4 research outputs found
Land Reform For Sustainable Development And Poverty Reduction In Nigeria
No full textAbstract: Land is an asset of enormous importance for billions of rural dweller in the developing world. The nature of property rights and their degree of security vary greatly, depending on competition for land, the degree of market penetration and the broader institutional and political context. Access to it and the ability to exchange it with others and use it effectively are of great importance for poverty reduction, economic growth, and private sector investment as well as for empowering the poor and ensuring good governance. This is where redistributive land reform programmes come in which aim to change the distribution of land within the society, reducing land concentration and promoting more equitable access to and efficient use of land. This paper surveys land reform strategies and the benefits that follows it. Land reform can reduce rural poverty not only by channeling a larger slice of the agricultural income pie to low-income households, but also by increasing the size of the pie by raising land productivity. The Land Use Act of 1978 has created two major classes of individuals-powerful landowners who hold large tracks of land acquired using state apparatus and the near landless who are the real farmers. The Land Use Act has widened the gap between the rich and poor when it comes to access to productive resources -land more especially. It is a threat to poverty reduction as it is now and needs a reform, to reflect the wishes and aspirations of Nigerians. With a supportive policy environment, land reform also can foster a transition to sustainable agriculture, due to the environmental comparative advantages of small farms who adopt better land management practices to keep the land fertile all the time
Relevance of indigenous knowledge in weather and climate forecast for planning farm activities by farmers in Imo State, Nigeria
Get PDFThis article contains tablesThe study assessed the relevance of Indigenous Knowledge (IK) on weather and climate forecasting for planning farm activities by farmers in Southeast, Nigeria. Questionnaire was used to elicit information from a total of 360 farmers, complement with oral interview. Mean (M) was used to analyze data. Results showed that IK indicators commonly used for weather and climate forecasting fall into 3 categories namely trees, animals and atmospheric indicators. The IK indicators used to predict the dry season and harmattan were-fruits drying/falling off from trees, increase occurrence of termites, shedding of tree (M=2.40), appearance of rainbows (M=2.53) among others. The indicators for onset of the rains included flowering of trees (M=304), heavy budding of acacia tree species (M=300), dormancy breaking in certain tree/fruit species, Others were appearances of large number of ants, frequent sounds of frogs, appearance of ant hill, appearance of millipedes, appearances of army worms, dark clouds appearance, body feels heat at night, increased body pain, mist covering hilly areas among other signs. As a recommendation, the knowledge of indigenous peoples should be included when designing climate change adaptation strategies in SSA
Effects of HIV/AIDS on Smallholder Agriculture and Food Security in Imo State, Nigeria
No full textAbstract: The HIV/AIDS epidemic is challenging all aspects of the development agenda. The disease has decimated sub-Saharan Africa's agricultural labour force and will continue to do so for generations, depleting the region of its food producers and farmers. Not only is the epidemic causing severe reversals in development gains, but it is making development interventions impractical. Communities livelihoods are being permanently eroded and assets depleted with the reoccurring periods of sickness and deaths that the epidemic brings. Inspite of its incapacitating effects on agricultural production and rural livelihoods, and of the fact that up to 80% of the people-in the most affected countries depend on agriculture for their subsistence, the agricultural sector has not been as forthcoming and as innovative in its response, as the situation requires. Labour, a much valued human asset and the foundation of development interventions, is becoming scare and this lack of labour strains traditional coping mechanisms and increase vulnerability. This paper thus investigation the areas HIV/AIDS has affected food production, and rural livelihood such as depletion of labour, loss of generational knowledge and skills, loss of income, land inheritance rights of women and youth and decreasing nutritional status of households. It also reveals extension role in HIV/AIDS mitigation
Status of institutional arrangements for managing resource use conflicts among crop farmers and pastoralists in Imo State, Nigeria
No full texta research article on institutional arrangements for managing resource use conflicts among crop farmers and pastoralists. It contains tables and is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 LicenseThis study ascertained the institutions put in place to manage conflicts between crop farmers and pastoralists in Imo State, Nigeria. Specifically, the study aimed to achieve the following objectives; to identify the institutions saddled with the responsibility of managing conflicts in the study area; determine strategies used by the institutions in managing conflicts in the area; and to ascertain factors hindering the management of conflicts between crop farmers and pastoralists. Data were collected with structured questionnaire, complimented with observation and oral interview from 300 crop farmers and 40 nomads. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistical tools such as mean and standard deviations. The results showed that traditional rulers (M=2.90 for crop farmers and 2.37 for pastoralists), town unions/Miyetti-Allah (M=2.11 crop farmers and M=2.52 for the pastoralists) were efficient in managing conflicts. The strategies employed in resolving conflicts include setting up of community committees for peaceful resolution of conflict issues and use of dialogue, accommodation of the other party. On and off nature of the pastoralists, lack of fund, corruption, distrust were factors that work against conflict resolution. The government should give the institutions mentioned earlier more powers in handling conflict issues and locate the nomads permanently at a place
