Abstract
Benue State is endowed with numerous varieties of useful plants whose fruits, seeds, roots, stems and leaves serve important roles in nutrition but unfortunately many of these plants have not been put to maximum use. The neglect of these forest food plants is attributed to inadequate information on their nutritional potential to serve as food. The broad objective of the study was to examine the nutritional composition of Vitellaria paradoxa fruits, Cissus populnea stem, Afzelia africana seeds, Parkia biglobosa seeds and Prosopis africana seeds. Carbohudrate content was found to be the most abundant nutrient in all the plant species studied when compared with other nutrients. The highest carbohydrate content (58.22±0.2%) was found in Cissus populnea stem followed by carbohydrate content in Afzelia africana seeds (51.36±0.01%). The least carbohydrate content of 35.68±0.06% was found in the fruits of Vitellaria paradoxa. There were significant variations in the concentrations of nutrients screened from the 5 selected plants at p>0.05 level. Proximate analysis showed that Vitellaria paradoxa fruits, Cissus populnea stem, Afzelia africana seeds, Parkia biglobosa seeds and Prosopis africana seeds were good sources of minerals such as Calcium,Magnesium, Potassium, iron and Chlorine. Potassium had the highest concentration in all the plant species when compared with other nutrients. The highest Potassium content (32.92±0.59%) was found in Vitellaria paradoxa fruits followed by Potassium content of 25.15±0.07% in Afzelia africana seeds. However, Potassium content between Prosopis africana seeds (15.77±0.81%) and Cissus populnea stem (15.77±0.61%) were not significantly different. The least concentration of Potassium was found in Parkia biglobosa seeds (8.03±0.11%). The mean quantities of minerals found in the plant species that were screened differ significantly at P<0.05 level. It was concluded that Vitellaria paradoxa fruits, Cissus populnea stem, Afzelia africana seeds, Parkia biglobosa seeds and Prosopis africana seeds were good sources of nutrients and major minerals like calcium, magnesium, potassium, iron and chlorine. Diabetic persons need to be careful about the consumption of these plant species. It was recommended that efforts should be made to conserve and protect these plant species through domestication as they are rich sources of nutrients.
Highlights
Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) refer to technologies that facilitate the creation, processing and transfer of information across space and time
About (90%) of the respondents reported that they utilize Global System for Mobile (GSM) for communicating information on Fadama III activities with the officials/personnel of the project, while 10% of the respondents did not
From the findings of this study the following conclusions were drawn on farmers’ use of Global System for Mobile (GSM) for communication in the Fadama III project in Northern zone of Taraba State, Nigeria: It is evident that farmers are utilizing GSM in communication and dissemination of information in the Fadama III project in the study area
Summary
Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) refer to technologies that facilitate the creation, processing and transfer of information across space and time. ICTs facilitate the flow of large volumes of information to a wide audience across numerous geographical locations. It is required for effective and successful transfer of technologies that are designed to boost agricultural extension delivery. Torero [2], reported that information and communication technologies (ICTs) play important role in empowering farmers. In other words, these technologies, especially mobile phones (GSM), stimulate agricultural and rural development through the provision of information and capacity-building opportunities thereby making rural farmers to need information in higher magnitudes for increased productivity
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