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This study assessed some fabricators’ technical know-how in the production or fabrication of machines used for the production of special palm oil (SPO). The study also examined facilities possessed by the fabricator with the aim to providing intervention that would abridge the widening demand gap between the demand and supply of SPO for domestic and industrial applications. Multistage sampling technique was used to select 98 fabricators as respondents across four geopolitical zones where palm oil is produced in Nigeria. A well-structured questionnaire and an observant check list were used to collect data relevant to the objectives of the study from the respondents. The collected data were collated with Epidata application and analyzed with the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). Descriptive statistics such as frequency distribution and mean were used to summarize the data while inferential statistics such as Chi-Square and multiple regression were used to make deductions. Findings of the study showed that majority of the respondents were within the age of bracket of 40 and 49 and had West African Examination Certificate or its equivalent as major educational qualification. Average income generated per year based on their primary occupation and other occupation were $718.01 and $658.18 respectively. There was a highly significant relationship between membership of organization and the information received at p = 0.05 probability level. Majority of the respondents said they learned the art of fabrication informally from someone. They had limited and dysfunction number pieces of equipment for bending, rolling and lathing, which hindered, the fabrication of machines involved in the production of SPO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was designed to investigate the nexus between globalisation and the exploitation of African youth, with a view to highlighting the necessity for good governance in curbing this menace in Nigeria. The specific objectives were, therefore, as follows: to present youth vulnerability and exploitation as inherent features of globalisation; to examine views on the roles of good governance in checking the youth exploitation caused by globalisation; to document the various prevailing dimensions of this exploitation; to identify the sites where exploitation occurs; and to assess the implications for good governance in Nigeria. The methodology employed was basically an assemblage of qualitative data derived from focus group discussions (FGDs). The study revealed, among other things, that globalisation is a modernised form of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, reflecting the perceived socioeconomic and political gaps that exist between the North and South. The Western sex industry, ritualist houses, sweatshops, and political campaign grounds were among the sites identified as places where youth exploitation occurs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study investigated perceived production needs and socioeconomic factors affecting the sustainability of the participation of rural youth in crop farming in Ogun State, Nigeria. A structured interview schedule was used to elicit information from 353 rural young people involved in crop farming, who were randomly and proportionately selected across 8 farming communities. The results showed that farm inputs were the greatest production need. Credit facilities, subsidy of farm inputs, incentives, recognition on the job, provision of a drinkable water supply, and an electricity supply were the major needs driving rural young people's sustained participation in crop farming. Significant relationships also existed between production needs and some of the characteristics of rural youth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aimed at identifying factors influencing the use of ethno-veterinary practices amongst goat and poultry farmers in Ekiti state, Nigeria. It specifically described the socio-economic characteristics of the farmers; identified some diseases of goats and poultry with their corresponding indigenous cures; presented the procedures used in developing some of the ethno-veterinary medicine amongst farmers; identified the reasons for using ethnoveterinary practices; analysed the ecological factors influencing ethno-veterinary practices; identified the roles played by institutions in the utilisation of ethno-veterinary practices; and examined the benefits and problems associated with ethno-veterinary practices in Ekiti State, Nigeria. A multi-stage sampling procedure was used to select 100 respondents from ten communities, namely: Otun-Ekiti, Igogo-Ekiti, Osin-Ekiti, Omuo-Ekiti, Ilasa-Ekiti, Araromi-Ekiti, Efon-Alaaye, Oba-Ayetoro, Ise-Ekiti, and Orun-Ekiti. Pre-tested structured and unstructured interview schedules were used to collect quantitative data, while Focused Group Discussions (FGDs) were used to elicit qualitative data from the respondents. Frequency distribution, percentages, means and standard deviation were used to describe the data. Inferential statistics such as correlation and Chi-Square analyses were used to make deductions. The correlation result showed that at p < or = 0.05 level of significance, age (r = 0.368), family size (r = 0.114) and association membership (r = 0.231) were positively and significantly correlated with the utilisation of ethno-veterinary practices while education level (r = 0.342), farming scope (r = -0.261,) and cosmopoliteness (-0.135) had negative but significant correlation with the utilisation of ethno-veterinary practices. Some of the problems (associated with the use of indigenous knowledge) identified by the farmers were lack of institutional support and the seasonal nature of some medicinal plants. It is, thus, suggested that all identified constraints need be removed by government to enhance the use of low-external inputs for sustainable agricultural development.