Journal articles on the topic 'Agricultural machinery Nigeria'

This paper focuses on challenges of prison farm management in Nigeria. The empirical results are based on a qualitative and quantitative survey of 54 inmates and 17 prison officers in Ibite-Olo and Ozalla prison farms in Enugu and Edo States of Nigeria respectively. The findings show that the prison farms under study had collaboration with partner agencies such as the federal ministry of agriculture (57.9%), agricultural extension agents (47.4%), agricultural research institutes (42.1%) and NGOs (36.8%), among others. The necessary support from partner agencies covered the following: financial aid (78.9%) and sales/maintenance of farm machinery and implements (68.4%). Furthermore, inmates and prison officers stated the challenges hindering effective running of prison farms’ agricultural activities, including: inadequate funding, lack of physical infrastructure, inadequate farm equipment and poor storage facilities. The findings support the conclusion that the Nigerian Prison Service should make an upward review in its budgetary allocation to prison farms to enhance service delivery and inmate reformation, alongside provision of adequate infrastructure, equipment and farm inputs.

The importance of agriculture especially in a developing country cannot be over-emphasised. It had been the mainstay of the Nigerian economy since the colonial period. Apart from subsistence farming which catered for the food needs of the local population, Nigeria had exported cash crops in the past.Unfortunately, the blessings of the oil boom have diverted our attention from agriculture in the past decade with the consequent neglect of it. But the dwindling fortunes of oil appear to have induced us to switch our attention once again to agriculture.To this end, some practical steps have been taken by Government to encourage investment in agriculture. These include subsidising fertilisers and seeds for farmers, the establishment of various Agricultural Development Projects, the Communal Farm Programmes and the establishment of various River Basins Development Authorities. Other recent measures include tax relief for agro-allied projects; tax holidays for investors in combined agricultural productions and processing; capital allowances for capital expenditure on plant and equipment for, and equipment leasing to, agriculture; removal of import duties on tractors and other agricultural machinery and equipment and increased foreign equity participation within the framework of the Enterprises Promotion Decree.

The article focuses on the impact of India-Nigeria agricultural cooperation on rice production in Nigeria. Since 2000 in the quest for food sufficiency, diversification of the country’s sources of foreign exchange, increasing employment for the rising population as well as expanding its external relations Nigeria has signed several bilateral agreements on agriculture with India. The analysis of the developments in the sub-sector, as well as media, governmental and non-governmental reports in the field and the interviews of the farmers has revealed that the Indian firms, including “Olam Group” and “Popular Farms and Mills Ltd”, have cultivated thousands of hectares of land, built mills and machinery, provided farmers in 16 Nigerian states with better rice seedlings, and engaged thousands of farmers in regular training improving employment and revitalizing communities in the country. The support given by the Indian firms has triggered an unprecedented increase in rice production. The paper concludes that the agreements, particularly the one of 2017, have further promoted, strengthened and expanded rice production in the context of food security, job creation and saving foreign exchange. The article, therefore, demonstrates how Nigeria-India bilateral ties and cooperative programs have changed the dynamics of rice production in the country and brought more profound economic consequences. Despite the fact that Nigeria is not yet selfsufficient in rice production with the gap of around 2.5 million tonnes, the agricultural programs initiated within the framework of the Nigeria-India bilateral agreements and realized as large-scale agriculture programmes including investments, training, supply of better seedlings, land cultivation promoted by powerful corporations have significantly changed the economic and social environment in Nigeria.

The article focuses on the impact of India-Nigeria agricultural cooperation on rice production in Nigeria. Since 2000 in the quest for food sufficiency, diversification of the country’s sources of foreign exchange, increasing employment for the rising population as well as expanding its external relations Nigeria has signed several bilateral agreements on agriculture with India. The analysis of the developments in the sub-sector, as well as media, governmental and non-governmental reports in the field and the interviews of the farmers has revealed that the Indian firms, including “Olam Group” and “Popular Farms and Mills Ltd”, have cultivated thousands of hectares of land, built mills and machinery, provided farmers in 16 Nigerian states with better rice seedlings, and engaged thousands of farmers in regular training improving employment and revitalizing communities in the country. The support given by the Indian firms has triggered an unprecedented increase in rice production. The paper concludes that the agreements, particularly the one of 2017, have further promoted, strengthened and expanded rice production in the context of food security, job creation and saving foreign exchange. The article, therefore, demonstrates how Nigeria-India bilateral ties and cooperative programs have changed the dynamics of rice production in the country and brought more profound economic consequences. Despite the fact that Nigeria is not yet selfsufficient in rice production with the gap of around 2.5 million tonnes, the agricultural programs initiated within the framework of the Nigeria-India bilateral agreements and realized as large-scale agriculture programmes including investments, training, supply of better seedlings, land cultivation promoted by powerful corporations have significantly changed the economic and social environment in Nigeria.

