FACULTY OF AGRICULTURE

In Nigeria, agricultural practices remain largely unattractive to people, especially
the youths for various reasons which include; low returns on time and input
investments, limited access to land, low investments in infrastructure necessary for
efficient value chain. Hence, the need to boost agricultural productivity has
become a major topic of discourse among development institutions. This study
accessed the involvement of youths in soilless farming in Ogun State, Nigeria. The
specific objectives are to examine the socioeconomic characteristics of youths
involved in soilless farming, to examine the factors that influence youths’
involvement in soilless farming, to ascertain the youths’ attitude towards soilless
agriculture technology, to examine the benefits of soilless farming to the youths
involved, investigate the challenges hindering the full engagement of youths in
soilless farming. A two-stage sampling procedure was used to select a total of 102 respondents for
the study and primary data was collected with the use of questionnaire and results
were analyzed using Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC). The mean age of respondents was the ages of the respondents showed that the
majority of the respondents were between the ages of 23 – 27 years, 59% were
males, 41% were females. 84% were single, while 15% were married. Also, 72% had tertiary education. 62% of the respondents earned #50,000 naira or
less per month, while 27% of the respondents earned between #50,000 to
#100,000 naira. Furthermore, 93% of the respondents noted that they would
recommend soilless farming to other young people. Finance 50% and
environmental factors 30.4% were major factors hindering respondents full
engagement. In addition, the result revealed that respondents’ attitudes towards soilless farming
have a positive relationship towards the socioeconomic characteristics (age
XI
(r=0.882), sex (r=0.820), marital status (r=0.560), education (r=0.790), course
studied (r=0.849), farm name (r=0.783), position at work (r=0.869), duration of
involvement (r=0.854) and income (r=0.849)). In conclusion, youth involvement in soilless agriculture is low and can be
improved upon through trainings, publicity and government investment in public
orientation and the benefits of practicing soilless farming.

Scent leaf is a common vegetable and spice in the diet of most Nigerians, cherished as a
result of its contribution to health and sensory qualities. However, its safety is usually
compromised especially because it is usually consumed raw or slightly cooked. Hence,
this study was conducted to determine its microbiological quality. Samples of scent leaf
(9) were randomly purchased from New Benin, Oba and Uselu markets in Benin. Each
sample was divided into 2- one group was washed with sterile distilled water and the
other group was left unwashed and they were blended to aid homogenization. Samples
were analyzed for bacteria and yeasts using conventional plate culture procedures. This
was followed by the characterization of bacterial and fungal isolates using cultural and
biochemical characteristics. The identity of isolates were confirmed using Polymerase
Chain Reaction (PCR). The mean bacteria count (log10 cfu/g) across the three markets
for the unwashed samples was 2.30 while that of the washed was 1.92. For fungi, the
mean count in the unwashed scent leaf was 1.67 while that of the washed samples was
1.20. Statistically, there was a significant difference (P<0.05) in bacteria counts (log10
cfu/g) between the unwashed (2.27, 2.28 and 2.34) and washed scent leaves (1.96, 1.86
and 1.96) for New Benin, Oba and Uselu markets respectively. Significant differences
(P<0.05) were also recorded in fungal counts (log10 cfu/g) between the raw scent leaves
(1.71, 1.66 and 1.63) and washed samples (1.25, 1.18 and 1.16) obtained from New
Benin, Oba and Uselu markets respectively. Also, the bacteria count across the markets
was always higher than the fungal count; an indication of more bacterial contamination.
The bacteria isolated from the scent leaf samples were identified and was found to be Enterobacter aerogenes, Enterobacter cloacae, Escherichia coli, Bacillus cereus, Proteus mirabilis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. PCR tests was carried out and confirmed the identity of three of the isolates specifically as Escherichia coli, Proteus mirabilis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The fungi isolates were identified by cultural and morphological characteristics as Trichoderma spp, Pennicillium spp and Curvularia spp. Thus it is recommended for raw spices and herbs to be washed with clean water to reduce the microbial load and make them safer for consumption. The effect of other methods of decontamination such as washing with water and salt or with vinegar should
be tested in this study location since most vegetables are either consumed raw or partially cooked

