Edo South Research Articles

Assessment of Extension Agents' Perception of Mobile Phone Usage for Communication with Farmers in Edo South of Edo State, Nigeria

The use of mobile phones as means of communication between the extension agents and local farmers in Edo South was examined to determine the perception of the extension agents on its effectiveness. Fifty-one (51) respondents were obtained through random sampling using questionnaires to obtain relevant information in the two local government areas; Ovia North East and Ovia South West selected for the study. The result obtained indicated that male extension agents were in majority (72.5%), 54.9% of the sampled population above 45 years of age and 58.8% possessed 16 – 20 years working experience. Phone calls and short message service (SMS) were found appropriate for agricultural information dissemination. Significant and positive relationships were established between the working experience of extension agents and their perception of mobile phone usage. The recommendation is that formal integration of mobile phone into extension activities be done to enhance wider coverage, reduce cost and risks associated with movement. Extension agents and farmers need more training on effective usage of SMS and phone calls for interaction on farm related issues. Enforcement of existing telecommunication laws could reduce network failure and also enhance effective usage.

Mean Rate of Gully Head Advancement in Edo State, Nigeria

The issue of gully erosion is of major concern in Nigeria. The study was carried out in Edo state, Southern Nigeria. Edo State was chosen as the study area due to the fact that the magnitude of gully erosion has resulted in the loss of lives and properties, destruction of arable lands and wastage of large areas of usable land. In this study, an effort was made to identify the major gully sites in the area and determined the mean rate of gully head advancement. The result revealed that gullies in Edo North had mean rate of head advancement of 80.30 meters per a year, Edo South 52.03 meters per a year and Edo Central is 17.80 meters per year.

The influence of family factors on delinquent adolescents in secondary schools in Edo South Senatorial District of Edo State

This study was carried out with the aim of finding out the influence of family factors on delinquent adolescents in secondary schools in Edo South Senatorial District of Edo State. This study ascertained the extents to which family factors such as parent child rearing style, family type and parent socio economic background could encourage and influence delinquent activities. A total of two hundred (200) adolescents were used as sample for the study. This sample size was drawn from ten (10) secondary schools through stratified random sampling. Three research questions were raised and three hypotheses were formulated and tested at 0.5 level of significant. A questionnaire was designed by the researcher and was validated by three experts in the field of measurement and evaluation. The point bi serial statistic was used to analysis data gathered from the field. The major findings revealed that family factors such as parent child rearing style, family type and socio-economic status (the variable of the study) do not significantly account for delinquent behaviour among secondary school students in Edo South Senatorial District. Other factors such as assault from mass media, cultural and ethnic beliefs could be responsible for delinquent acts. It was recommended that federal, state and local government should embark on intensive and massive campaign against unwholesome programmes in our media. Parents should be assisted by guidance counsellors to stress the need for adequate value orientation in their children.Keywords: Family, Adolescent, Delinquency

Effect of T&V Innovation on Income and Farmers Performance in Edo State Nigeria

The study examined the effect of training and visit innovation on the income and famer performance in two out of three agro ecological zones of Edo State, Nigeria. This study focused on contact crop farmers drawn from two out of three agro-ecological zones of Edo State, namely Edo central and Edo south. A multi-stage random sampling method was used both for economic reasons and especially because the sampling units occur in strata such as zones, blocks and cells. Data were collected from randomly sampled respondents from two senatorial districts in Edo State. Edo state is divided into three agro-ecological zones- Edo North, Edo Central and Edo South, out of which Edo Central and Edo south were randomly selected. Two blocks each were selected randomly from a total of five and seven blocks in Edo central and Edo south zones respectively. These blocks were Igueben and Esan North East in Edo central and Oredo and Egor in Edo south senatorial zone. Each block consists of eight cells. A random selection of four cells was made from each block and total of sixteen cells were chosen and eight from each zone and ten farmers were randomly selected from each of the 16 cells, giving a total of one hundred and sixty farmers/respondents for the study but only a hundred and fifty six copies of a questionnaire were found useful for the study. Data collected were subjected to descriptive statistics and budgetary tools. The outcome of the study indicated that training and visit innovation had increasing effect on farm size and income of farmers in the study areas.