Abolishing poverty and ensuring improvement of educational development indicators have been described as some of the objectives for international assistance. This study seeks to comprehend the role of Russia in the development of the African continent’s most populous country, Nigeria, the factors that limited their success and the opportunities for increasing effectiveness of such efforts. Russia intervention in Nigeria economic and educational development took a new turn after Nigeria returned to democratic rule in 1999. The existence of the largest Russian investor (RUSAL) in the Nigeria, the investments of LUKOIL in Nigeria which currently exceeds $450 million, and other well-known Russian companies, including the largest Russian producer of agricultural machinery "Rostselmash", have all made impact in Nigeria economic development. However, the major problem of this duo cooperation lies in the legal ratification of their framework. In Educational sphere, this study ascertains that yearly, more than 100 Nigerian students are given the opportunity to study at Russian universities through Russia-Nigerian intergovernmental agreements. To date, more than 10,000 Nigerian specialists have been trained in Russia. The study drew upon both modernization and dependency theories in advancing understanding on the subject matter. The study employed qualitative method of data collection. Data was analyzed using content analysis.

Youth are critical participants in the modernization of African agriculture but often their perception of farming is negative. A baseline survey of 1264 students from eight secondary schools in Democratic Republic (DR) of Congo, Kenya and Nigeria was conducted to assess their attitudes toward career pathways to agriculture and agribusiness. KoboToolBox was used to collect data online before compilation and inspection for errors in Microsoft Excel and exportation into STATA for analysis. Findings were presented as summary statistics, frequencies and multiple linear regression. A large majority (86%) of the students attended agricultural courses and 54% identified agriculture as having a place in their future, but often not as their highest career ambition. Livestock, field cropping, small animal production, and horticulture were the most viable enterprises for the youngsters. Nearly half (46%) that were averse to agriculture as a career path based their decision upon excessive labor requirements (30%), difficulties in securing land (25%), and low returns to effort (20%). Disparities from a country, area and gender perspective were recorded. Perceptions and career plans among the sexes differed; with females having less experience with machinery, and were more drawn to horticulture and agro-processing. Despite unfavorable attitudes toward agriculture, the study established that youth from these countries recognize that opportunity exists from adopting modern farming methods and commercial agricultural enterprises. The results of this study suggest several avenues for future Start Them Early Program activities intended to strengthen career pathways toward agriculture in African secondary schools. Keywords: Africa, agricultural education, career pathways, Start Them Early Program, youth

Mechanization of farm operations plays a vital role in increasing food production. Government agencies as well as private individuals and groups have acquired farm machinery in an attempt to meet farmers’ demands. But are these demands being met? If not, why not? Do farmers prefer the service-oriented public agricultural mechanization agencies to the profit-oriented private tractor hiring units? This article attempts to answer these questions and proffer some suggestions, taking Adamawa State, Nigeria, as a case study.

The traditional method of using hands to depulp African Locust Bean (ALB) inside a flowing river led to the conception and development of a simple operated 3 kg capacity ALB depulping machine at the Farm Power and Machinery Workshop of Agricultural and Bio-Environmental Engineering, Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo, Ondo State, Nigeria. The depulping machine has the hopper, the depulping unit which has the shaft carrying paddles to beat off the seed from the pulp, the frame, the water reservoir to aid the process and 2.2 kW power unit. ALB of moisture contents 60%, 71% and 78% were depulp at machine speed of 173 rpm. The time taken for each operation to be completed was taken. It was discovered that the machine performance in terms of efficiency and throughput increases as the moisture content of the ALB increases while the specific mechanical energy decreases as the moisture content increases. At moisture content of 78%, the efficiency of the depulping machine was 83%, the throughput was about 236 kg/h and the specific mechanical energy was 122.32 KG/KJ. The cost of the machine was Seventy Eight Thousand Naira (NGN 78,000:00). It is recommended for small and medium ALB farmers.

This study examines the economics of rice production and marketing in Nigeria. The costs and returns, marketing margin, and constraints associated with rice production and marketing were examined. Seven states and nine markets were selected for investigations. Stratified random sampling techniques were used to collect data from forty-five respondents. The simple descriptive statistics and farm firm budget techniques were the major tools used in analyzing the data. Result of the analysis showed that the rice Farmers made a 68% gross income while the net income was at 43% which is indicative that the middlemen did not make excessive profit at the expense of the primary producers. Constraints associated with rice production include high cost of labour and inputs in terms of machinery while that of marketing included high cost of transportation and inadequate storage facilities. The study suggests an improvement of Farm inputs and equipment, the road network system and provision of agricultural credit to enable rice farmers and traders expand the volume of their operations.The choice of these towns was based on the fact that they have the highest concentration of the rice farmers, Rice Mills and onsumers in the State. The swampy and soft nature of the most part of those areas makes cultivation easy. In the researcher’s research project, simple random sampling techniques was used to select the sample for this study. This was mainly to ensure that the sample was truly the representation of the total population. Each of the thirteen towns and markets were given an equal opportunity of appearing in the experiment. It sets also to study benchmark of activity or performance of a given equity market – the relationship between domestic or circular market and its contribution to making Nigeria a vibrant economy.

