Nnamdi Azikiwe University Journals
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Economic Impact of Flooding on Plantain Production in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, Nigeria
No full textThe study investigated the economic impact of flood on plantain production in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area, Bayelsa State, Nigeria. The specific objectives were to describe the socioeconomic characteristics of the respondents, evaluate the impact of flooding on the income of the farmers, compare the cost and returns associated with plantain production during flooded and non-flooded period, identity factors contributing to flooding, and identify farmers coping strategies during flooding in the study area. Multi-stage random sampling technique was used to select 80 farmers for the study. Primary data collected using questionnaire were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The result showed that the mean age of the farmers was 56 years, majority (79%) of the farmers had no formal education. The result also showed that farmers had an average farm size of 0.82 hectares. The average household size was 6 persons per household, and mean farming experience was 12 years. Logistic regression results of impact of flooding showed that profit was significant (p<0.05), farm size and age of the farmer were significant (P<0.05) probability level. The farmers have Net Farm Income (NFI) of N 74,617.13/ha, and N 231,575.32/ha for flooded and non-flooded year respectively. The study identified blockage of natural channels, topography of the area, poor drainages, blockage of curvet, closure of dam, prolong rainfall and over flowing rivers as factors contributing to flooding. In addition to that the study also identified farmers’ coping strategies in the event of flooding to include opening natural water canals, making canoes to access flooded areas, building wooden platform to keep properties, building wooden platform to live on, diversification to fishing, anticipate early planting next season, early and premature harvesting and exit to other crop ventures with smaller gestation period. The study recommends environmental improvement via unblocking of curvets, unblocking of natural drainages, destroying building on canals, and sand filling of very low lands. Palliatives and other relieve materials should be available to assist flood victims, extension agents should sensitize farmers on the gains of having an insurance policy. Finally, the research institutes and scientific communities should come up with plantain cultivars that will have shorter gestation period and improved flood resilient
Does Financial Inclusion Influence the Adoption of Climate Change Adaptation Strategies among Smallholder Farmers? Evidence from Oyo State, Nigeria
No full textThe ability of smallholder farmers to adapt to climate change hinges on their financial resources. The main objective of this study was to investigate the influence of financial inclusion on the adoption of climate change adaptation strategies among smallholder farmers in Oyo State, Nigeria. Using a well-structured questionnaire, primary data were collected from 170 randomly selected respondents through a multistage sampling technique. Analysis of the data was conducted using descriptive statistics alongside the Multivariate Probit (MVP) model. The descriptive statistics unveiled that smallholder farmers employed a variety of adaptation measures to mitigate the detrimental impacts of climate change on their agricultural activities. Techniques such as soil and water conservation, cultivation of drought and heat-resistant crop varieties and mixed cropping emerged as the most utilised adaptation options in the study area. The results from the MVP model indicated that the socio-economic characteristics, including age, gender, marital status, education, household size, cultivated land area, farming experience, access to extension services, total income, of the smallholder farmers as well as financial inclusion indicators including credit accessibility, and bank account ownership have a significant influence on their decision to adopt any of the adaptation strategies. Based on these findings, the study recommends that farmers be educated about the importance of having a bank account and calls for the attention of relevant stakeholders to facilitate the availability and accessibility of credit to smallholder farmers to enhance their ability to adapt to the rapidly changing change
Estimation of The Determinants of Microcredit Use Among Ginger Marketers in South East, Nigeria
No full textGinger marketers in Nigeria operate in a subsistence economy with the use of local technology. The subsistence economy resulted in the use of local knowledge with little commercialization. Therefore, improving ginger marketing to commercial form is faced with post-production challenges ranging from local processing techniques and inadequate credit, which often results in low and poor ginger marketing. The study improved our understanding of all the complexities affecting the microcredit use and the performance of ginger marketers in South East Nigeria. This study evaluated the determinants of microcredit use among ginger marketers in Southeast, Nigeria. A multi-stage sampling procedure was used in selecting one hundred and eighty (180) respondents for the study. A well-structured questionnaire was used in collecting data from the respondents and the data collected were analyzed using frequency distribution and Heckman selectivity model. The second stage of the selectivity model was used to determine the level of the determinants of microcredit use among ginger marketers. The result shows that majority of the marketers were females and are married, they are still in their active age of 31-50 years which had the highest representatives of 64.17%. The result of the estimation of the determinants of microcredit use among ginger marketers indicates that a 1.0% decrease in the distance to the source of microcredit, increase microcredit use by 0.31% for those already marketing ginger and 0.04% for participation, and 0.35% for all marketers. An increase in educational level, led to a rise in microcredit use for those who are already marketing, for participation and all marketers of ginger respectively. It is therefore recommended that those marketing ginger should acquire higher education, since the high literacy level is essential for the use of microcredit in ginger marketing
