Extension and Economic
Odey Ogah; Felix Ikyereve; Francis Ogebe
Volume 10, Issue 2 , Spring 2020, , Pages 81-86
Abstract
The study analyzed risks in financing agriculture by agricultural cooperatives in Benue State, Nigeria and use research questionnaires for data collection. A multistage sampling technique was used to select the sample of 210 respondents from 21 agricultural cooperatives. Descriptive and inferential statistics ...
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The study analyzed risks in financing agriculture by agricultural cooperatives in Benue State, Nigeria and use research questionnaires for data collection. A multistage sampling technique was used to select the sample of 210 respondents from 21 agricultural cooperatives. Descriptive and inferential statistics were employed in data analysis. Loan defaulting (66.7%) and reduction in savings by members (51.4%) were the major causes of risks faced by agricultural cooperatives in the study area. Other were: adverse changes in commodity prices (48.6%), disaster (45.7%) among others. Risks adversely influence the profitability and competition of agricultural cooperatives (82.9%). Multiple regression analysis results showed that the coefficient of multiple determinations was 0.67 implying that the explanatory variables included in the model accounted for 67% of the variation in the level of profitability of agricultural cooperatives. The number of loans, average amount of loan and the interest rate were significant and important determinants of profitability of the cooperatives. Majority of the respondents (88.6%) made use of loan guarantors as a strategy of managing loan default/ repayment. It was found that majority (70%) of the respondents faced the challenge of lack of insurance cover. The study recommend that Agricultural cooperative officials should be encouraged to undergo formal training and education so as to easily acquire administrative skills in the management of agricultural loans, Farmers loan size should be increased and released on time to enable them use it effectively. Policies that enhance insuring farm activities should be put in place so as to discourage farmers risk aversion.
Agricultural Extension
Rashid Adisa; Mudashir Mustapha; Kayode Balogun; Hussein Ibrahim; Waliyat Oloyede
Volume 8, Issue 1 , Winter 2018, , Pages 7-15
Abstract
The study analyzed farm management extension services (FMESs) performed by the extension agents of Agricultural Development Projects in South West Nigeria. Study representatives were sampled randomly from Oyo ADP, Osun ADP and Ekiti ADP, making a 50% representation of the South-West. A proportionate ...
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The study analyzed farm management extension services (FMESs) performed by the extension agents of Agricultural Development Projects in South West Nigeria. Study representatives were sampled randomly from Oyo ADP, Osun ADP and Ekiti ADP, making a 50% representation of the South-West. A proportionate sample of 80% of the total of the extension agents in each of the 3 case studies was randomly selected; making a total sample of 164 respondents for the study. Data were analyzed using simple descriptive statistics such as frequency counts, percentages and mean. Findings revealed that majority (76.8%) of the respondents were males, had higher certificates than ND (92.7%) and supervised more than 199 farmers (61.6%). However, more than half of the respondents were still new in the extension work with working experience of between 1-10 years (55.5%). The results further showed that only few of the change agents performed farm management tasks related to finance and marketing. The major constraints facing the extension agents in performing FMESs in the study area were lack of incentives, farmers’ illiteracy and inadequate training ranking 1st, 2nd and 3rd respectively. This study recommends that extension agents should be trained more in the core aspects of FMESs which include linkage to finance and marketing. Also, extension professionals should be well motivated with incentives to ensure that FMESs are adequately rendered to their clients for increased productivity.
Agricultural Extension
Abdulrazaq Daudu; Felix Oladipo; Fadekemi Awosusi
Volume 7, Issue 2 , Autumn 2017, , Pages 111-117
Abstract
The study compared the shea-butter production techniques used among women processors in Baruten and Ilorin-South Local Government Areas of Kwara State, Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique was used to elicit information from 120 respondents through a structured interview schedule with questionnaire. ...
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The study compared the shea-butter production techniques used among women processors in Baruten and Ilorin-South Local Government Areas of Kwara State, Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique was used to elicit information from 120 respondents through a structured interview schedule with questionnaire. Data were analyzed with both descriptive and inferential statistics. The mean age of the respondents in Baruten and Ilorin-South were 38.4years and 37.9 years respectively. Some 58.0% and 50.3% of the respondents had no formal education in Baruten and Ilorin-South respectively. Findings revealed that about 76.7% and 95.0% of respondents in Baruten and Ilorin-South respectively used traditional method, 16.7% and 5.0% of respondents in Baruten and Ilorin-South respectively used modern method while 6.6% of respondents in Baruten and none in Ilorin-South used both methods. However, both respondents in Baruten (63.3%) and Ilorin-South (66.7%) considered modern method as the best shear butter processing technique that is efficient and reduces drudgery. Also, majority (68.3) of respondents in Baruten LGA earned above N20,000 monthly while 56.7% of respondents in Ilorin-South earned less. Further results revealed that inadequate credit facilities were the major constraint of the processors in Baruten and Ilorin-South. It was concluded that the quantity of Shea butter produce in Baruten was more than their counterparts in Ilorin-South and this may be due to abundant of Shea nuts in Baruten. It is recommended that modern techniques of Shea butter processing should be encouraged and planting of more Shea tree is practiced among the processors and thus increasing Shea butter production.