This study conducts a comparative evaluation the effect of using palm kernel oil (PKO), pure petroleum diesel and their blends (B5, B10, B20, B30, B40, and B100), on the performance of a four-cylinder CI diesel engine (David Brown 990: 58hp; 2WD), at Farm Power and Machinery Test laboratory Centre (FPMTLC), Department of Agricultural and Bioresources Engineering, University of Nigeria, Nsukka. The objective of the study was to determine the fuel consumption rates, energy expended, brake specific fuel consumption, and brake thermal efficiency, under varying operating speeds (700 – 1900rpm) at constant torque. Each fuel test was conducted using the Heenan-Froude hydraulic dynamometer engine-test-bed; pure petroleum diesel (B0) was used to generate the baseline data. Variables calculated were analyzed, then compared with each other to determine the differences in the engine performance and also to determine the optimum test fuel. The results obtained show that B10 had the overall optimum energy output, fuel consumption rates, and brake specific fuel consumption of 5431.809J, 3.42E-07 m3/s, and 0.16569l/KWh, respectively at the highest engine speed of 1900. B10 had an excellent brake thermal efficiency of 60.6% but was not better than B100, which showed a higher value of 66.95%. From the analysis, B10 is the optimum test fuel and can be used as an alternative fuel in David Brown 990 (58hp; 2WD) or similar CI diesel engines without any engine modification, even though B100 showed potential as an alternative to fossil diesel. Biofuel production grows through integrated aquaculture and algae production; the algae oil will serve as a raw material for biofuel production Keywords: Blends, Biodiesel, Brake Specific Consumption, Diesel Engine, Fuel Consumption rate, Thermal Efficiency.

The oil palm tree, is originally a native crop of the tropical forest of West Africa. Palm oil trade emergedduring the British Industrial Revolution, whereby it was used for machines lubrication. Nigeria is among thefew places where the fruit was first discovered before the 14th century. Palm oil serves as the main vegetableoil produced globally, generating almost 60% of international trade in vegetable oils. In 1960s, Nigeria wasthe largest palm oil-producing and exporting country in the world. This accounted for forty-three percent ofentire palm oil global production, but the production entirely declined as a result of other factors that causedslow growth in palm oil production, while the domestic consumption has increased. Now it produces ameagre 1.7 percent of total world production which is insufficient for local consumption. Nigeria lost itsposition to Malaysia and Indonesia. Nigeria currently does not export palm oil, but it imports it fromMalaysia and Indonesia due to the local shortfall. The objective of this paper, explores the necessitatingfactors to Nigerian failure on palm oil, the paper is a qualitative research, it has adopted document analysis,the findings of the paper are the necessitating factors that led to the Nigerian failure on palm oil whichinclude; oil boom and decline in agriculture, civil war, traditional system of palm oil production, inconclusion, these factors are the failure to Nigerian palm oil production. Keywords: Nigerian Background, Oil Palm, Palm Oil, Necessitating Factors

The design for manufacturing of granulating machines to produce fertilizer granules in small scale using locally available materials is often challenging and this results in low fertilizer usage among Nigerian farmers when compared with the world’s average usage. A lot of factors are associated with chemical fertilizer granulating machine, and it is necessary to examine and understand the interplay among these factors. This study weighs up a number of variables that relates with the design and usage of chemical fertilizer granulating machine and offers increased insight and awareness about their insidiousness. The study employed a survey approach, using the Rensis Likert’s attitudinal scale, to generate respondents’ data matrix that was analyzed with Principal Component Analysis (PCA), and which was facilitated by statistiXL software. Kendall’s Coefficient of Concordance (KCC) was used to rank the thirty two (32) identified variables and PCA was thereafter deployed to ascertain the degree of interplay among the variables. Results obtained by KCC suggested that judges ranking were consistent as there was sufficient evidence to reject the null hypothesis Also, PCA was indicating parsimony in data reduction from 32 variables to mere five. The result established five principal factors creatively labeled Miscellany Components, Technical Considerations, Granulation Efficiency, Agricultural National policy and Biophysical Elements. The most influential variable by its factor loading of 0.894 is Agricultural National policy. A gamut of variables which seem to affect chemical fertilizer granulating machine has been examined. This has helped in discerning similarities in dissimilarities.

A comparative analysis of the anthropometric body dimensions of the male and female agricultural workers was conducted in South-Eastern Nigeria to ascertain the variations that exist among the body characteristics/dimensions of the male and female agricultural workers in the area. Thirty (30) anthropometric dimensions considered useful in the design of the agricultural equipment alongside with the heart rate of the workers were studied. Male and female agricultural workers within the age limit of 20-60 years were used for the study. Results obtained revealed that male agricultural workers had greater body dimensions than the females except in the waist circumferences and hip breadths in which the male measured average of 81.1cm and 34.4cm respectively and the female recorded 88.7cm and 42.1cm at waist and hip regions respectively. The comparison further showed that male agricultural workers had average stature and body weight of 168.3cm and 65.9kg respectively with the 5th and 95th percentiles of 162.75cm and 175.77cm respectively in stature; and 60.15kg and 71.73kg in body weight respectively. While the female recorded mean stature and body weight of 163.2cm and 64.8kg respectively with the corresponding 5th and 95th percentiles of 153.96cm and 172.17cm respectively in stature and 60.04kg and 69.35kg respectively in body weight. The males had average heart (pulse) rate of 73.8 beats/min while the females had 70.5 beats/min. The comparison generally did not show much variations, which implies that implements/machine designed for the male workers could suit the female workers or might be adjusted to suit the female workers. http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/njt.v36i1.31

