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Organic farming practices (OFP) are key components of sustainable agriculture. However, the adoption of OFP is not yet widespread. Therefore, this study examined the willingness to adopt OFP among arable crop farmers in Oyo State, Nigeria. A multi-stage and proportionate sampling technique was used to select 333 arable crop farmers with the aid of a structured questionnaire. Mean, percentages, Chi-square, and Pearson Product Moment Correlation α 0.05 were used to analyse the results. Fifty percent (50%) of the respondents had high knowledge, and 46.1% had a moderately favourable perception of OFP. The majority (71.5%) were willing to adopt OFP. Inadequate credit facilities ( ¯("x" ) " " =1.79) and lack of access to organic inputs ( ¯("x" ) =1.57) were major barriers to adopting OFP. Farm size (r = -0.114), household size (r = -0.180), farmer’s knowledge (r = 0.128), and perception of OFP (r = 0.122) were significantly related to farmers’ willingness to adopt OFP. Arable crop farmers were willing to adopt OFP. They should therefore be equipped with the requisite knowledge and skills through training programmes.

This study was conducted to assess traditional incubation and hatching methods of indigenous poultry eggs, and the level of knowledge of poultry farmers in Kwara State of Nigeria. A multi-stage sampling procedure was used to select 80 household poultry keepers who were interviewed using structured questionnaires for data collection. Four Local Government Areas (LGAs) were randomly selected while a non-probability snow-ball technique was used to select five households who are known for rearing indigenous chickens. The results showed the mean age of poultry keepers in the study area was 51±8 and the mean flock size in the study was 21±5.chickens About 11.2% of the respondents keep poultry as a source of income and 7.5 % raise chickens solely for consumption while 87.5% keep chickens for both consumption and income purposes. 71.2% of respondents keep chicken eggs for incubation and hatching for replacement purposes. The mean income from sales of poultry products was 2,800±149 NGN (US$7.7). The result further showed that 52.8% of the farmers had a low level of knowledge while 32.4% had a moderate level of knowledge and only 14.8% of them had a high level of knowledge about the process of traditional incubation and hatching methods. The ordered logistic regression model results showed that, age 0.128 (p=0.00611), annual income 0.000212 (p=0.0193) and years of formal education 0.5318 (p=0.0121) influenced the likelihood of higher level of knowledge about the processes of incubation and hatching of eggs of indigenous chicken of the respondents. Predator, inadequate funds, and theft are the major constraints faced by the poultry keepers in the study area. There is a need for more empirical studies by animal breeders and extension service providers to give proper orientation to the poultry keepers on the process of incubation and hatching of eggs for rapid multiplication of indigenous poultry birds to improve food and nutritional security for a sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study assessed rural youth's adoption of cassava production technologies in Southwestern, Nigeria and determined the extent of usage of the technologies among them. A multistage sampling procedure was used to select 135 respondents. A well structured interview schedule was used to elicit information from the respondents. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The results showed that the average age of rural youths that were engaging in cassava production in the study area was 29 ± 2.6 years with average farm size of 2.5 ± 0.3 hectares. Also, household size (r = 0.249; P ≤ 0.01) and extent of usage of the technologies (r = 0.363, p ≤ 0.01) shows significant relationship with level of adoption of the technologies at 0.01 while age (r = 0.097; P ≤ 0.05) and years of former education (r = 0.181; P ≤ 0.05) were significant at 0.05. It was concluded that the extent of usage of the technologies in the communities affect the rate of adoption positively and this might enhance the positive perception of youths on cassava production thereby ensure food security in the study area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study focuses on assessing participation of physically challenged people (PCP) in agricultural value chain as a means of food sustainability in Nigeria. Specifically, it describes the socio-economic characteristics of the physically challenged people, analyzes PCP perception of agricultural valuechain as a means of income generating activities; determined their training needs as well as identified the major constraints to participation in agriculture. One hundred and five respondents that belong to physically challenged associations were interviewed through the use of structured interview schedule. Data analyses were carried out using frequency counts, percentages, mean, standard deviation and correlation. Results of the study showed that more males were found in this category compared to females, and they were of productive age. Majority was illiterate and relevant pieces of information were sourced from relatives and friends. There was a low level of participation in agricultural value chain due to negative perception to agricultural production, inadequate access to appropriate education and information, inadequate training in the area of agricultural value chain where PCP can be engaged, inappropriate technology, inadequate credit facilities and negative attitude of people to the plight of the PCP. Positive and significant correlation exists between the level of participation of PCP in agricultural value chain at p = 0.05 and level of education; source of information; trainings attended and perception towards agricultural production. In conclusion, there is the need to create enabling environment that will encourage the PCP to participate in agricultural production to enhance food security and poverty alleviation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]