Socio-cultural factors as correlates of maternal mortality in Edo South Senatorial District, Nigeria

To investigate the socio-cultural factors that contribute to Maternal Mortality in Edo South Senatorial District. The population of the study was made up of 2 157 females of reproductive age and multi-stage random sampling technique was used. The instrument for data collection was a self developed structured and validated questionnaire with a reliability of 0.82. Focus group discussion (FGD) and in-depth interview guide were employed to complement the instrument. Inferential statistics of multiple regressions were also employed to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The results showed that the socio-cultural variables when taken together contributed positively to maternal mortality [ R 2 = 0.32; CV = 16.5; df = 7). The finding further revealed that six, out of seven of the independent variables in the study significantly contributed to maternal mortality in Edo South Senatorial District. The implications of these findings in maternal and child health care were highlighted. The study had shown that in addition to medical causes of maternal mortality, there are socio-cultural factors that contribute to women dying during pregnancy, labour and pueperium.

Characteristics of snail farming in Edo South Agricultural Zone of Edo State, Nigeria

The study was carried out to determine the characteristics of snail farming in Edo South Agricultural Zone of Edo State Nigeria. The interview schedule was used to collect data from 60 snail farmers randomly selected from six cells in the study area. Information on the socioeconomic status of the farmers, production system, management practices and production constraints in the snail farms were elicited. The constraints were determined using a four-point Likert-type scale; a mean score of ≥ 2.5 was considered as a production constraint. Majority (85.0 %) of the respondents were part-time snail farmers. The major species of snails reared were Achatina achatina and Archachatina marginata, reared by 43.3 and 26.7 % of the farmers, respectively. Semi-intensive system of production was practised by 40.0 % of the farmers. Majority (78.0 %) of the respondents used car tyres to house their snails. About 56 % of the respondents kept their snails for 1-2 years before sale. Up to 51.7 % of the respondents separated their snails into different pens according to their size/age. The most commonly used feeds were vegetables (71.2 %), plant leaves (67.8 %) and kitchen waste (59.3 %). Records of snail production activities were kept by 75.0 % of respondents. The major constraints identified were lack of capital (3.31), inability to get good laying stock (3.00), lack of formulated feed to buy (2.98) and slow growth rate of snails (2.52). The potentials of snail farming in the study area have not been fully exploited as farmers produced at subsistence level.

Physicochemical evaluation of bore-hole water from selected fish farms in Edo State, Nigeria

This study investigated the physical and chemical properties of water from bore-holes in selected fish farms in the three districts of Edo State, Nigeria. Sample collection, treatment and determination of physical and chemical properties were according to approved standards. The results showed that all the parameters analyzed were within the required standards for aquaculture and drinking purposes, except pH which was slightly acidic, alkalinity in Edo South which was very low, and the metals Mn and Pb whose concentrations exceeded the standard limits for drinking water. Based on the acceptable levels of most of the parameters, it was concluded that the water of the study area was suitable for aquaculture, drinking and other domestic purposes. However, because of the pH and the heavy metals Mn and Pb, it was recommended that the water be treated with lime before use especially in aquaculture facilities, in order to increase pH and possibly reduce metal concentrations to tolerable limits through precipitation and or adsorption, to sediment particles and thus lead to production of suitable fish for consumers.

