Online: 31 May 2021 universe. The biological, physical and chemical systems engineering in
the five levels of ecology should be used to control soil, restrain deteri-
Keywords: oration, repair balance and realize soil rehabilitation. This paper focuses
soil on the correlation between soil health and inorganic fertilizer factors, and
from microecology, regulates the dynamic balance of soil microecology
remediation with probiotics to achieve the goal of healthy soil fertility.
microecology
　
1. Soil Health rotation. The crop varieties became single, commodity pro-
duction appeared, and the operating condition was capital
Xi Jinping proposed the concept of “Big Health.” intensive management. In particular, in 1828 German chem-
The “Healthy China 2030” plan focuses on the people, ist Wohler (F. W & ounl. hlel, 1800-1882) synthesized urea
building a healthy environment, building healthy soil and by artificial method for the first time in the world. Although
developing healthy industries. Xi Jinping proposed the fertilizers accounted for about 40%-60% of the total crop
“Community of Common Health for Mankind” to vigor- yield increase, the soil deteriorated due to over application
ously promote the development of soil health industry. and improper application. With the addition of industrial pol-
Soil is an important part of the earth’s biosphere and lution, agricultural waste, sewage irrigation, atmospheric pol-
the foundation of natural and artificial ecosystems. Soil is lutant settlement, heavy metal-containing mineral chemical
alive, according to the “Qian Xuesen Great Health” con- fertilizers, chemical pesticides and so on, the soil gradually
cept, soil is the basis of human life activities. deteriorated, and some soil seriously deteriorated, especially
Ten thousand years ago, “in the natural ecosystem”, the by heavy metal pollution.
soil maintained its own ecological balance. Ten thousand Soil deterioration causes: 1. Crop reduction and quality
years later, it comes into the agroecosystem. The agroecosys- decline; 2. Destroying dynamic balance of organisms and
tems can be divided into primitive agroecosystems (10,000- microorganisms in the soil and decreasing soil vitality; 3.
3,000 years). People used stone and wood tools, with man- Affecting human and animal health and increasing disease
power, and the cultivation method was slash-and-burn, which death rate; 4. Change of physical condition of soil and soil
was an extensive management. The soil basically maintains binding; 5. Decline of many animals, plants and microor-
the state of natural ecosystem with little change. From the ganisms and serious imbalance.
primitive agro-ecological system to the traditional agro-eco- Soil health is so seriously polluted that it is imperative
logical system (from 3000 to 300 years), People used iron to maintain soil health.
tools, powered by animal power, and started continuous
cropping, and the operating condition was intensive labor 2. Soil is a Small Universe
management. Soil deterioration sometimes occurred but was
2.1 “Grandpa will be greater in the twenty-first
not very serious. Only in the recent 300 years, in the modern
century”
agricultural ecosystem, people used machinery, powered by
steam engine (1760), electricity (1840), and began to crop Qian Xuesen (1911-2009) put forward “Human Life

