Aquaculture the New Way of Creating Sustainable Livelihoods Among Rural Populations in Africa. A Case of Seke Rural District Zimbabwe (Published)
Aquaculture is one of the fastest growing agricultural activities in Zimbabwe in Zimbabwe today, a rare visit on social media you will be greeted by ads on aqua farming service providers. Thore aqua farming is broad in Asian communities where it is mainly practiced due to their strong fish diet especially in Easten Asia, prawns, fish and calamari to name a few are reared in Asia. In Africa the Nile tilapia is the most commonly reared fish in aqua culture. Food sustainability has been a key problem in Africa where most of the population live in rural setups where the rely on outdated farming methods and poor equipment which presents a challenge in production output. The main focus of this paper is to look on how aqua farming commonly known as fish farming has helped with sustainable livelihoods among rural populations with main focus being Seke in Zimbabwe. The research will look at the shortfalls that are faced by the farmers due to natural and man induced during the execution of the project. The recurring draughts in Zimbabwe in recent years has seen the need for an alternative sustainable livelihood to mainly horticulture-based economies like Seke District, aqua farming also helping in supplementing diet of the community as fish is highly nutritious and can be substituted for red meat which can easily be attacked by diseases. The research will show the role that has been played by aqua farming service providers in equipping the farmers with the know how to run the projects adequately, they have also been key to provide the materials that are necessary to carry out the projects. Job creation is also one area that the author will dwell on as aquaculture has made our rural areas better especially for the youth as they are the ones that are mainly responsible for the digging and construction of the ponds. This research will show the benefits and the shortfalls of aqua farming. The question will utilise interviews, data collection techniques and participant observation to support findings.
Keywords: Aquaculture, Construction, Horticulture, farming, rural populations, sustainable livelihood
Cost and Returns Analysis of Small-Scale Cat Fish Farming in Isoko North Local Government Area, Delta State, Nigeria (Published)
The main objectives of the study was to estimate the cost and returns of small – scale cat fish farming in the study area. Data obtained with the aid of structural questionnaires were analyzed using descriptive statistics to describe the socio-economics characteristics of respondents and gross margins analysis model was used in estimation of cost and returns of small scale cat fish farming. Multi-stage sampling techniques were used in the random selection of small-scale cat fish farmers in the area of study. Small-scale cat fish farming is done on part-time basis and most respondents were in their productive mean age of 41 years with secondary level of education. Most households were headed by male and married households with average household size of 10 persons. Respondents have a gross margin and business net returns of N174,000 and N119,400 respectively, signifying that small-scale fish farming is profitable. The benefit cost ratio was 1.34 signifies that for every one naira invested, a profit of 34k (N0.34) was realized from its sales. The study recommends that Government should enact policies that will subsidized cat fish farmers’ inputs at affordable rate. It also recommends that fish farmers’ awareness campaign should be carried out.
Keywords: Cat fish, cost and returns, farming, small-scale
Contributions of Organic Farming to Environmental Sustenance and Food Security in West Africa: Policy Recommendations (Published)
The article examines contributions of organic farming (OF) to environmental sustenance and food security and identifies policies to enhance the implementation. Scientific literature on environmental damage and stress on food security caused by conventional agriculture and climate change, and benefits of OF in adaptation and mitigation of climate change were synthesized and used for the study. Results show that OF helps in keeping the environment clean by making use of refuse and wastes in the environment to produce healthy foods. Composting in organic farming brings nutrients back from the cities to the farmland. Compared to production of inorganic fertilizer it takes less energy, and when managed in an aerobic condition eliminates methane production reducing the generation of greenhouse gases and climate change. It therefore reduces environmental pollution and promotes the renewed uptake of nutrients from the soil which is what happens under the traditional farming and fallow systems. It supports biodiversity of indigenous fauna and is an advanced form of sustainable agriculture. Organic manure improves the physical properties of soil, biological status of soil, soil fertility and consequently crop yields. Organic manures are general soil amendments and do not burn or harm plants and have long term positive effects on the soil without damaging ground water. Organic manures are also perfect choices for a garden that has many different plants among other advantages. Some of the policies recommended include training extension workers in OF practices, encouraging farmer-to-farmer exchanges, compiling and disseminating emerging indigenous OF knowledge skills, technologies and crop varieties, etc.
Keywords: Contributions, Food Security, Organic Manure, environmental sustenance, farming
Contributions of Organic Farming to Environmental Sustenance and Food Security in West Africa: Policy Recommendations (Published)
The article examines contributions of organic farming (OF) to environmental sustenance and food security and identifies policies to enhance the implementation. Scientific literature on environmental damage and stress on food security caused by conventional agriculture and climate change, and benefits of OF in adaptation and mitigation of climate change were synthesized and used for the study. Results show that OF helps in keeping the environment clean by making use of refuse and wastes in the environment to produce healthy foods. Composting in organic farming brings nutrients back from the cities to the farmland. Compared to production of inorganic fertilizer it takes less energy, and when managed in an aerobic condition eliminates methane production reducing the generation of greenhouse gases and climate change. It therefore reduces environmental pollution and promotes the renewed uptake of nutrients from the soil which is what happens under the traditional farming and fallow systems. It supports biodiversity of indigenous fauna and is an advanced form of sustainable agriculture. Organic manure improves the physical properties of soil, biological status of soil, soil fertility and consequently crop yields. Organic manures are general soil amendments and do not burn or harm plants and have long term positive effects on the soil without damaging ground water. Organic manures are also perfect choices for a garden that has many different plants among other advantages. Some of the policies recommended include training extension workers in OF practices, encouraging farmer-to-farmer exchanges, compiling and disseminating emerging indigenous OF knowledge skills, technologies and crop varieties, etc.
Keywords: Contributions, Food Security, Organic Manure, environmental sustenance, farming