Chloroquine resistance molecular markers in Falciparum malaria in Edo state

The epidemiology survey of Pfcrt and Pfmdr 1 mutant genes in malaria infection in Edo State was carried out between June 2005 and May 2006. Five hundred and sixty one (561) subjects with a history of fever, joint pains, and bitterness of the mouth were enlisted for this study. With regard to place of residence, 229 subjects were from Edo South, 177 from Edo Central and 155 from Edo North. Genotyping of resistance markers “Plasmodium falciparum Chloroquine Resistance Transporter” (Pfcrt K76T) and Plasmodium falciparum Multi-Drug resistance (Pfmdr1) was carried out by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). There was no statistical difference (P>0.05) in the prevalence of malaria infection among the three senatorial districts (90.8%, 94.2% and 96.1% respectively). The general prevalence of mutant Pfcrt K76T and Pfmdr 1 mutant genes in the state were 21.9% and 15.1% respectively. No statistical difference existed when the prevalence of these genes was compared within the senatorial districts (P>0.05). The treatment of malaria has reached a crisis point in the sub-Sahara regions. The present findings also revealed a relatively high prevalence of these resistance genes in Edo State, underlining the need for urgent policy intervention before the situation escalates beyond control.

Perception of home garden potentials among women in Edo south ecological zone, Nigeria

In view of the pivotal role women play in household food production, income generation, nutrition and health synergy which are crucial to the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the study examined women's perception of the potentials in home gardening. The study involved 145 women (mean age = 44.5 years) randomly selected from urban, peri-urban and rural communities in southern zone of Edo State. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire and presented descriptively. Results revealed ninetyseven (66%) of the women in the study owned home gardens ranging from less than 0.05m2 potted vegetables and spice / medicinal plants to about 200m2 of undeveloped plot or no man's land for the cultivation of cereals legumes, roots and tubers, fruit trees and heads of small ruminants and poultry. The major reasons for ownership of the gardens include; the need to increase food production, to improve health and nutrition, income generation, use available space and as a hobby. Reasons given for not owning home gardens include lack of space, water shortage, lack of time, inadequate knowledge of improved practices as well as shortage and high cost of improved inputs. Although women show a strong positive perception of home garden as a potential solution to enhance food security, good health and nutrition, their perceptions that home garden could alleviate poverty and address environmental degradation were rather negative. The major constraints to optimizing home garden potentials include lack of space, shortage of water, dearth of knowledge of improved practices, shortage of improved inputs and pest and disease infestation. It is recommended that amelioration of identified constraints mainy through improved extension delivery on home gardening would contribute to the achievement of the relevant MDGs targets.

Efficiency of Resource-use and Marginal Productivities in Dry Season Amaranth Production in Edo South, Nigeria

Efficiency of Resource-use and Marginal Productivities in Dry Season Amaranth Production in Edo South, Nigeria

Job satisfaction of extension workers in Edo State Agricultural Development Programme (EDADP), Nigeria

Agricultural extension can be said to be germane for any meaningful development in the agricultural sector. Extension personnel that are saddled with this responsibility need to be satisfied with their job in order to perform their duties effectively. Therefore this study examined the factors affecting job performance and level of job satisfaction of extension workers in the Edo state ADP. Edo south zone was randomly selected from the state, while 35 extension personnel where randomly chosen from the zone. Data were analysed using frequency count, percentages, means, chi-square and ANOVA. Findings reveal that 34.3% of the respondents are between the ages of 40 to 44 years with 85.7% being OND holders. Extension training (mean = 4.37) was considered as an important factor affecting extension workers job performance and the extension personnel were more satisfied with the working relationship with their colleagues (mean = 4.48) but unsatisfied with the working conditions (mean = 1.82) and salaries being paid (mean = 2.11). Also, there were no significant relationships between the personal characteristics of the extension agents (gender, age, marital status and level of education) and the level of job satisfaction. There was however a significant difference in the level of job satisfaction between workers with high and low years of experience. There is a need for regular training of extension agents so as to be abreast of new developments, improve their knowledge and skills in new extension methodologies. With this, extension agents will be motivated and be satisfied with their jobs. Keywords: job satisfaction, extension workersInternational Journal of Agriculture and Rural Development Vol. 6 2005: 202-207