Science” in the 1960s. The seventh scientific and techno- roecology, microecology, molecular ecology and elemen-
logical revolution represented by human life science is not tary particle ecology. The mechanism of maintaining soil
a simple the meaning literally, but represents the progress health is cognized from these five levels. And the goal of
of future science and technology. All progress in biologi- “soil health” will be realized through “biological, physical
cal, physical and chemical sciences will be reflected in the and chemical” regulation. We study the “five levels, three
human life sciences. Therefore, Qian Xuesen’s human life regulations, one goal” model of soil health to achieve the
science is the perfect integration of most advanced science “community of shared future for mankind,” and “commu-
in the west and the traditional Chinese science, which is nity of human health.”
the only independent and innovative high-tech science
with Chinese characteristics. 3. Maintenance of Soil Ecological Balance
In the last century, when Qian Xuesen won the Medal
Zhu Fengmei (1895-1970), a senior in plant pathology,
of Merit of “Two Bombs and One Star,” his grandson said,
reported in 1962: “You can study lunar soil very clearly,
“Grandpa is great.” Qian said “Grandpa will be greater in
but if I take a handful of campus soil, you never know it.
the twenty-first century,” he told people: “Human science
Because it is alive and evolving, it is dynamic, and you
may lead to a scientific and technological revolution in the
can only recognize this dynamic balance. You can only
twenty-first century, perhaps a scientific revolution greater
learn it, study it, adapt to it, and maintain this dynamic
than quantum mechanics and relativity theory in the early
balance!”
twentieth century!”
Inorganic chemical fertilizers are confined to inorganic
2.2 Soil is a small universe nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K) and these are
collectively called chemical fertilizers. It is related to soil
Qian Xuesen thought that the human body is a small deterioration, and it is necessary to maintain the dynamic
universe, because all the functions of the universe have balance of three elements in soil remediation. The use of
a reaction on the human body, and the human body also chemical fertilizers is regulated to the optimal dynamic
reflects the existence and function of the universe at all balance threshold of economic, ecological and social ben-
levels. efits, and the biological, physical and chemical regulation
We know that our bodies are made of atoms of the measures are used to maintain soil health continuously.
quantity of 1028. We have somatic cells of the quantity of
1013 and bacteria in human body of the quantity of 1014. 3.1 Soil deterioration can not all be attributed to
These 1028 magnitude of atoms form about 60 different chemical fertilizers
elements, but the elements constituting human body are
We recognize soil as a small universe.
only 11. Atoms form molecules by covalent bonds. The
Chemical fertilizers account for 40%-60% of the con-
molecules come together to form aggregates, then form
tribution rate of grain increase in China, and the cultivated
small organelles, cells, tissues, organs, and finally a whole
land accounts for 7% of the world, but it feeds 20% of the
human body.
world population.
We know that all substance are made up of atoms, that
There are many factors causing soil deterioration,
is, biological, physical, chemical substance are made up
including biological, physical and chemical factors.
of atoms. Atoms form molecules, molecules form aggre-
Chemical fertilizers cause residue and pollution due to un-
gates, and aggregates as mentioned previously eventually
scientific use. In different areas, due to different soil and
form the whole body of a human. The aggregates also
different soil management, there are many other factors
form grains and animals. Aggregates also form physical
causing soil deterioration, not only the use of chemical
substances, such as steel and chemicals, such as oil. Thus,
fertilizers.
all substances are made up of atoms, which are made up of
basic particles. So everything goes back to the basic particle 3.2 Dialectical understanding of “not applying
level, and they all have commonalities. Inorganic fertilizers, fertilizers”
organic fertilizers, microbial fertilizers are also made up of
atoms, the existence of commonalities is inevitable. Currently there are many unhealthy issues, such as
climate warming, environmental deterioration, especially
2.3 Five levels of ecology, three levels of regulation soil deterioration, soil urgent to repair, and so on. The
and one goal State implements the “Healthy China 2030” regulation
outline and implements the” Big Health Concept “. Soil
The whole universe is divided into space ecology, mac-
health is first among them. The organic offered not to

