theoretical

Economic Study of Cassava Production in Abia State, Nigeria     ABSTRACT The research study examined economics of cassava production in Abia State, Nigeria. Information was gathered from 105 farmers and analyzed to describe the farming systems and the socio-economic characteristics of Abia cassava farmers, estimate the profitability of cassava production, analyze the factors that affect profitability of cassava, estimate technical and economic efficiency of cassava production, identify and estimate the socio-economic characteristics of the farmers that affect their technical and economic efficiency, identify and analyze the factors that influence the rate of technology adoption and the  intensity of use after adoption and identify the constraints to increased cassava production in the study area. Multi-stage random sampling...

Effects of Off-farm Work on Technical Efficiency and Production Risk Among Rice Farmers in Enugu State, Nigeria   ABSTRACT The study analysed the effects of off-farm work on technical efficiency and production risks among rice farmers in Enugu State, Nigeria. Ninety respondents were selected using multi-stage sampling technique. Data for the study were collected by the use of well structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and stochastic production frontier model were used to analyse the data. Results showed that the two groups of rice farmers had similar socio-economic characteristics. Technical efficiency scores for the farmers ranged from 0.579 to 1.000 and 0.0606 to 1.000 for the rice farmers without and with off-farm work respectively. The average efficiencies are 0.964 and 0.871 for rice farmers without and with off-farm...

Economic Effects of Crude Oil Exploitation on Cassava Production in Delta State   ABSTRACT This study examined the economic effects of crude oil exploitation on cassava production in Delta State. Specifically, the effect of crude oil exploitation on land productivity, farm income and cassava yield was explored. The costs and returns, and hence profitability of cassava production as influenced by oil pollution, the farming systems and socio-economic characteristics of cassava farmers were critically examined. Copies of well-structured questionnaires were used to collect primary data from a sample of 204 small scale cassava farmers drawn using stratified and simple random sampling techniques from the three (3) agro-ecological zones of Delta State between October 2007 and February 2009. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics,...

Effects of Remittances on the Livelihood of Farm Households in Enugu State, Nigeria     ABSTRACT This study examined the effects of remittances on the livelihood of farm households in Enugu State Nigeria.  Multistage random sampling technique was used to select 120 remittance recipient households used for the study. Data were collected by the use of structured questionnaire. Both descriptive and inferential statistical techniques were used in data analysis. The study showed that, households whose heads are within, 51 – 70 year of age and are not highly educated are more likely to produce migrants. Also families with large household size (six and above) migrate more. Households with married status were found to be 65.8%, while 56.7% of the household heads were males. Internal remittances formed the bulk of the receipts of...

Consumers’ Evaluation of the Quality of Custom-made Garments Manufactured by Micro and Small Scale Enterprises in Sekondi/takoradi Metropolis, Ghana ABSTRACT   This study evaluated the quality of custom-made garments produced by Micro Small Enterprises (MSEs) in the Sekondi/Takoradi Metropolis of Ghana. Using the mixed method approach with multi-stage and convenience sampling techniques, 410 consumers and 36 manufacturers were sampled for the study. The data were collected using focus group discussions, a questionnaire and in-depth interviews. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the qualitative data from the focus group discussions and in-depth interviews while the Pearson‟s correlation coefficient was used to test the relationships between variables in the quantitative data obtained from the questionnaire. The results from the focus...

Hectarage and Output Responses of Major Crops to Market Liberalisation and Price Risk in Nigeria   ABSTRACT Liberalization is part of the ongoing domestic market reforms and globalization policies that redefined government responsibility and actions, which affect agricultural development, and the welfare of farmers. This study examined hectarage and output responses of major crops to market liberalization, price risk and financial support. The objectives were to describe trends of output, hectarage and prices of these crops, as well as describe trends of non-price factors and estimate the effects of these factors on hectrage and output of selected crops. The study covered a period of 38 years from 1970 to 2007. Secondary data were obtained from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Statistics Data Base, Publications of Central...