Rice processing machines produced in developed countries are mostly unaffordable by rural farmers, hence there was need to develop cost effective/efficient machines produced from available local materials desirable in food industry that meets the need of the rural farmers. This study was to evaluate the performance of a developed rice dehusking/destoning machine at Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Nigeria. Minitab 16 was used for analysis of variance of two main factors [four paddy varieties Faro 35, Faro 44, Faro 55 and Ofada and five moisture content (MC) groups] to obtain its optimum operational parameters. Cleaning efficiency, coefficient of dehulling, coefficient of wholeness, dehulling efficiency, dehulling recovery and output capacity were optimum at 94.60%, 0.63, 0.85, 50.54%, 61.22% and 18.53 kg/h respectively. The effect of MC and test paddy variety on coefficient of wholeness and dehulling efficiency were significant while only MC effect was significant at P<0.05 on cleaning efficiency. Paddy varieties had effect on rice quality, long and slender grains had more breakage than shorter grains. After further work of improvement, its coefficient of dehulling, dehulling efficiency and dehulling recovery were 0.82, 65 and 75% respectively.

Processing of melon plays a significant role in the livelihood of rural women as it serves as their major occupation. Despite its significant role, the women processors were faced with some challenges. This study, therefore, identified the challenges faced by women in melon processing in Enugu-Ezike Agricultural Zone of Enugu State, Nigeria. Primary data were collected from 80 respondents using a structured questionnaire coupled with an interview schedule and analysed using descriptive statistics. The results showed that the majority of the women processors were advanced in age, well experienced, do not belong to a cooperative society, and relied strictly on processing melon as their source of livelihood. They had an average income of N286,400 (USD 751.71) per annum. Low capital, poor credit facilities, high transportation cost, price fluctuation, rapid deterioration, low supply of melon, poor storage facilities, high cost of processing machine, and breakage of seed were the identified constraints facing them. The study recommended that the women processors should form a cooperative society which will help in financing and easy marketing of their products. Also, the government should provide financial assistance, good storage facilities, and subsidized melon processing machine to increase efficiency.

A timely and accurate crop type mapping is very significant, and a prerequisite for agricultural regions and ensuring global food security. The combination of remotely sensed optical and radar datasets presents an opportunity for acquiring crop information at relative spatial resolution and temporal resolution adequately to capture the growth profiles of various crop species. In this paper, we employed Sentinel-1A (S-1) and Sentinel-2A (S-2) data acquired between the end of June and early September 2016, on a semi-arid area in northern Nigeria. A different set of (VV and VH) SAR and optical (SI and SB) images, illustrating crop phenological development stage, were employed as inputs to the two machines learning Random Forest (RF) and Support Vector Machine (SVM) algorithms to automatically map maize fields. Significant increases in overall classification were shown when the multi-temporal spectral indices (SI) and spectral band (SB) datasets were added with the different integration of SAR datasets (i.e., VV and VH). The best overall accuracy (OA) for maize (96.93%) was derived by using RF classification algorithms with SI-SB-SAR datasets, although the SI datasets for RF and SB datasets for SVM also produced high overall maize classification accuracies, of 97.04% and 97.44%. The outcomes indicate the robustness of the RF or SVM methods to produce high-resolution maps of maize for subsequent application from agronomists, policy planners, and the government, because such information is lacking in our study area.

Plant growth promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR) are important in the agricultural sector. Although different microorganism live in the soil but thrive in PGPR rhizosphere zones, improve the production and protection to them from diseases by production of metabolites, volatile compounds and phytohormones and Induced Systemic Resistance (ISR). This study was aimed at isolating and characterize molecularly the bacteria from the rhizosphere of pepper (Capsicum annuum), vegetable (Spinacia oleracea), rice (Oryza sativa) grown in Saki. The rhizosphere sample of pepper, rice and vegetable were collected between the hours of 1:40-2:00pm. The colonial characteristics, Gram staining techniques, biochemical test were carried out. The isolates were tested against eight antibiotics (Ceftriaxone, Gentamicin, Ceftazidime, Ofloxacin, Augmentin, Cefuroxime, Erythromycin, and Cloxacillin) by using disc diffusion method. PCR techniques and subsequent use of sanger method was used for sequencing. DNA extract was obtained using the lysozyme-SDS-phenol chloroform method in the prepared kits by Jena Bioscience. Amplification of the 16S rRNA gene was performed with the use of T1-Thermocycler PCR machine with 1492R primers pA (5′-TAC GGYBTAC CTT GTT ACG ACT T3′) and 27F primers pH (5′-AGAGTTTGATCMTGGCTCAG3'). This Primer was used for PCR amplification of 16S rRNA gene. All bacterial isolates were catalase (+) and indole (-). Antibiotics screening showed that all isolates resist most of the antibiotics except Ofloxacin and ciprofloxacin while sample 1, 2, 5 and 6was susceptible to Gentamicin. Six bacterial isolates obtained were characterized on molecular basis of 16S rRNA sequencing. The identified isolates were: Bacillus thuringensis B. weidmanii, B. cereus.