Information and Post-Harvest Food Safety Handling Practices among Pumpkin Farmers in Ikwo Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, Nigeria
No full textThe study assessed information and post-harvest food safety handling practices among pumpkin farmers in Ikwo Local Government Area, Ebonyi State. The specific objectives of the study were to: assess post-harvest food safety handling practices, identify the sources of information on post-harvest food safety handling practice and identify the constraints faced by small-holder pumpkin farmers in post-harvest food safety handling practices. Multi-stage sampling procedure was employed for the selection of the respondents while a well-structured questionnaire was used to collect data. Frequency, percentage, mean and factor analysis were used for data analysis with the help of SPSS. The study found that 59.7% of pumpkin farmers were females, the mean age was approximately 47 years, 41.7% obtained primary education, 59.9% were members of social organizations. Furthermore, the study found that 68.75% of the post-harvest food safety handling practices of the respondents were incorrect. Fellow farmers, television and friends/neighbours were among credible sources of information used by the respondents. Volume/income/sensitization, weak institution/prices/ health officers/knowledge were among constraints hindering post-harvest food safety handling. Relevant authorities should ensure that pumpkin farmers have access to training and adequate supports on post-harvest food safety handling practices to prevent contamination of pumpkin products that will promote public health
IMPACT OF ENERGY CONSUMPTION ON ECONOMIC GROWTH IN NIGERIA
No full textThis study investigates the relationship between energy consumption and Nigeria\u27s economic growth from 1990 to 2022, considering the government policies aimed at fostering sustainable growth. Specifically, the study analysed the effects of natural gas, petroleum oil, and electricity consumption on the economic growth trajectory in Nigeria. This study is fundamentally grounded in the principles of endogenous growth theory. The analysis of time-series data was conducted employing the Johansen co-integration test alongside a multiple regression approach. The Johansen co-integration test conducted indicated the presence of a long-term relationship among the variables. The findings from the multiple regression analysis indicate that there exists a significant and positive correlation between electricity consumption, population growth, and climate change with economic growth in Nigeria. Nevertheless, the consumption of natural gas and labour exhibit a negative and statistically insignificant effect on economic growth in Nigeria. In light of the findings, the study advocates for the formulation of policies—such as transparent pricing mechanisms, enhanced regulatory oversight, and diversification of energy sources, to reduce the costs associated with petroleum and natural gas. This approach would enable both businesses and households to utilise these alternative energy sources more effectively, thereby fostering economic growth
POVERTY DYNAMICS AND DURATIONS IN NIGERIA: EVIDENCE FROM GENERAL HOUSEHOLD SURVEY
No full textMost of the existing poverty studies in Nigeria are static leading to the failure to capture three possibilities; namely poverty exit; poverty entry and poverty re-entry. Building on the argument that static poverty estimate drawn from independent cross-surveys tend to understate the extent of poverty and unable to provide information on individual poverty experiences across time and space. Hence, this study examined poverty dynamics and durations in Nigeria between 2010 and 2016, using the GHS panel data. The data consists of 4,455 households in three different periods (waves), giving a total of 13,365 observations. Three research questions were posed: how intensive is household poverty in Nigeria in the last decade? How long does it take for the poor to exit the poverty zone in Nigeria? Is household poverty in Nigeria static or dynamic? Using the spell-based method (SBM), the study finds that household poverty in Nigeria is high and intensive; with poverty headcount, poverty gap and poverty severity indices of 82.67%; 50.53% and 35.6%, respectively; across the six geo-political zones, gender and place of residence. Second, if the income/expenditure of the currently poor households in Nigeria continue to grow at less than 10% it will take the poor more than 10 years to exit poverty. Third, more Nigerians are vulnerable to poverty, with a high entry rate (57.08%); low exit rate (8.97%), and possibility of re-entry (7.41%). Based on the findings of this study, we recommend among others that the government and relevant stakeholders should pursue rigorous intervention policies that will help reduce poverty, policy as social safety nets. 
