FACULTY OF AGRICULTURE

ABSTRACT
The research was carried out on in-vitro evaluation of Cynodon nlemfuensis, Moringa oleifera leaves and cassava peels, ensilage mixture as feed for small ruminants. was carried out in the Animal science Laboratory in the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Benin. Five treatments were examined .treatment 1 contains 100% Cynodon nlemfuensis ensilage (200g), treatment 2 contains 170g of Cynodon nlemfuensis + cassava peels (20g) + Moringa leaves (10g), treatment 3 contains Cynodon nlemfuensis (140g) + cassava peels (40g) + Moringa leaves (20g), Cynodon nlemfuensis (100g) + cassava peels (60g) + Moringa leaves (40g) were evaluated, Cynodon nlemfuensis and Moringa leaves were harvested from the University of Benin farm project Ugbowo campus. The Cassava peels were collected from Uselu market, Benin City. thereafter they were washed, air-dried, and ensiled with the Cynodon nlemfuensis and Moringa leaves. The ensiling process lasted for 28 days in an air tight container and no additive was used. The chemical composition (DM, CP, EE, ASH, NDF, ADF) of each treatment in addition to the in-vitro digestibility (%) of the respective treatments was determined, and the results obtained was analyzed statistically using GENSTAT(12th edition) and means were separated using Duncan Multiple Range Test (DMRT) where significant differences existed.

Millions of tropical forest inhabitants rely on wild meat (or bushmeat) as an essential source of protein and income, which in turn result to unsustainable harvest of these animals, thus putting both human food security and ecosystem
functioning at risk. This study was carried out to analyse the demand for bushmeat in Edo-south agro-ecological zone, Edo state, Nigeria; with specific objectives to ascertain the socio- economic characteristics of bushmeat consumers in the study area, the level and frequency of their demand for bushmeat, identify factors influencing household demand for bushmeat, determine the effect of these factors on household demand for bushmeat, estimate the price and income elasticity of demand, estimate the household expenditure for bushmeat in the
study area, as well as identifying the closest substitute for bushmeat in the study area. A two-stage sampling procedure was used to obtain 88 respondents (bushmeat consumers) for the study. Data was collected through the use of well-structured questionnaire and interview schedule, and analysed using descriptive statistics such as frequency counts, percentages, mean and standard deviation, and inferential statistics such multiple regession. The result revealed that 86.36% of the respondents were male, 62.50% were married with mean age of 36 years. Larger percentage (59.09%) had tertiary education and had small family size of 1-5 members (90.91%). Also, Majority of the respondents (75%) do business with mean monthly income of ₦262267, and mean monthly household income of ₦349733. Most of the respondent consumes bushmeat week in, week out (55.68%), preferred it smoked (93.18%) and consume it majorly because of its unique taste (79.55%). The the major factors influencing household demand for bushmeat were taste (94.3%) which was significant at 5% with a positive coefficient (312.56), price of bush meat (79.6%), 10 11
income of consumer (77.3%) which was significant at 1% with a positive coefficient (4049.60) and availability of bush meat (76.1%), was significant at 10% with a positive coefficient (1398.60). The positive coefficient of the factors indicated that increase in those factors will lead to increase in the demand for bushmeat. 65% of the variation in the demand for bush meat was explained by the factors in the regression model (R2 = 0.65, F-value = 4.64). The result also
showed bushmeat was inelastic to its price (-0.44), but tending to elastic for income elasticity (0.58), which was significant at 1%. The mean result showed that the respondents spends ₦71795.45 on food items monthly, accounting 20.5% of the household mean monthly income (₦349733), and having mean household budget share of bushmeat as 0.27. Chicken was the closest substitute to bushmeat with a cumulative preference frequency of 44.45% (very high-23.86%, high- 20.45%), in the study area, followed by frozen fish (44.32%). There is urgent need for wild species domestication in the study area to meet the increasing market demand for bushmeat, as well as development and enforcement of policy interventions geared towards sustainable harvest of wild animals.