The trade liberalization processes of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) are implemented through such interventions like free international trade, common external tariff wall, the consolidation or freezing of custom duties and non-tariff barriers to the intra-trade among others. However, the extent to which these efforts have translated to the intra-industry trade in the prepared foodstuff products has not been investigated yet. The objectives of this study are to assess the intra-industry trade theory in cereal and miscellaneous edible preparations; to evaluate the growth rates of simultaneous exports and imports in these prepared foodstuff sub-sections; to evaluate the extent of the intra-industry trade in the sub sections, and to determine the effects of the Nigeria&rsquo;s and partners&rsquo; characteristics on the intra-industry trade. The results revealed that the intra-industry trade in cereal preparations are positively and significantly influenced by the partners&rsquo; gross national income (GNI) per capita and the partners&rsquo; foreign direct investment (FDI), but they are negatively influenced by the Nigeria&rsquo;s household final consumption expenditure. Also, the intra-industry trade in miscellaneous edible preparations is influenced positively by the partners&rsquo; GNI per capita and the partners&rsquo; households&rsquo; final consumption expenditures, while the Nigeria&rsquo;s foreign direct investment and the value added by manufacturing negatively influence the intra-industry trade in the product sub-sections within the ECOWAS sub-region. Both exports and imports growth rates of these products fluctuate, but more in the imports of miscellaneous edible preparations. Cost saving options in transportation, the use of efficient machines during the production, processing and packaging are recommended.

Background: There is accumulating evidence that the type of work and environmental exposures in the work environment during pregnancy may have adverse effects on fetal development and pregnancy outcome. The objective was to determine the influence of maternal occupation on adverse pregnancy outcomes.Methods: The study was a prospective hospital based study conducted at the obstetrics and gynecology department of a tertiary health facility in Nigeria. All the data were retrieved from the ante natal and delivery card of all the women that delivered at the unit within the time of data collection. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 25 and variables were presented as frequencies, percentages, means, and standard deviation. Bivariate analysis was done using chi-square test. The level of significance was set at p value ≤ 0.05.Results: Maternal occupation did not significantly affect the gestational age at delivery (X2=10.143, p=0.428) and birth weight (X2=16.807, p=0.079) however, it significantly affected the still birth (X2=28.134, p=0.002). Agricultural, forestry and fishery workers and plant and machine operators were about 8 times and 17 times more likely to have still birth than the unemployed respectively.Conclusions: There were substantial differences in the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes between the different occupational groups.

Data and document privacy concerns are increasingly important in the online world. In Cloud Computing, the story is the same, as the secure processing of personal data represents a huge challenge The main focus is to to preserve and protect personally identifiable information (PII) of individuals, customers, businesses, governments and organisations. The current use of anonymization techniques is not quite efficient because of its failure to use the structure of the datasets under consideration and inability to use a metric that balances the usefulness of information with privacy preservation. In this work, an adaptive lossy decomposition algorithm was developed for preserving privacy in cloud computing. The algorithm uses the foreign key associations to determine the generalizations possible for any attribute in the database. It generates penalties for each obscured attribute when sharing and proposes an optimal decomposition of the relation. Postgraduate database of Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Nigeria and Adult database provided at the UCIrvine Machine Learning Repository were used for the evaluation. The result shows a system that could be used to improve privacy in cloud computing.

This study aim to attempt mapping out the Land Use or Land Cover (LULC) status of Regional Project Coordination Committee (RPCC) between 2009-2019 with a view of detecting the land consumption rate and the changes that has taken place using RS and GIS techniques; serving as a precursor to the further study on urban induced variations or change in weather pattern of the cityn Rangpur City Corporation(RCC) is the main administrative functional area for both of Rangpur City and Rangpur division and experiencing a rapid changes in the field of urban sprawl, cultural and physical landscape,city growth. These agents of Land use or Land cover (LULC) varieties are responsible for multi-dimensional problems such as traffic congestion, waterlogging, and solid waste disposal, loss of agricultural land. In this regard, this study fulfills LULC changes by using Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and Remote Sensing (RS) as well as field survey was conducted for the measurement of change detection. The sources of data were Landsat 7 ETM and landsat 8 OLI/TIRS of both C1 level 1. Then after correcting the data, geometrically and radiometrically change detection and combined classification (supervised & unsupervised) were used. The study finds LULC changes built-up area, water source, agricultural land, bare soil in a change of percentage is 17.23, 2.58, -9.94, -10.19 respectively between 2009 and 2019. Among these changes, bare soil is changed to a great extent, which indicates the expansion of urban areas is utilizing the land to a proper extent. Keywords: Urban expansion; land use; land cover; remote sensing; geographic information system (GIS); Rangpur City Corporation(RCC). References Al Rifat, S. A., & Liu, W. (2019). 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(2008). Impact of land use and land cover change on the water balance of a large agricultural watershed: Historical effects and future directions. Water Resources Research, 44(7). doi:10.1029/2007wr006644 Copyright (c) 2019 Geosfera Indonesia Journal and Department of Geography Education, University of Jember This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share A like 4.0 International License