STRATEGIES FOR STIMULATING ENTREPRENEURIAL MINDSET IN ENTREPRENEURSHIP STUDIES’ STUDENTS THROUGH DIGITALIZED INSTRUCTIONS IN UNIVERSITIES IN SOUTHEAST NIGERIA
No full textThe study examined digitalized instruction for stimulating entrepreneurial mindset among Nigerian entrepreneurship studies students in southeast Nigeria. The study answered two research questions while two null hypotheses tested at 0.05 level of significance. Descriptive survey research design was adopted in carrying out the study. The area of the study was limited to Abia and Enugu States in Southeast Nigeria. All the 65 Entrepreneurship Lecturers and 249 final year students of Entrepreneurship in public universities in the two states making a total of 314 respondents were used for the study. The instrument for data collection was a structured questionnaire. The instrument was validated by three experts. The reliability of the instrument was ascertained using Cronbach Alpha reliability technique which yielded a reliability coefficient of 0.835. Out of the 314 copies of the questionnaire administered to the respondents, 303 copies were filled and returned. Data collected were analysed using mean, standard deviation and t-test statistics at 0.05 level of significance. The results of the study identified 10 strategies for stimulating entrepreneurial mindset in Entrepreneurship Studies’ students through digitalized instructions and 15 possible outcomes of stimulating entrepreneurial mindsets in Entrepreneurship Studies’ students through digitalized instruction. The result of the hypotheses showed significant difference in the mean ratings of the respondents on strategies for stimulating entrepreneurial mindset in students through digitalized instructions whereas there was no significant difference in the mean ratings of Entrepreneurship Studies Lecturers and Students on possible outcomes of stimulating entrepreneurial mindsets in Entrepreneurship Studies’ students through digitalized instruction Based on the findings, the study among others recommended adequate provision of digital teaching and learning facilities in all entrepreneurship centres and programmes for stimulating entrepreneurial mindset in learner
COUETTE FLOW IN THE PRESENCE OF VISCOUS DISSIPATIVE FLUID ALONG AN UPSTANDING CHANNEL AFFECTED BY NEWTONIAN HEATING: HOMOTOPY PERTURBATION APPROACH
No full textThis article attempts to describe the analytical implication of viscous dissipation on an electrically-conducting and incompressible fluid in a vertical channel controlled by Newtonian heating condition. The governing equations have been derived using homotopy perturbation method. The impacts of the pertinent flow parameters on velocity and temperature were graphically displayed. The rate of heat transfers and shear stress on the heated and cold plates have also been calculated. It is noteworthy to mention that the hydrodynamic and thermodynamic distributions of the fluid increase with an increase in the viscous dissipation parameter. The graphical comparison between the work of Zulkifree et al. (2019) and the present study demonstrates an excellent agreement for limiting case. This study can find relevance in science, engineering, and industrial technologies such as cooling of electrical appliances, geothermal energy, porous solids drying, thermal insulation, gas drainage, plasma physics, gas turbines, fossil fuel combustion, food processing industries, to mention a few
TREKKING AS AN ALTERNATIVE INTRA CAMPUS TRANSPORTATION MODE AMONGST UNIVERSITY STUDENTS: THE ERGONOMIC CONCERN
No full textTrekking is an old means of transportation, as old as mankind. Its replacement with other modern means (beast of burdens, bicycle, tricycle, cars, trains, ships, aircraft, etc) is due to the quest to gain speed, reduce stress on humans at some reasonable associated cost. The use of combustion engines to propel the vehicles to motion and sustain the motion throughout the journey requires fuel. These fuels are often fossil based source, which are very expensive and hazardous to humans and the environment. Aside from environmental factors, the hike in the intra campus transportation fare resulting from the recent hike in fuel pump prices inNigeria has made students consider trekking as alternative means of transportation. The paper attempts to analyze the physiological cost of work and the relative aerobic strain on a student who decides to trek within school. The trekking time was relatively low (23.14±1.65 minutes) for the 1.58km distance from the gate to the department of Industrial and production engineering. The Aerobic Strain on all participants engaged in walking, irrespective of the period (morning, afternoon or evening session), gender and age, was less than 35% of their maximum aerobic capacity, and that of the jogging exercise was slightly higher (52.81±7.26). More so, the participants expend an average of 647.7±10.30 KJ per journey, which translates to about 154.95 Kcal. The research concludes that trekking as an alternative means of intra campus transportation is physiologically safe for the students, irrespective of gender, age and period of the day
NEW CHEMO-SENSORS BASED ON SIMPLE SPECTROSCOPIC METHODS
No full textMolecular probes with interesting frameworks for detection of metal ions have been extensively studied in the past. Schiff bases however have proven to be more effective and efficient. In this study, two new Schiff bases NT1 and NT2 were synthesized from anthranilamide using 2-hydroxylsalicylaldehyde and 5-bromosalicylaldehyde. The ligands were characterized using Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy. Results of analysis showed a yield of 65-70 % and melting points in the range of 188-190 and 195-197 for NT1 and NT2 respectively. Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry confirmed the purity and exact mass of the ligands. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy revealed stretching frequencies for imine bands around 1607-1614 cm-1, while hydroxyl and amino groups appeared in the range of 3409-3411 cm-1 and 3192-3288 cm-1.The electro-activeness of the ligands was also studied and both ligands were investigated as potential chemo-sensors for copper metal ion using Ultraviolet spectroscopic technique. The chemo-sensing studies of the Schiff bases revealed a red-shift in the electronic spectra of the ligands on complexation with copper (II) metal ion. Peaks around 620-690nm were observed for the complexes with copper (II) metal ion. These can be attributed to d-d transition that occur within the complexes. Presence of peaks at low concentrations indicates the use of these probes as analytical tool