Youth participation is crucial to Community development. The success of every
project depends however on their active participation in designing, implementing
and sustaining the projects that affect their condition of living, has not been
ascertained. The study was conducted to access youth’s participation in
community development projects in Oredo Local Government Area, Edo State, Nigeria. The specific objectives includes ;to describe the socioeconomic
characteristics of youth, identify the types of project that youth engage in, ascertain the levels of youth participation, identify the constraints that youth face
in participating in community development project and identify the factors that
influence youth to participate in community development project. A two-stage sampling procedure was used to select 130 youths for the study. Data
were collected through interview schedule using structured questionnaire
however,124 copies were valid. Data collected were analysed using descriptive
statistics (mean, frequency counts, percentages and standard deviation) and
inferential statistics such as spearman’s correlation coefficient and simple linear
regression. Results from the study showed that males and female youths participate in
community development projects in the study area Majority (97.6%) of the youths
in the study area have obtained various level of formal education from secondary
education to postgraduate education. Also 33.9% of respondents agreed that their
Parents and family influenced their participation in the implementation of
community development projects. About 52.4% and 50% of youths participated
in Agricultural activities and sport development activities respectively. Respondents were highly involved in skill acquisition (mean = 2.23), education
(mean = 2.22) and Agriculture (mean = 2.01). Results revealed that youths were
highly involved in disbursement of funds (mean = 3.09), site selection (mean =3.33) and construction work (mean 3.19). Majority of the youths were highly
xi
involved in reporting project performance (mean = 3.32), report writing (mean
3.19), quality assessment (mean = 3.10) and evaluation committee to understand
plans of the projects (mean = 3.03). The major constraints to youth participation
in community development projects were inadequate awareness on community
development projects (mean = 4.04), poor programme planning (mean = 4.01). There is a significant correlation between Age (r = 0.186; p = 0.039), level of
education (r= 0.432; p = -0.017) and years residing in community (r=0.224; p =
0.014) and youth level of participation in community development projects. Also, there was a significant correlation (r = 0,202; p = 0.024) between friends
influence to participate in the implementation of community development projects
and level of participation in community development projects.It was concluded
that Youths were actively involved in various community development projects. The study recommended that development agencies should introduce project that
will impact youths directly such as acquisition and economic empowerment.

This study was conducted to examine the development of feed grades (25%, 50%, 70%) using sweet potato (Ipomoea batata L.) leaf meal and tuber peels. The experimental work was carried out in the main laboratory Unit of the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Benin, Ugbowo, Benin City, Edo State. The feed grades of sweet potato (Ipomoea batata L.) leaf meal and tuber peels include 100% Leaf Meal, 100% Tuber peels, 25% Leaf Meal + 75% Tuber peels, 50% Leaf Meal + 50% Tuber peels and 75% Leaf Meal + 25% Tuber peels. Data collected include proximate and mineral composition and were subjected to statistical analysis using Analysis of Variance ANOVA of GenStat Statistical package and means were separated using Duncan Multiple Range Test of the same GenStat package. Based on the findings in this study, it is evident that the proximate composition of sweet potato (Ipomoea batata L.) leaf meal and tuber peels varies significantly across different grades. The highest dry matter content (89.95%) was observed in the 100 tuber peels grade, the 100% Leaf Meal grade showed the highest (14.96%) crude protein content. Moreover, the 100% Leaf Meal grade also indicate the highest (4.737%) ether extract content, which could contribute to energy density in feed formulations while 100%Leaf Meal grade contained the highest (14.450%) crude fiber content, the ash content was higher (13.163) in leaf meal grades compared to tuber peels, indicating differences in mineral composition. Based on the findings of this study, it is recommended to incorporate sweet potato leaf meal and tuber peels in feed formulations, tailored to meet specific dietary requirements. The findings showed that100 Leaf Meal grade consistently gave the highest proximate and
mineral element, 100% Leaf Meal grade is therefore recommended as diet for animal production.

This study examined the Resource Use Efficiency Among Small Scale Maize Farmers in Ovia North East Local Government Area. The specific objectives were to describe the socioeconomic characteristics of the farmers, estimate the cost and returns of maize production, estimate resource use efficiency of maize farmers and identify the constraints to increased
production in the study area. Multistage sampling techniques were used to select 100 respondents and they were interviewed using a well structured and designed questionnaire.
Data analysis was carried out with the use of descriptive statistics like frequency count, mean and percentage. Cobb Douglas stochastic frontier approach and marginal value product approach were used also.
The findings revealed that the study area had both active male(54%) and female(46%) farmers, majority also were married(68%), experienced and smallholder farmers with mostly secondary school level of education(68%). Most of the respondents fell within a household size of 6-9. From the findings also, resources like farm size(1.24), labour (2.18)and quantity of herbicides(1.09) were found to be underutilized which indicated that they should be reduced to
optimum level for output increase and revenue respectively. There is need for adjustment in resource use in order to improve farm profit for maize farmers in the study area.
Based on the findings, the study concluded that maize production is a profitable enterprise with a net profit of N932,775.50 and has potentials of alleviating poverty, provision of employment and revenue for the residents and farmers of the study area. It was recommended that government and non governmental agencies should provide extension and supportive
services, could be granting of funds to the maize farmers to aid in their production of attaining more profit and expanding their establishment.