Rapid urbanization rates impact significantly on the nature of Land Cover patterns of the environment, which has been evident in the depletion of vegetal reserves and in general modifying the human climatic systems (Henderson, et al., 2017; Kumar, Masago, Mishra, & Fukushi, 2018; Luo and Lau, 2017). This study explores remote sensing classification technique and other auxiliary data to determine LULCC for a period of 50 years (1967-2016). The LULCC types identified were quantitatively evaluated using the change detection approach from results of maximum likelihood classification algorithm in GIS. Accuracy assessment results were evaluated and found to be between 56 to 98 percent of the LULC classification. The change detection analysis revealed change in the LULC types in Minna from 1976 to 2016. Built-up area increases from 74.82ha in 1976 to 116.58ha in 2016. Farmlands increased from 2.23 ha to 46.45ha and bared surface increases from 120.00ha to 161.31ha between 1976 to 2016 resulting to decline in vegetation, water body, and wetlands. The Decade of rapid urbanization was found to coincide with the period of increased Public Private Partnership Agreement (PPPA). Increase in farmlands was due to the adoption of urban agriculture which has influence on food security and the environmental sustainability. The observed increase in built up areas, farmlands and bare surfaces has substantially led to reduction in vegetation and water bodies. The oscillatory nature of water bodies LULCC which was not particularly consistent with the rates of urbanization also suggests that beyond the urbanization process, other factors may influence the LULCC of water bodies in urban settlements. Keywords: Minna, Niger State, Remote Sensing, Land Surface Characteristics References Akinrinmade, A., Ibrahim, K., & Abdurrahman, A. (2012). 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ANTI-DIABETIC EFFECTS OF ETHANOL LEAF EXTRACT OF ONIONS (Allium cepa) ON ALLOXAN-INDUCED DIABETIC WISTAR ALBINO RATS Choji Solomon S. Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Natural and Applied Sciences, Plateau State University, Bokkos. P.M. B 2012, Jos. Nigeria. Chojisolomon@gmail.com +2347065752410 Damla Faith U. Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Natural and Applied Sciences, Plateau State University, Bokkos. P.M. B 2012, Jos. Nigeria Barde Larry A. Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Natural and Applied Sciences, Plateau State University, Bokkos. P.M. B 2012, Jos. Nigeria Zakka Riyang. Department of Food Science and Technology, Faculty of Agricultural Science, Federal University Wukari. P.M.B 1020 Adegbite Adeshola. Ladoke Akintola University of Technology. Ogbomoso. Oyo State. Abstract. Diabetes is a chronic disease characterised by high blood glucose level and abnormal metabolism of carbohydrates, protein and fat. The condition is characterised by persistent hyperglycaemia. Allium cepa leaf is a functional food used in traditional medicine for the treatment of diabetes mellitus. The use of plants especially vegetable as antidiabetic remedies have added interest of joining two basic diabetes mellitus control factors: food and medication. The ethanol extract of Allium cepa leaf was investigated for antidiabetic effects using alloxan- induced diabetic wistar albino rats. Wistar albino rats were randomly divided into six groups; Group A rats were non-diabetic control. Diabetes was induced in groups B, C, D, E and F by single intraperitoneal injection of alloxan (150mg/kg body weight). Group B were not treated and served as negative control group. Group C were treated with glibenclamide (5mg/kg body weight), thus served as postive control group. Groups D, E and F were treated with 200, 300 and 400 mg/kg body weight of the extract respectively for a period of two weeks through intraperitoneal route. The effect of treatment with the doses of the extract and standard drug were studied on blood glucose level, total serum cholesterol and body weight. Allium Cepa extract produced a dose- dependent significant reduction in the blood glucose level when compared with that of the control group. Significant total serum cholesterol reduction was observed at 300 and 400mg/kg. An observed decrease in body weight of the negative control group was recorded and significant increase for all other groups. The findings from this study indicate that the crude extract of Allium cepa leaf caused a significant hypoglycaemic and hypocholesterolemic activity in alloxan-induced diabetic rats thus, validates its use in ethno – medicine for the control of diabetes mellitus. KEY WORDS: Diabetes mellitus, Allium cepa, Alloxan, Blood glucose, Cholesterol Glibenclamide. 1.0 INTRODUCTION. Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is a group of metabolic disorders associated with disturbances in the metabolism of fuel molecules due to absolute deficiency of insulin, insufficient insulin secretion and / or its secretion [1]. It is a disorder that affects the body’s ability to make or use insulin. Insulin is a hormone produced in the pancreas that helps transport glucose (blood sugar) from the bloodstream into the cells so they can break it down and use it for fuel. People cannot live without insulin [2]. It is also a widespread endocrine disorder that is associated with considerable morbidity and mortality and is found in all population throughout the world [3] Despite the presence of anti-diabetic drugs in the pharmaceutical market, the treatment of diabetes with medicinal plants is often successful. Herbal medicine and plant components with insignificant toxicity and less or no side effect are notable therapeutic options for the treatment of this disease around the world [4]. The most common herbal active ingredients used in treating diabetes are flavonoids, tannins, phenols and alkaloids [5]. The existence of these compounds implies the importance of the anti-diabetic properties of these plants [4]. Allium cepa is one of the recognised medicinal plants known to possess several medicinal properties including lowering of blood pressure, antiseptic, hypoglycaemic and hypocholesterolemic activity [6]. In the rural communities, many people depend solely on medicinal plants for the treatment of diabetes due to its easy accessibility, affordability and availability even when the efficacy of the herbal remedies has not been established [6]. Dietary therapy is unarguably the best treatment for diabetes. The diabetic diet should be carefully monitored to minimize the load placed on the blood glucose regulating mechanism. The use of plants, especially vegetables, by the population as antidiabetic remedies has added interest of joining two basic diabetes mellitus control factors: food and medication [7]. This research is thus geared towards finding a medicinal plant that will not only increase the energy content of diabetics but also lower glycaemic index properties for the management of diabetic pressures in our society. 