Taiwo Alimi

The impact of the National Fadama Facility in alleviating rural poverty and enhancing agricultural development in South-Western Nigeria.

Abstract This study assessed the potential of the National Fadama (lowland irrigation) facility to enhance smallholder farmers production and income thereby lifting them out of the vicious circle of poverty in South Western Nigeria. About 5% of the participants in Osun State were randomly selected and their performance compared with that of the baseline study conducted before the facility took off. Furthermore, the stochastic frontier production function model was utilized to estimate the technical efficiency level of the participants. Results obtained shows that the farm income obtained from Fadama cultivation increased about three times from #13368.00 at baseline to #38918.00 in the current season. The stochastic production function results obtained shows the coefficients of age of farmer result number of children and farming experience being significant at 1% while the coefficient of cost of seed was significant at 10% level. The range at technical efficiency obtained was 0.9959-0.9964 suggesting a relatively efficient level of production by the participants. The programme thus has a potential to alleviate the participants from poverty.

Risk and Risk Management Strategies in Onion Production in Kebbi State of Nigeria

Abstract In a study conducted in the onion producing area of Kebbi State of Nigeria in determining the risk and risk management strategies in onion farming, analyses (using frequency distribution, importance indices and portfolio model) of primary data collected from onion farmers revealed that output price followed by input price were ranked highest among the various risk sources. Onion farmers were poor in the use of risk reducing strategies to the extent that no risk reducing strategy exists for market risk. Reason for non-use of some risk reducing strategies is either that they are not available or difficult to implement. The most popular risk reducing strategy used was crop enterprise diversification. A risk-loving farmer should engage in onion enterprise only, and a risk averse farmer in non-onion crops enterprise if crop enterprise specialization is compulsory. In enterprise diversification, a low risk averse farmer should put high proportion of farm to onion, which reduces as risk aversion increases until onion farm is 20% of total farm size for high risk averse farmer. It is suggested that agricultural policy makers should encourage among onion farmers the use of formal insurance and cooperative marketing. Research effort should be directed at obtaining improved seed/seedling and efficient and effective storage and processing technologies that will elongate the shelf life of onion.

Economic Impacts of Chemical Pesticides Use on Fadama Crop Farming in Sudano-Sahelian Zone

Abstract Primary data were collected from users and non-users of chemical pesticides in fadama farming. The data collected included number of plots, farm size, types of crops grown, prices and quantities of outputs of the farms. In addition, the application costs of pesticides (material cost, labour for applying and equipment) were collected from pesticides users. The data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics, partial budgetary and marginal analyses, and sensitivity and regression techniques. The results indicated that the chemical pesticides users operated smaller mean number of plots, larger mean farm size, obtained higher crop yield as such larger output per farmer. None of the chemical pesticides users used herbicides. Budgetary analysis and regression technique indicated that chemical pesticides use was economically rational at the present chemical pesticide technology, and relative inputoutput prices. An investment of one naira in chemical pesticides use returns 2.21naira in addition to the one naira invested, as such based on economics only their use should be encouraged. However, pesticides use will be irrational if ceteris paribus, prices of chemical pesticides rise by more than 86%.

Gender differentials in household poverty reduction activities of rural children.

Abstract In developing countries such as Nigeria, impact of religion and culture which make parents/guardians have full control over their children/wards, and poor economic conditions encourage the use of children as a source of either household income generation or household expenditure/cash outflow reduction to alleviate poverty. This study examines and compares the contributions to family welfare of male and female children aged between 5 and 14 years and living in the rural area of Iwo Local Government Area of Osun State of Nigeria. Data were collected on the various types; the degree of involvement; and the attitudes of male and female children towards their participation in Household Poverty Reduction Activities (HPRA); and were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics, regression technique and attitudinal measures. Children contribute to household poverty alleviation with their labour. The amount of hours per week, involvement in domestic activities, and the proportion contributing to family welfare are significantly higher for girls than boys. Boys rather than girls put in significant extra hours per week in family farm labour and hired labour; significant less hours in household food preparation, and in caring for infants; and almost equal amount in street trading and other household chores. Ranking revealed family farm labour and household food preparation as the most important for boys and girls respectively. High proportion of children has unfavourable attitudes towards their involvement in household poverty alleviation, which is significantly higher for boys than girls, because participation affects their leisure and time for study. Since children have negative attitudes and HPRAs differ between boys and girls, gender-specific policies are needed to free children for their future capacity building.