apply fertilizers. Many businesses use “no chemical fertil- links of soil health: 1) soil health monitoring; 2) preven-
izer” as their broadcast to promote their so-called “organic tion of soil deterioration; 3) diagnosis of soil deterioration;
food” or “green food”. 4) soil remediation; 5) soil rehabilitation.
Subjectively, we should look at the deterioration of soil We want to look at soil “medicine” with the concept of
from the dialectical point of view, objectively follow the health medicine. The diagnosis of soil deterioration is like
principle of nature, maintaining the dynamic ecological that we go to the hospital to see a doctor, in the soil “med-
balance of soil, and actively solve the soil pollution, soil icine”, the doctor carries out indoor and outdoor survey,
poisoning, soil slates, soil disease aggravation and other diagnoses the soil “disease.” “Soil remediation” is like the
numerous negative issues. We should “advocate dialec- treatment after diagnosis.
tics, follow nature” and maintain the dynamic balance of Therefore, before “diagnosis”, there are two links,
soil. We can apply chemical fertilizers, but build healthy, namely, “soil health monitoring” and “prevention of soil
sustainable healthy soil, as long as there is no residue and deterioration.”
no pollution. “Soil health monitoring”, like human, is monitored
We should take soil deterioration as the result of the from fetus, birth, growth, life and death. As for the soil,
historical development process and our scientific devel- we should monitor it at all times. Especially when we
opment process. We should acknowledge that chemical enter the “cloud” era, we have “Beidou” and “Huawei.”
fertilizers have contributed in the historical development We can clearly monitor the changes of the soil at all
process. We should not negate them all. Meanwhile we times, and the dynamic balance between the “benefit” and
need to value its negative issues. Things have duality, we “harm.” Therefore, there is the second link, “prevention of
should “increase benefits and reduce harm.” soil deterioration.” When something is wrong in the pro-
Farmers didn’t accept it when they began to promote cess of monitoring the dynamic balance of soil, we adopt
“fat field powder “(ammonia sulfate) more than 60 years biological, physical and chemical techniques to keep the
ago, but it could increase production and ensure a good “benefit” and “harm” of soil health within the three-effect
harvest. People accepted it and became increasingly de- threshold of economy, ecology and society. Only if the
pendent on it. The application rate of chemical fertilizers dynamic balance of soil is seriously out of balance, we
rose sharply, and the excessive application and the un- can enter the “diagnosis” and “remediation.” Soil health
controlled use of chemical fertilizers paid attention to the management and control is after “remediation,” and there
“benefits increase” and neglected the “harm reduction”, is also the fifth link “soil rehabilitation.” We should not
resulting in various ills of soil health, and the “soil reme- think the job is done after the “remediation”, but should
diation” had to put on the schedule and became more and be proactively into the fifth link “soil rehabilitation.” In
more urgent. the “rehabilitation” phase, it is necessary to consolidate
Today, instead of negating chemical fertilizers totally, the “remediation” effect and control other soil deteriora-
we should reduce the harm of chemical fertilizers to the tion factors. To realize the dynamic balance of soil health
economic, ecological and social three-benefit threshold. in “health ↔ sub-health ↔ deterioration ↔ remediation
We should use chemical fertilizers according to soil and ↔ sub-health ↔ health,” and to promote the dynamic bal-
crop environment, with timely and appropriate methods. ance to benefit three-benefit threshold.
If the use of fertilizer can be achieved without residue We need to maintain the dynamic balance of soil health
and pollution, then everyone will be happy. We have used from “advocating dialectics and following nature.”
yield-increasing beneficial bacteria to degrade nitrate Monitor ↔ Prevention ↔ Deterioration ↔ Diagnosis
content in crops and actively eliminate residues of chem- ↔ Remediation ↔ Rehabilitation.
ical fertilizers. This is the active solution on the basis of
active prevention and control and has index significance. 4. Theory and Practice of Microecological
The human, material and financial resources of chemical Soil Remediation
fertilizer research and development are used to study the
Professor Chen Yanxi (1924-2010) participated in the
“man-made disaster of chemical fertilizer”, so as to make
revolution in 1932 and was the third generation master of
it “increase benefits and reduce harm,” which will surely
plant pathology in China. In his long-term revolutionary
get higher and better results than just prevention.
experience, he was familiar with dialectics and followed
3.3 Regulation of soil health the principle of nature: attaching importance to relating
the theory with the practice, and putting practice the first
Soil health regulation is a systematic project, soil replace. In 1976, he led a team to create “microecology,”
mediation is a link of soil health regulation. There are five