2.0 MATERIALS AND METHODS. 2.1 Materials. 2.1.1 Chemicals and Reagents. Baker Ltd Dagenham, England, BDH Chemicals Ltd; Poole England, Sigma Chemicals, St Louis, USA, Emzor Pharmaceuticals Industry Ltd, Nigeria and Randox Laboratories. London, UK. 2.1.2 Plant The Allium cepa leaves used for the experiment was bought from Barkin Ladi Market, Plateau State, Nigeria. The plants were identified by Professor Pob Poppva in the Department of Botany, University of Jos, Plateau State. A voucher specimen was deposited in the herbarium unit of the department. 2.1.3 Experimental Animals. A total of thirty-six (36) adult male Wistar albino rats weighing 80 to 150g and twelve (12) mice were used for the experiment. The experimental animals were purchased from Chris Animal Farm, G.R.A. Awka. They were housed six (6) rats per cage at the experimental Animal House of Biochemistry Department, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State. They were acclimatized for two weeks under standard laboratory conditions and were maintained on water and Guinea growers mash pellet (Vital Feed Grand Cereals Nigeria Ltd, Jos, Nigeria) that was obtained from Eke Market, Awka, Anambra State. 2.2 Methods 2.2.1 Preparation of ethanol leaf extract of Allium cepa . The leaves of Allium cepa were properly washed with distilled water and dried at room temperature for three weeks. The dried leaves were then pulverised using corona manual grinding machine. The powdered samples of Allium cepa was weighed and exactly 1475g was extracted in 5 litres of 80% ethanol for 24 hours with occasional stirring, sieved and filtered using filter paper (Whatman number 1). The filtrate was then concentrated using a rotary evaporator at 600C and appeared as a dark brown gel solid. The extracts were kept in a labelled glass container and stored in a refrigerator until when required for reconstitution and administration. 2.2.2 Phytochemical Screening of Secondary metabolites(Constituents) The qualitative phytochemical screening of the ethanol leaf extract of Allium cepa was carried out using standard procedures as outlined by [8], [9]. 2.2.3 Acute toxicity and Median Lethal Dose (LD50) test of ethanol leaf extract of Allium cepa. The median Lethal Dose (LD50) was determined using Wistar albino mice as described by the modified method of [10]. Test animals were divided into six (6) groups. The first 3 groups which contain 3 animals each were given 10mg/kg, 100mg/kg and 1000mg/kg body weight of the ethanol extract of Allium Cepa leaves. The Allium Cepa extract was administered orally and was monitored for 24 hours. The last 3 groups which contain one animal each per group were then given 1600mg/kg, 2900mg/kg and 5000mg/kg body weight of the ethanol extract of Allium Cepa leaves and were observed for 24 hours. 2.2.4 Induction of Diabetes. Alloxan was prepared and induced by adopting the method of [11]. All rats, except for the normal control group were intraperitoneally injected with 150mg/kg body weight of the prepared alloxan dissolved in normal saline solution. The blood glucose levels of the rats were checked before the administration of alloxan using one touch glucometer (Fine touch, USA) and test strips. The rats were then fasted for 16 hours, but with free access to water after which they received an intraperitoneal injection of alloxan 150mg/kg body weight. The rats were orally given 20ml each of 10% glucose solution after 2 hours to prevent hypoglycaemia. The animals were allowed free access to food and water after alloxan administration. After 48 hours of the alloxan administration, blood was collected orbito-rectally and their glucose levels were checked using one touch glucometer and test strips. Diabetes was confirmed to have been induced if the glucose level was observed to be far much higher than normal (above 140mg/dl). 2.2.5 Experimental Design This study was carried out on alloxan –induced diabetic rats for two (2) weeks. A total of thirty-six (36) Wistar albino rats were used for the experiment. The albino rats were randomly divided into six (6) groups with six (6) rats in each group. The extract and the reference drug were administered intraperitoneally to the animals. Group A – Normal (non-diabetic control) Group B – Diabetic (negative) control group Group C – Diabetic (positive) control – this group received 5mg/kg body weight of glibenclamide. Group D – This group received 200mg/kg body weight of the extract. Group E – This group received 300mg/kg body weight of the extract. Group F – This group received 400mg/kg body weight of the extract The weights of the animals were carefully monitored before the induction and throughout the duration of the experiment. 2.2.6 Biochemical Assay 2.2.6.1 Blood glucose level determination Determination of the blood glucose level was done by the glucose-oxidase principle [12] using the one touch instrument and results were reported as mg/dl [13]. 2.2.6.2 Determination of total serum cholesterol. The cholesterol of the serum was oxidised to tetraene derivative by ferric ions derived from ferric perchlorate using four different test tubes that were marked test, control, standard and blank. The absorbance was measured (using spectrophotometer) at 590nm wavelength and compared with that of a pure solution of cholesterol [14]