Diversified tree-based system are practices that intentionally include functional
biodiversity at multiple spatial and/or temporal scales in order to maintain ecosystemservices that provide critical inputs to agriculture, such as soil fertility, pest and diseasecontrol and pollination. This system is a component of social-ecological systems that
depend on certain combinations of traditional and contemporary knowledge, cultures andpractices. As ecosystem services are generated and regenerated within a tree-basedsystem, it was imperative to estimate carbon stock in a diversified tree-based systeminanarboretum in Forest Resources and Wildlife Management Department, Universityof
Benin. This study determined the tree biomass and predicted the carbon pool in the studyarea. The biomass carbon accumulation was evaluated using non-destructive methodinacompletely randomized design. A total of 87 trees were sampled from8 sample plots
measuring 15 x 15 m with an area of 0.22 ha in the study using two input variables
(diameter and height). Mean tree height and diameter were pooled together and the best
fit allometric regression model was used to estimate Aboveground biomass (AGB) inthis
study. The result showed that the largest DBH was 64.9 cm while the tallest tree was
26.79 m. In estimating the AGB in the diversified tree-based system, Ketterings et al., 2001 model (AGB=aDb (0.066D2.59) indicated the highest modelling efficiency(R
2=1.000, AIC=-40.25, Std. error 1.34). Regression analysis also revealed that most of
the carbon was stored in the aboveground biomass with an estimation of 137,216.81kgha
-1
in the study area. Furthermore, the total carbon stock (AGB + BGB) and carbonsequestered were 77,390.28 and 284,022.3 Mg C ha
-1 respectively. Furthermore, topredict the monetary values to be derived from Kyoto carbon credit scheme, the tons of
CO2 sequestered in the tree based diversified system amounted to $8,520,669. This studyconcluded that for the Department to benefit from the carbon credits scheme (Kyotoprotocol), it is recommended that an ecosystem services payment policy should be inplace in order to sustain the environmental benefits derivable fromthe tree-based system.

Monodora myristica is a perennial, edible plant used in West Africa and other parts of the world for its medicinal and culinary value. There is paucity of data on the nutritional contents of M. myristica seeds in the four regions of Nigeria where the seeds are easily available. This study was undertaken to determine the mineral contents of M. myristica (African nutmeg) seeds from Abuja, Awka, Benin City and Ondo Towns. Seeds of M. myristica used were deshelled, oven-dried and ground into fine powder. The powdered sample was subjected to mineral analysis using atomic absorption spectrometry. The mineral analysis showed that there were highly significant differences in the
mineral contents of African nutmeg samples sourced from the various locations in calcium, chromium, potassium and zinc. But the iron, magnesium, manganese, and sodium contents were not significantly different from one location to the other. The results showed that the Monodora myristica seeds are rich in minerals and that the content levels vary in some minerals as a result of the location. This may be as a result of the different soil types and the nutritive state of the soil where the plants were grown. It should also be noted that no particular location exhibited better mineral element composition across all the minerals studied. More mineral elements both beneficial and harmful should be studied in African nutmeg from more locations.

The study examined the effectiveness of mass media in disseminating information to fish farmers in Sapele Local Government Area, Delta State, Nigeria. describe the socio-economic characteristic of fish farmers in the study area; examine the different mass media and their accessibility in the study area; identify the major source of agricultural information to fish farmers in the study area; analyze the effectiveness of mass media in the dissemination of agricultural information in the study   and identify the constraints the respondents face sourcing for agricultural information in the study area.
A multi-stage sampling procedure was used to collect data from 100 respondents with the aid of a structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics such as frequency count and means were used to describe the socioeconomic characteristics of the respondents while multiple regression and chi-square was used to determine the hypotheses of the study.
Results show that majority (60% ) of the respondents involved in fish farming are males  (67.5%) of the respondents were aged between 35-50 years with (55%) being married and 88.7% having formal education. Results also showed that majority of fish farmers have access to television (60%), telephone/internet (65%), Newspaper/Bulletin (55%) and Radio (55%). Findings also reveal that the major sources of information was Radio (90%), internet (80%), Facebook (92%), WhatsApp (74%), neighbors (100%), ministry of agriculture (98%), extension agent (80%), newspaper (100%) etc. and the problem facing fish farmers in sourcing for information in Sapele LGA were illiteracy, low income level, lack of credit facilities inadequate information and erratic power supply. The study recommended that more programs on Agricultural development and farming techniques should be aired on radio and television, more of such information should also be available on newspapers and bulletins. More agricultural pages should be created on Facebook and finally, WhatsApp group page should also be created for fish farmer’s in Sapele LGA area in Delta state where they can easily get information.

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