which is defined as: the biological individual is a complex repair soil, reach the economic, ecological and social ben-
of cell tissue and microorganisms, and it is the branch of efit threshold, and build healthy soil.
life science studying the composition, function and sub-
stitution of these microorganisms, the relationship among 5. Case of Building Healthy Soils -- Preven-
the microorganisms, and the relationship between micro- tion and Treatment of Soil-borne Diseases
organism and microenvironment of organism.
We think the soil is a small universe, the five ecological
5.1 Self-healing power of healthy soil
levels respond in the scope of soil, but the microecological Wheat take-all
level is most intuitive, visible for us. We emphasize the
use of biological, physical and chemical soil remediation (1) Wheat take-all is widely distributed all over the
techniques to control the deterioration of soil. world. It was first recorded in the UK in 1884, and was
Soil deterioration factors are complex, and soil reme- first discovered in Zhejiang Province in China in 1931.
diation measures are more complex. In this paper, the mi- In the early 1970s, wheat take-all occurred seriously in
crobial factors in soil are discussed. Huangxian County, Yantai, Shandong Province, and was
As mentioned previously, soil is lively and a small uni- expanded to 19 provinces. It is a devastating disease and
verse, mainly because of microbes in the soil. can go out of production.
More than 3 billion years ago. We are living in a micro- (2) Wheat Take -all is a continuous cropping disease,
bial world. Microorganisms are classified as bacteria, fun- which is aggravated year by year. When the incidence
gi, algae, commonly known as parasites of the protozoa rate and severity of the disease reach the peak, the disease
and worms, another category, namely viruses. A virus is a index continues to decrease year by year, and the crop
simple organism that can only be replicated in living cells. yield increases due to the reduction of the disease. This
It is not strictly considered as a living organism, but it is phenomenon is called a “take- all decline (TAD).” The
also attributed to microorganisms. peak period of disease usually lasts 1-3 years. After the
Microbes evolved from aquatic ones to terrestrial ones, peak period, the disease declined at different rates due to
and from simple to complex. The terrestrial microbes live different soil health. The mechanism of TAD is mainly
early on in the crust. So far in today’s soil, there are very associated with the beneficial microbes in the soil.
many microorganisms living in the 20 cm tillage layer. (3) In the last century, we spent ten years on Fengning
The microbial communities, species and numbers in this Dam to systematically observe the whole process of wheat
tillage layer change from time to time. The microbial take-all disease in one mu of wheat field: onset - severe dis-
population and its quantity in the soil and its biological ease - decline - mild disease - basically no disease. The gen-
yield are changing under various tillage conditions, dif- eration of orange resistance soil is related to the population
ferent crop species and different growth stages. In the last and quantity of beneficial microorganism in soil. Therefore,
century, our team spent 10 years in Langfang cotton wilt in laiwu, Shandong province, we increased the application
disease nursery, monitoring systematically cotton wilt of organic fertilizer, nitrogen fertilizer, and use beneficial
bacteria. It also took ten years to make a systematic in- bacteria such as Pseudomonas fluoresceae, Bacillus, and
vestigation and study on the condition dynamics of wheat other microbial fertilizer, and achieved good results.
all-etching disease in Fengning Dam. Professor Wang Qi The application of nitrogen fertilizer and probiotics
has conducted a study since 2006. He divided two mu accelerated the increase of resistance to wheat take-all
(approximate 66.5 square meters) of field in Shangzhuang disease, and eventually the disease declined and gradually
experimental area of our university into six plots, one of eliminated. Later, in huangxian county, there was no sin-
which uses compound chemical fertilizer and the other gle sample of wheat take-all disease found. Soil is a living
five use organic fertilizer to different gradients. The ex- organism and has the ability to heal itself.
periments have been carried out for 14 years, and the soil
microflora has been analyzed year by year, as well as the
5.2 Comprehensive treatment of microecological
observation and study of the biological yield and charac-
regulation
ters of wheat-maize crops. Fusarium wilt of cotton
Soil deterioration is caused by biological, physical and
chemical factors. We use micro-organisms to regulate the (1) Fusarium Wilt of Cotton can occur from seedling
biological, physical and chemical factors of soil deterio- stage to adult stage, and reach the peak before and after
ration based on microecology and its business theory and budding. Fusarium oxysporum can survive for 6-7 years
practice. Microecological regulation technology is used to in soil and chlamydospores can survive for up to 15 years.

