Asian Journal of Research in Agriculture and Forestry

The study was conducted on the impact of climate change on arable crops production among farmers in Akko Local Government Area of Gombe State, Nigeria. A multistage sampling method was adopted selecting one hundred and fifty respondents. Both primary and secondary data were collected covering a period of five years. The data collected were subjected to descriptive statistics. The research found that male farmers within the age bracket of 20-40 years dominate the farming system, with 62.2% being married and having one form of formal education or the other. The result indicated that 92.9% of the respondents are aware of climate change and are predominantly small land holders. The farmers highlighted increased in drought period, higher temperature, erosion, desert encroachment, loss of vegetation and reduced vegetation as effects of climate change. It was revealed that 92.9% of the respondents’ cropping patterns have been affected by climate change. To cope with these effects, farmers diversify their enterprises. The findings show that farming activities such as deforestation, clean clearing, bush burning, open grazing contributes to climate change. The amount of rainfall experienced from 2015-2019 in the area was moderate. The respondents use farmers’ saved seed as planting materials with 62.2% comprising of improved seed. The result indicates that over 95% of the sampled population uses synthetic and organic fertilizers in soil management. From the result, 52.0% of the respondents obtained good yield during the period under study. However, farmers engaged in different cropping systems to mitigate the effect of climate change. It is recommended that extension services should be improved to educate farmers more on adaptation strategies to increase output; Research Institutes should develop more advance or improved seeds as well as disseminate same to farmers timely and adequately.

This study focused on the assessment of tree species diversity and abundance at The Federal University of Technology, Akure Tropical Forest Obanla. The research was carried out from May, 2019 to September, 2019. Complete enumeration sampling was adopted for the data collection and all trees with diameter at breast height (Dbh) above 0.1 m were identified and measured. Other tree growth variables, such as diameter at the base (db), diameter at the middle (dm), diameter at the top (dt) and the total height were all measured for volume estimation. Ricinodendron heudelotii Hd the highest number of stems (13), so it was the dominant tree species.The result shows that mean tree volume ranges from a minimum of 0.26 m³ for Olalaceae family, to a maximum of 77.70 m³ for Euphorbiaceae family. Ceiba pentandra of Malvaceae family had the highest mean volume (14.62 m²) while the lowest was recorded for both Khaya senegalensis and Newbouldia laevis with a volume of 0.13 m². The family of Euphorbiaceae was regarded as the dominant family in the natural forest with 26 tree species which is the highest in this study and with the highest volume (77.70 m²). Shannon Wiener diversity index and species equitability index according to Pielou’s of 3.24 and 0.92 were respectively obtained for the study area. This study revealed the efficacy of an undisturbed natural forest in in situ conservation. Active regeneration can be carried out for proper stocking of the forest so has to make it a potential biodiversity hotspot.

Aims: The application of pre-sowing treatment has greatly improved the germination of seeds of tree species used in afforestation programmes all over the world. This study aimed to determine the effect of different pre-sowing treatments on the germination of Prosopis africana seeds.

Study Design: The experiment was laid in a completely randomized design.

Place and Duration of Study: This study was carried out from 11^th November to 30^th December 2019atthe Department of Forestry and Wildlife, Faculty of Agriculture, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State, Nigeria.

Methodology: Ten seeds each were soaked in ten treatments: tetraoxosulphate (VI) acid (H₂SO₄) for 10, 20 and 30 minutes; hot water for 6, 12 and 24 hours; and cold water for 3, 5 and 7 days. Ten seeds from each of the treatments were sown in a germination box containing sterilized river bank sand and each replicated five (5) times. Percentage germinations for each treatment were arcsine transformed, subjected to analysis of variance and significant means were separated using Duncan multiple range test at 5% probability level.

Results: The results revealed significant differences (p<0.05) in germination. The seeds treated with acid for 30 minutes had the highest mean (51.405) and standard deviation (8.983), seeds soaked in cold water for 3 days and 7 days had no germination.

Conclusion: The study concluded that soaking Prosopis africana seeds for 30 minutes in H₂SO₄ breaks its dormancy, hence, was recommended for improved seed germination.

This activity was conducted in Horro district of western Oromia, Ethiopia with the objective of popularizing proven sheep fattening technology. The study sites were Leku and Gitilo kebeles where community based sheep breeding project is underway. The rams to be fattened were weighed; body condition was recorded, de-wormed and sprayed against internal and external parasites. Initial price of the rams was estimated by a panel of three price informed estimators. The rams were supplemented with 400 g/h/day concentrate composed of 49.5% Noug cake, 49.5% ground maize, 1% salt for 90 days fattening period. The mean initial weight, final weight, initial price and selling prices of the rams were 21.05 kg, 28.51 kg, 517 birr and 1577.5 birr, respectively. Total body weight gain (TWG) of the rams on average was 7.5 kg over the fattening period with a range of 4.5-13.5 kg. The average daily gain (ADG) for the fattening period was 83.3 g/h/ day. The difference between initial and final body weight (7.5 kg) and initial and final body condition (1.7 kg) were statistically significant (p=0.00) and (p=.04), respectively. On average, a net return of birr 456.7 was accrued to the farmers from sale of the fattened rams. An increase in input price by 10%, keeping the price of fattened rams constant would result in marginal return of 1.6 and a net return of 396 birr. The technology is still profitable on the face of the expected escalation in input prices. The escalation is counteracted by the current attractive sale price of fattened rams. It is thus important to go for further scaling up in areas where there is access to these inputs.

The study assessed compliance with forestry laws among rural farmers in rural forest communities of Plateau State, Nigeria. The specific objectives of this study were to; describe the socio-economic characteristics of the rural forest farm families in the study area, examine the level of awareness of forestry laws in the study area, ascertain the level of compliance with forestry laws in the study area and identify the perceived constraints to forestry laws compliance in the study area. The population of the study consists of all the farmers in the rural forest communities of Plateau State. Multi-stage sampling technique was used to select a total number of 216 respondents for the study. Data for the study was garnered using structured questionnaire designed in line with objectives of the study. Analysis of the data was done using descriptive statistics and five point likert rating scale. Log it regression was used to test the hypothesis of the study. Findings revealed that the mean age of the farmers was 39 years with majority (61.0%) of them being male. The result also revealed that 85.0% of the respondents were married with majority (57.0%) of the respondents having non-formal education. The average household size of the respondents was 7 persons and average farm size of 2.5 hectares. The result further shows that only 49.0% of the farmers had contact with extension agents between 1 and 5 times in the last one year. Results indicate that farmers’ level of compliance with forestry laws in the study area was poor. The few forestry laws complied with in the study area were: law prohibiting the pasturing or grazing of cattle in the forest reserve (X=3.02), law prohibiting the erection of buildings or roads in the forest reserve (X=3.85) and law prohibiting kindling of fire in the forest reserve (X=3.54).Constraints to compliance with forestry laws includes; Perceived lack of fairness of tree tenure (79%), lack of alternative economic opportunities (87%), as a constraint to forest law compliance in the study area, lack of awareness of forest laws (71%), increased demand for agricultural land (42%), general lack of perceived legitimacy (33%), Corruption in government institutions (28%) and weak law enforcement (5%). The null hypothesis was rejected. The study recommends that, a zero tolerance policy on non-compliance with forestry laws should be put in place to checkmate indiscriminate exploitation of forest resources.