Climate change effect on Cocoa Production in Central Agricultural Zone of Cross River State, Nigeria (Published)
The study examined climate change’s effect on cocoa production in the central agricultural zone of Cross River State, Nigeria. It specifically investigated the socioeconomic characteristics of cocoa farmers and the effect of climate variables on cocoa production in the study area. Both primary and secondary data were used for the study. Primary data were collected from 240 respondents and analyzed using descriptive statistics and the Likert scale techniques, Regression and correlation analysis were used to analyse the secondary data collected. The results of the descriptive statistics revealed that cocoa production was carried out by both men and women with men taking the production lead at 65.8% as compared to 34.2% of the women. On age distribution, the study revealed people within the age bracket of 18-50 years majorly cultivate cocoa in the area. The educational level revealed that the farmers had some form of formal education with good farming experience of between 11-20 years in cocoa production. The farmers had family sizes ranging largely between 6-15 persons in a household. The result also showed that 40% of the respondents inherited their farm holdings while 27.5%, 21.7%, and 10.8% of the respondents hired, purchased and rented their farm holdings respectively. The results of the multiple regression analysis revealed that about 78% of the climate variables influenced cocoa output in the area. It indicated that maximum temperature (Χ1), relative humidity (Χ4), wind (Χ6), and evaporation (Χ7) had an inverse relationship with cocoa output, whereas minimum temperature (Χ2), rainfall (Χ3), and sunshine hours (Χ5) had a direct relationship with cocoa output in the study area. The correlation analysis revealed that maximum temperature (Χ1), relative humidity (Χ4), and wind (Χ6) are negatively correlated with cocoa output while minimum temperature (Χ2), rainfall (Χ3), sunshine hours (Χ5) and evaporation (Χ7) are positively correlated with cocoa output in the study area. The most common strategies adopted by cocoa farmers to mitigate the effect of climate variables on cocoa production were the planting of cocoa-resistant varieties and intercropping cocoa with some tree crops to foretell bad weather conditions.
Keywords: Climate Change, Cross River State, Effect, Nigeria, cocoa production
EVALUATION OF EFFECT OF THE THIRD NATIONAL FADAMA DEVELOPMENT PROJECT (FADAMA 111) ON FOOD PRODUCTION AMONG FARMERS IN KWANDE LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF BENUE STATE, NIGERIA (Published)
The study was conducted to find out the effect of Fadama 111 project on crop yield among the farmers participating in the project in Kwande Local Government of Benue State, Nigeria. Fadama 111 is the third phase of the Fadama Project in Nigeria, and is essentially an agricultural diversification project. The project which is demand-driven is funded by the World Bank, Federal Government, State and Local Governments in Nigeria. In conducting the study, 100 participants in the project were selected from Kwande Local Government of Benue State. To obtain a random sample, the stratified random sampling technique was used. The study area was stratified into four, namely: Nanev, Turan, Shangev-ya and Kyurav-ya clans. Twenty-five participants were selected from each stratum, giving a sample size of 100 farmers. Data for the study was collected with the use of a 5-point likert rating scale to enable the farmers rate the extent of increase in their crop yield. The data collected was analyzed using the mean and population t-test to test the significance of difference between sample and population means at 95 % confidence level (P ≤ 0.05). The difference between the sample mean of 4.2909 and population mean of 4.2920 was found to be insignificant. Therefore, the farmers were unanimous that their participation in Fadama 111 project has significantly increased their crop yield. The null hypothesis that there is no significant difference between the sample and population mean responses of the participants regarding how their participation has affected their crop yield was accepted, while the alternative hypothesis was rejected. Some recommendations were made