The pathogen mainly intrudes from the epidermal cells or sarium wilt of cotton followed the principle of “dialectics
wounds of cotton plants. The pathogen intrudes through and nature” and used the concept of microecological regu-
the cortex and enters the catheter, and propagates and ex- lation to view the dynamic balance of microbial “increase
pands in the catheter, distributing to the whole plant. benefits and reduce harm” in soil remediation.
(2) In the 1970s and 1980s, our team established a plant Microecological fertilizer is the basic measure to con-
nursery for studying Fusarium wilt of cotton in Langfang, trol soil deterioration. In “bacteria fertilizer” concept,
Hebei Province, and conducted systematic observation “bacteria” is referred to microbial, and “fertilizer” can be
and research on Fusarium wilt for ten years. organic fertilizer, or inorganic fertilizer. There are tradi-
Fusarium oxysporum occurred in the soil, through the tional bacteria – rhizobia, nitrogen-fixing bacteria, phos-
root surface, into cotton, then into the vascular, extending phorus and potassium - releasing bacteria, pro-growth
the whole plant. In this process, Fusarium oxysporum bacteria, mycorrhizal bacteria, photosynthetic bacteria,
broke through the layers of microbial protection in the organic rotting bacteria. While this paper mainly focuses
natural ecosystem of cotton, so as to seriously develop in on Bacillus, centering on the soil remediation of organic
the bud stage of cotton. fertilizer.
The prevention and treatment of Fusarium wilt of cot- Since 1976, the microecology team of China Agricul-
ton should adopt comprehensive management strategies of tural University has pioneered the application of Bacillus
protecting disease-free areas (fields), eliminating sporadic as bacterial fertilizer and bacterial medicine.
areas (fields), controlling light areas (fields) and reforming In 1979, the yield-increasing beneficial bacteria with
seriously ill areas (fields). Bacillus as the main body was introduced.
Microecological preparations such as Bacillus and Our team has been insisting for decades that each func-
Trichoderma can be used for microecological regulation of tional bacterium is fermented in a single way, and then
wilt disease. For example, when sowing, biological control “suit the remedy to the case,” forming a variety of com-
preparations were used in combination with seed fertiliz- pound bacterial agents aimed at a variety of deteriorated
er, seed disinfectant and seed granulation technology; i.e., soil to different extent.
microecological preparations were used near the seeds. a. As mentioned earlier, Professor Wang Qi started study
Isolation agent was added. b. Middle layer was fertilizer, on one mu of cotton field in 2006, divided into six dis-
and isolation agent was added. c. The outer layer was seed tricts, one with compound fertilizer and the other five with
chemical disinfectant. d. The isolation layer can be made of organic fertilizer according to different gradients. It has
methyl cellulose and other film forming agents. been fourteen years, and the changes of soil microflora
Microbial bacteria were used as base fertilizer to con- have been observed and studied year by year.
trol the propagation of Fusarium wilt bacteria in soil and If the soil deteriorates, then the soil is repaired. A com-
reduce infection potential. prehensive scientific judgment must be made according to
Microecological bacteria formed bacteriostatic soil in the concept of system engineering, so that the disease can
cotton rhizosphere, reducing the infection potential and be repaired.
infection rate of Fusarium wilt bacteria. Case: Obstacles to continuous cropping
During the growing period of cotton, microecological Repeated stubble disease
preparation was sprayed especially at the lower petiole of Repeated stubble disease is the cancer in soil-borne
cotton buds, to slow the spreading of wilting bacteria in disease
vascular bundles. Enhanced microecological preparation The planting of the same crop in the same plot for sev-
used at the lower petiole of the buds can retain the first eral consecutive seasons or for many years is called “re-
and second leaves under the buds, and cotton can retain peated stubble” in cultivation.
basic biological production. Repeated stubble disease is an iconic disease of soil de-
In order to control Fusarium wilt of cotton more effec- terioration. Soil compaction, blind fertilization, high soil
tively, microecological preparations can be combined with salinity and other factors are the reasons of soil erosion.
other disease control measures. While the reducing of soil beneficial microorganisms and
microbial metabolites resulting in dynamic imbalance is
6. Dynamic Balance of Soil Microecology is the root cause of serious stubble disease.
the Foundation of Soil Remediation In 2018, our team carried anti-stubble preparations in
the Third China Innovation Challenge (Lanzhou), won the
Dynamic balance of soil microflora winning team (first prize), helping to solve the planting
As for that the treatment of wheat take-all disease, Fu- technical problems in summer on plateau. On September