Microfinancing as a poverty alleviation measure: a gender analysis.

Abstract Available statistics confirm an increase in the incidence of poverty in the country in recent years. Furthermore, rural women are the most vulnerable groups to the poverty incidence. They are denied access to productive resources most especially credit. The Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) emerged in response to the inability of formal sources of finance to meet the need of the rural poor who constitute the bulk of the poor in the country. Farmers Development Union (FADU) as a microcredit NGO was studied to assess the extent to which it took care of the interest of the rural poor women in her microcredit administration . A random sample of 164 beneficiaries in Ibadan Oyo State was taken and analysed. Results revealed a conscious gender balancing in the administration of the facility because the random sample produced an almost equal number of male and female beneficiaries. Most of the facility was short time (less than a production season of 9 months), the monitoring and evaluation efforts of the NGO ensures a very high repayment rate, and more than 90 percent of the loan requests were granted. The savings mobilization efforts of the NGO yielded positively in that the beneficiaries saved an average mount (N27530) that was more than the average income of most members before joining the NGO. Although men have more of their loan request granted, women obtain more amount as loan on the average. The reported income obtained by men is more than that obtained by women, however, the income obtained by both is more than their income before joining the program. Furthermore, the average income obtained by the beneficiaries is more than the acknowledged threshold income of

Exploration of the Psychometric Properties and Correlates of the 10 item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale among Family Caregivers of Nigerian Patients with Psychiatric Disorder

1.00 per day. In other words, the microcredit enabled the beneficiaries get out of the vicious cycle of poverty.

Adaptation of the Beck Hopelessness Scale as a suicide risk screening tool among Nigerian patients with schizophrenia

Background: Despite studies in developed countries repeatedly reporting on the positive influence of resilience on the ability of family caregivers to withstand the burden of providing care for their relatives no literature is currently available regarding the construct and the factors associated with resilience among the family caregivers of Nigerian psychiatric patients. Methods: This is a cross-sectional descriptive study in which 234 family caregiver-patient dyads were consecutively recruited over a period of 6 months from the psychiatric outpatients’ clinics of two university teaching hospitals in South-western Nigeria. The caregivers completed the 10 item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CDRISC-10) in addition to other measures. Exploratory factor analysis was used to evaluate the dimensionality of the scale. The scale’s reliability and validity were also examined. Results: Exploratory Factor Analysis revealed a uni-dimensional model of the 10 item CD-RISC among the family caregivers. Internal consistency of the scale’s items was modestly satisfactory (Cronbach’s alpha 0.87). The evidence for the convergent validity of scale was provided by statistically significant correlations with the family caregivers’ scores on the Zarit Burden Interview (r =0.276, p<0.001), MINI Suicidality module (r=0.312, p<0.001), General Health Questionnaire-12 (r =0.220, p<0.001) and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (r=0.282, p<0.001). Hierarchical linear regression analyses showed that, the main variance in the family caregivers’ score on the CDRISC-10 was accounted for by the MINI Suicidality module. Conclusions: The scale has exhibited satisfactory psychometric qualities as a tool for the assessment of resilience among the family caregivers of Nigerian patients with psychiatric disorders in terms of its reliability and validity. Our study further affirms that the construct of resilience measured with the 10 item CDRISC is best explained by a one dimensional factor.

The Yoruba version of the Beck Hopelessness Scale: psychometric characteristics and correlates of hopelessness in a sample of Nigerian psychiatric outpatients.

Abstract Objectives: We examined the adaptation of the Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS) as a subjective suicide risk assessment tool in detecting Nigerian patients with schizophrenia who are at a high risk of suicide. Methods: Schizophrenia patients (211) completed the BHS in addition to a sociodemographic questionnaire. They were objectively interviewed with the suicidality module of the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) as the ‘gold standard’, against which the criterion validity of the BHS was examined. Results: The receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve of the 20-item BHS scale at a total cut-off score of 9 (sensitivity 0.889, specificity 0.916) against the patients’ MINI Suicidality Module risk categorisation had an Area Under the Curve (AUC) of 0.96 (95% CI: 0.928–0.987), while, the four-item BHS scale demonstrated a ROC curve with an AUC of 0.92 (95% CI: 0.868–0.966) at a cut-off score of 1 (sensitivity 1.000, specificity 0.832). Conclusions: The BHS has proven to be valid in terms of its sensitivity and specificity in the identification of the high suicidal risk Nigerian schizophrenia outpatients.