The study examined the challenges and prospects of smallholder oil palm production in Awka Agricultural Zone of Anambra State. Seventy two smallholder oil palm farmers were interviewed for the purpose of eliciting information. Smallholder oil palm farmers in Awka Agricultural Zone were educated (79.2% - Senior Secondary School Certificate and...

The official measurement and analysis of poverty in Nigeria has historically relied upon the single dimension, consumption based monetary approach with little attention on multidimensional poverty assessment. This study was therefore carried out to assess the multidimensional poverty index of rice farming households in Nasarawa/Benue Rice Hub, Nigeria. The study...

Les 130 exploitations familiales étudiées dans 9 pays d'Afrique de l'Ouest et d'Afrique Centrale n'ont pas les mêmes caractéristiques selon qu'elles soient implantées en zone sahélienne ou en zone de savane (superficies plus grandes et meilleure sécurisation foncière, taille légèrement plus importante des familles au Sahel qu'en Savane). Ce sont des exploitations agropastorales dans...

Birds can only tolerate narrow temperature changes; therefore, poultry flocks are vulnerable to climate induced risk. This study investigated risk management strategies utilized by small scale poultry farmers in Oyo state. A total of 118 respondents were sampled using multi stage sampling procedure. Interview schedule was used to elicit perception...

This study examines the factors that drive technology utilisation, learning and transfer among women farmers in Nigeria. It assesses both modern and indigenous technologies used in farming activities. Three states were purposively selected from the six that comprise the South West geopolitical zone of the country. Structured questionnaire was administered...

Over the last fifty years food production per person in Africa has grown disappointingly slowly at little more than 10%. The population of Africa is growing rapidly at an average annual rate of 2.5% and is expected to almost double by 2050 to close to two billion people. Chronic hunger...

The Smallholders Foundation promotes sustainable agriculture and environmental conservation through educational radio programmes. Smallholder Farmers Rural Radio broadcasts daily programs on agricultural management, environmental conservation, and market access, which reach over 250,000 smallholder farmers. Broadcasts are done in the local Igbo language, and reach listeners in three local government catchments...

This study examined the impact of improved rice varieties adoption on rice productivity and farming households’ welfare in Nigeria using a cross sectional data of 481 rice farmers drawn from three states to represent the major rice producing ecologies (Irrigated, upland and lowland) in Nigeria. Access to seed was found...

This study assessed determinants of farmers’ access and use of new ICTS in the study area. Data obtained from 270 respondents through multi-stage sampling technique were subjected to descriptive and logit regression analysis. The results show that GSM is the only new ICT farmers have access to (mean= 2.66) and...

The study ascertained the availability and use of telecommunication/computer information and communication technologies among farmers in Orumba South L.G.A of Anambra State, Nigeria. The objectives of the study were to describe the demographic characteristics of the farmers in the study area, identify Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in telecommunication/computer available...

The present edition highlights the significance of the forestry sector to the overall economy and its importance overall in the region’s land use, demonstrating its potential to make a difference in improving (or worsening) an economy’s green credentials. It is an important message about forestry and greenness.

The Living Standards Measurement Study (LSMS) surveys which have collected information on many dimensions of household well-being for over 36 countries since 1980 are one of the most important data sources for informing policy making on development. The LSMS surveys have been used to assess household welfare, to understand household...

Climate change and severe weather events such as temperature shocks and declining rainfall often strongly impede sustainable farming development, especially where agriculture is rain fed and when other external shocks such as poverty, poor access to inputs and credit are common. This is the context in which small scale farmers...

The year 2011 has been proclaimed the International Year of Forests (in brief “Forests 2011”) and it is being celebrated under the theme “Forests for People”. This is truly a remarkable theme. One cannot come close to covering all of it in a single edition of Nature & Faune as...

This edition of Nature & Faune magazine explores climate change implications for agricultural development and natural resources conservation in Africa. It provides a rich menu spanning many dimensions of climate change as it relates to the African rural farmer, fisher-folk and herdsman who are on the frontline of managing and...

The present ability or otherwise of Africa to cope with climate change and improve its agricultural production depends on the environment and natural resources base of the continent, on the impacts of its past and on the nature of its present interactions with the outside world. Africa is a large...

The Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP) aims to revitalize African farming in order to reduce rural poverty and hunger. This is a massively important undertaking for a continent where a third of the population continue to struggle with chronic malnutrition. But is CAADP getting the right strategies, policies and...

One of the reasons that necessitated the establishment of Women-in-Agriculture (WIA) Programme in 1989 was the perception that women farmers were not having adequate access to extension services compared to their male counterparts. Feminists argued that the inadequate access to extension services resulted in women farmers having poor farm yields,...

The majority of Nigeria’s smallholder farmers are often too poor to employ modern tools, such as tractors and ploughs, even with substantial government support. In this respect, an agricultural mechanization policy would need effective targeting with regard to particular farming activities and types of farmers for which different forms of...

Based on the premise that smallholders often get excluded as markets become more commercial, this paper draws lessons from the Cassava: Adding Value for Africa (C:AVA) Project by exploring the main issues and challenges facing extension service partners in five African countries (Nigeria, Ghana, Tanzania, Uganda and Malawi). These lessons...