5, at on-site observation and promotion conference of the In this case, it is clear that micro-organisms are used
effect of technology solving needs in China Innovation to regulate the dynamic balance of soil micro-ecology, in-
Challenge (Lanzhou lily), lily increased production by creasing benefits and reducing harm, inhibiting soil dete-
more than 500 yuan per mu in the test area, with an in- rioration and making the soil develop healthily. Of course,
crease rate of up to 20%. A perfect answer was submitted microbial regulation and control should be combined with
by China Agricultural University for anti-stubble micro- biological, physical and chemical control measures to ac-
ecological preparations. For many years, sunflower and tively repair deterioration factors and maintain soil health.
other crops have been successfully controlled repeated
stubble diseases. References
Anti-stubble agent is the international leading innova- [1] Chen Yanxi. Trans. Plant Root Disease Fungi. Agri-
tion of China Agricultural University. Bacteria, such as cultural Press. 1956.
Bacillus, Trichoderma, Actinomycetes, Scopulariomy- [2] Mei Ruhong. Biological Control of Take-All
cetes, which were used to prevent and control repeated Disease in Wheat [J]. Journal of Beijing Agricultural
stubble diseases, were selected to prevent disease, pro- University 8 (2). 1982.
mote growth and produce high yield. Specialized fermen- [3] Ecological Research of Soil-borne Plant Pathogens.
tation techniques were used for single-strain fermentation. 1983. Research Institute of Plant and Biological Con-
According to the main factors of soil deterioration, special trol for Plant Diseases, Beijing Agricultural Universi-
bacteriological agents were combined with other agricul- ty.
tural measures to prevent and control repeated stubble [4] Mei Ruhong. Yield-increasing Bacteria. Agriculture
diseases. Press. 1989.
In the anti-pandemic days, our team in Daxing Pangge- [5] Ji Pingsheng. The Mechanism of the Yield-increasing
zhuang Beijing succeeded at the prevention of watermelon Bacteria [J]. Chinese Journal of Microecology 3 (1):
root knot nematode by nematode-prevent microecological 92-95. 1991.
preparation. According to the principle of plant microecol- [6] Lu Suyun et al. Biological Control of Plant Diseases.
ogy, the nematode-prevent microecological preparation Beijing Agricultural University Press. 1993.
was a compound microecological preparation developed [7] Mei Ruhong. Plant Microecology. Agricultural Press.
by single strain fermentation and multi-strain com- 1998.
pounding and other special fermentation technology and [8] Baker K. F., Cook R. J. Biological Control of Plant
preparation processing technology. Probiotics multiplied Pathogens. San Francisco Freeman. 1974.
rapidly and produced many metabolites when applied to [9] Georgeo N. Agrios. Disease Control by Immunizing,
soil. Dominant flora formed in the soil, forming a tight or Improving the Resistance of, the Host Plant Pa-
protective layer around plant roots, which in turn reduced thology (Fourth Edition) 192-195. Academic Press.
the incidence of root knot nematodes. 1997.