The primary purpose of this study was to assess the information needs of cocoa farmers in Edo and Ondo states. Specifically, the study was conducted to investgate the information needs assessment of cocoa farmers; ascertain the farmers’ preference for cocoa information sources; examine cocoa farmers information needs and farmers search behavior and examine cocoa
farmers’ constraints to information accessibility in the study area. Multistage random sampling procedure was used to select 432 respondents while a structured interview schedule was used to solicit information from the respondents.
The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and inferential statistics (Binary logit regression, Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation (PPMC) and 2x2 matrix used to establish the priorities mean score). The result revealed that the mean age of cocoa farmers was 52 years while majorities (70.4%) of the farmers were male. Majorities (35.4%) of the farmers had formal
education, higher membership of a group (93.5%) and were married (80.3%). Majority (74.3%) of the cocoa farmers’ cultivated farm lands of less than 10 hectares with a mean farming experience of 22 years. This study revealed that the most prominent sources of information wasinput dealers/suppliers (( =2.86±0.40), while Television (
=2.80±0.50) and face to face advice by other farmers ( =2.76±0.56), extension posters=2.87±0.45) were the most preferred among the institutional bodies, mass media electronics, print media and traditional sources of information respectively. The mean score for weed control (control ( =3.14) and pest and disease =3.14) which were ranked 2nd in cocoa production information needs were ranked 1st and 4th in level of information search with the mean values of ( =2.24) and ( =2.03)respectively. Hence, the farmers need training in their information search behaviour.
From the Matrix presentation, it was observed that cocoa production information with the discrepancies scores of farm layout with a weighted mean score of 5.48, farm cultivation system with a weighted mean score of 4.82 and seed selection and planting materials which had a weighted mean score of 4.67 were the critical areas where cocoa farmers need training or
education in cocoa production information needs. Binary Logistic Regression indicated that the Nagelkerke R square value of 0.15 and 0.29 for Edo and Ondo States respectively indicated that the determinants would collectively explain about 15.0% and 29.5% variation in cocoa production information needs of farmers, respectively in the study area. Also the
binary logistic regression test indicated that extension agents (t= 1.61; p≤0.01); input dealers/suppliers (t=2.89;p≤0.01); internet (t=- 1.65 p≤0.01), cable network (t= 2.56; p≤ 0.01); family members (t= 0.92;
p≤0.05) and face to face contact with other farmers (t =0.67; p≤0.01) were the most significant preferred sources of information on farmers production infomtion needs. The finding ofPearson’s Product Moment Correlation indicated that positive and significant correlation exists between production information needs (r=0.271; p≤0.01) and postharvest information needs
(r=0.303; p≤0.01) and farmers’ search behaviour for information

Edible land snails are commonly called “Congo meat” and are one of the most populardelicacies in Nigeria. The edible portion of the snail meat is high in protein (12-16%), iron (45-50mg/kg) and low in fat (0.05-0.08%) and its protein was reported tocontainall the essential amino acids such as leucine, phnylalanine, lysine and isoleucineneeded by the body for its metabolic activities. The study on the Assessment of Production Systems of Snails in Benin Citywascarried out in five markets and data were collected through a one on one interviewguide. Fifty (50) respondents were randomly selected and interviewed fromthevarious locations. Data obtained were analyzed using Descriptive Statistics ontheproduction and management of snails and Bar-charts on the socio-economiccharacteristics of the respondents. The results showed that 32% respondents were male while 68%were females. 34%respondents were within the age group of 26-35 years. In terms of educational status, 20% had primary certificate, 14% secondary certificate, 40%tertiary certificateand26% informal. Also 30% of the respondents were traders and farmers respectively.

The saturated hydraulic conductivity in this work was determined using its relationship with other soil parameters. A soil survey process was used to determine the Ksat of two mapping unit found in the site. Each mapping unit was represented with a pedon from which soils were collected using a soil auger and core sampler. Ksat was determined in the laboratory using the constant head method, the primary objective of this study was to evaluate the relationship between saturated hydraulic conductivity and other soil routine properties of soils found at the AGR 305 Farm to see if a prediction equation could be derived and used in the determination of saturated hydraulic conductivity in soils with similar properties.
The result showed that the study site in mapping unit 1 and mapping unit 2 have parameters
that correlated differently. In mapping unit 1, it was observed that phosphorus (0.736), CEC (0.879), Base saturation (0.831), clay(0.726) correlated postively while sand (-0.766), aggregate stability (-0.614) correlated negatively and was used to determine the saturated hydraulic conductivity of that mapping unit. But in mapping unit 2, ph(-0.858), organic carbon (-0.884), organic matter (-0.770), total nitrogen (-0.771) correlated negatively while bulk density (0.851) correlated positively and was used to determine the saturated hydraulic conductivity for that soil type

Effects of fertilizer rates on growth and yield of (Congo grass) Brachiaria ruzisiensis was studied during rainy season at the experimental field of the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Benin. Treatments consisting of NPK 15:15:15 application rates of 0, 400, 500, 600, 700 and 800 kg/ha, replicated four times in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) were studied. The objective of the study was to evaluate the effect of different rates of NPK 15.15.15 fertilizer on the growth and yield of Bracharia ruziziensis. Proximate analysis were carried out before and after fertilizer application to determine the nutrient status of Bracharia ruziziensis. Results of the research revealed significant (p<0.05) difference on biomass and dry matter yields. The highest level of fertilizer application (800 kg/ha) rate was significantly better than all others. The study showed that fertilizer application increased the proximate composition and yield of Congo grass. This implies that if the grass is produced widely, feed will be enhanced greatly and farmers/herders conflict will be greatly reduced and this can resolve some of the problems of insecurity in Nigeria. Based on the findings of this research, it is recommended that Congo grass be given up ton800kg/ha NPK 15.15.15 fertilizer during the growing seasons

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.