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Volume 02 | Issue 02 | June 2021

Research on World Agricultural Economy

Gender Roles and Economic Differentials in Aquaculture of Kainji

ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT

Distributed under creative commons license 4.0 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.36956/rwae.v2i2.353 1

development (Manyung-Pasani, Hara & Chimatiro,

2 Distributed under creative commons license 4.0 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.36956/rwae.v2i2.353

Distributed under creative commons license 4.0 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.36956/rwae.v2i2.353 3

Table 1. Socio-economic Characteristics of Fish Farmers

Marital Status Self Finance

Level of Education WOMEN

3.2 Sources of finance and production resources

necessitating the need for the fish farmers to explore ex-

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women have access to land through their relationships Figure 6

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6 Distributed under creative commons license 4.0 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.36956/rwae.v2i2.353

Employment Wage/M TW/M Wage/M TW/M Wage/M TW/M

Net income=Revenue-expenses 6233509.91 1073576.33 5206967.07

Net Profit Margin 41.80% 33.80% 52.21%

Distributed under creative commons license 4.0 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.36956/rwae.v2i2.353 7

8 Distributed under creative commons license 4.0 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.36956/rwae.v2i2.353

Distributed under creative commons license 4.0 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.36956/rwae.v2i2.353 9

driving aquaculture technology adoption. Journal of 375–377). Lagos.

10 Distributed under creative commons license 4.0 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.36956/rwae.v2i2.353

Research on World Agricultural Economy

Assessment of Use of Improved Production Technologies among Goat

ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT

Distributed under creative commons license 4.0 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.36956/rwae.v2i2.382 11

12 Distributed under creative commons license 4.0 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.36956/rwae.v2i2.382

∑ fx (3.1) 3. Results and Discussion

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14 Distributed under creative commons license 4.0 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.36956/rwae.v2i2.382

Goat raised on platforms 65(260) 35(105) 18(36) 2(2) 403 3.36

Formulation of concentrates 35(140) 85(255) 0(0) 0(0) 395 3.29

Giving mineral supplement 30(120) 60(180) 20(40) 10(10) 350 2.92

Identification of does on heat 25(100) 73(219) 11(22) 11(11) 352 2.93

Cross breeding 27(108) 46(138) 38(76) 9(9) 555 3.08

Vaccination 65(260) 41(123) 14(28) 0(0) 411 3.43

Flushing of does 65(260) 35(105) 18(36) 2(2) 403 3.36

Colostrum feeding 35(140) 85(255) 0(0) 0(0) 395 3.29

Farm fumigation or disinfection 47(188) 60(180) 13(26) 0(0) 394 3.28

Deworming 30(120) 60(180) 20(40) 10(10) 350 2.92

Dipping 25(100) 73(219) 11(22) 11(11) 352 2.93

Are you aware that bucks (male goats) are to be changed at

Fostering of kids 40(160) 80(240) 0(0) 0(0) 400 3.33

Odour transfer 40(160) 60(180) 20(40) 0(0) 360 3.00

Grand mean 3.20

Source: Field Survey, 2019

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16 Distributed under creative commons license 4.0 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.36956/rwae.v2i2.382

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18 Distributed under creative commons license 4.0 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.36956/rwae.v2i2.382

Distributed under creative commons license 4.0 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.36956/rwae.v2i2.382 19

Research on World Agricultural Economy

Entrepreneurship Skill for Empowering Women in Cocoyam Produc-

ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT

20 Distributed under creative commons license 4.0 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.36956/rwae.v2i2.383

1. Introduction group demonstration, workshops, seminars, conferences,

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∑ fx (3.1) 3. Results and Discussion