The reinvigorated approach by stakeholders towards Farm Mechanization has given birth to emerging fears in the existing relationship between mechanized agriculture and traditional land occupancy systems in Nigeria. The increased importation of agricultural machines into the country gave room for cropland growth that butt in farm lands acquired by rural farmers through customary ways. This paper examines these fears in four segments. The first segment searches the unstable land occupancy systems in Nigeria that have showed an elegant equilibrium relationship between constitutions and traditional acts. The second observes the acceptance of Agricultural mechanization and the expanding relevance of tractors. The third scrutinizes the different fears, aggravated by population increase, which come in being as mechanization overshoots on traditionally secured lands. These fears result in to the abuse of labour, continuous land seizures, and the imposing of rural farmers into a blank in which few market options live. To assist relief these fears, the final segment recommends the moderating of large Agricultural machines growth and the systematic improvement of land occupancy systems in preparation for more privatization. By marrying land occupancy systems and Farm mechanization, the environments will survive for more judicious evolution in Nigeria.

Although Urban Agriculture (UA) is widely practiced in several Nigerian cities, it faces several challenges such as insufficient data on the practice, non-recognition of UA as a land use by Nigerian urban land laws, uncoordinated practice of UA, lack of support services for urban farmers such as providing access to improved seedlings, pesticides, technical training, machinery, medicine, etc, overt discrimination against female farmers in terms of denial of land ownership rights, limited access to markets, inputs, credit, etc. The strategic use of Renewable energy in UA operations can address some of these challenges and contribute significantly to the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Nigerian cities. In Ibadan, the energy mix favors large scale use of biomass, particularly the fermentation of animal waste in biogas digesters to produce fertilizer and methane gas. This promotes local energy independence from inefficient and centralized power stations and grids and energy security. Since 2015, Lifeforte International High School, Awotan, Ibadan has been the recipient of the International School Award, an international benchmarking scheme of the British Council. This award is meant to encourage primary and secondary school students in partner schools to develop global citizenship skills such as empathy, critical and creative thinking, conflict resolution, communication, collaboration and taking action. Such skills are meant to empower these students to become solution providers to global problems such as poverty, hunger, inequality, climate change, etc. Lifeforte seeks to consolidate on its successful crop harvest on its school farm by building a biogas digester on it. This facility will produce fertilizer and methane gas. A Business model will mobilize the proceeds from the sale of gas to train local farmers, thereby strengthening their capacity to operate their own digesters for increased crop yield, higher income and local energy independence and security.

Groundnut roasting for oil extraction is a common practice among local women in Nigeria. As a result of this a manually operated groundnut roaster was developed in the Institute of agricultural Research (IAR). This machine requires human power to operate. In this study, ergonomics analysis was carried out considering a view of differences in energy expenditure on this machine using two women as subjects. A hand ergometer was used to calibrate the two subjects. From the results obtained, the roaster consumes an average of 3250J/m and 3400J/m from subjects A and B respectively. Keywords— Ergonomics, Groundnut roaster, Energy, Women, Ergometer

The production of sugarcane is increasing in Nigeria nowadays. Juice extracted from sugarcane can be used extensively in manufacturing brown sugar, industrial sugar and bioethanol fuel through the process of fermentation; hence, the need to develop a machine that can extract juice from sugarcane effectively. This work involves the design, fabrication and performance evaluation of sugarcane juice extractor. The machine was designed to extract juice from sugarcane at small scale level suitable for small and medium scale sugarcane processors. The prototype machine was designed, fabricated and assembled in the Department of Agricultural and Bio-resources Engineering, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. The machine consists of rollers, gears, cane guide, juice collector, frame, and prime mover. The developed machine was evaluated using koma variety of cane and obtained an output capacity of 148.2 kg/h and extraction efficiency of 67.44%, respectively at a speed of 30 rpm. The production cost stood at N 90,000 which is affordable and therefore recommended for small scale processors.

The demand for timber is unlimited as it continues to increase rapidly in Nigeria. There is problem of undocumented properties of unpopular timber species used locally, especially in developing countries such as Nigeria. This research therefore aimed at characterizing and grading of three (3) less-used timber species in Nigeria for structural uses. Ayunre (Albizia zygia), Eku (Brachystegia eurycoma) and Ire (Funtunia elastica) timber species were obtained from different sawmills in Ilorin, Nigeria and preparation of various test specimens are in accordance with British Standards BS 373: 1957. A total of 300 specimens were used in determining the strength characteristics of the timber species a 300 kN capacity Testometric Universal Testing Machine (UTM) at Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Laboratory, University of Ilorin. Twenty (20) specimens for each timber species were tested for structural/strength properties according to the British Standard. Results show that the timber species had average moisture contents of 12.47, 11.78 and 12.71% for Ayunre, Eku and Ire, respectively. For density classification, Ayunre and Eku were classified as heavy wood and Ire as light wood. The results obtained provided quantitative details of the strength properties of selected timber species which can be used in determining the application of these timber species for structural applications. The timber species were, therefore graded according to NCP 2 (1973), EN 338 (2009) and BS 5268 (2002).

In South Western Nigeria, after the harvesting of maize cobs from the field, large amount of maize stock remains as agricultural residues and wastes. The maize stock constitutes a menace to the environment if not property handled. In this study, densification equipment was designed, fabricated and tested using maize stock grind as raw material. The equipment consists of mixer/ moisture conditioner and a pelleting machine. The power rating for the mixer/moisture conditioner is 0.069 kW with an input capacity of 81 kg/h while the power consumption of the pellet machine is 0.8 kW with throughout capacity of 40 kg/h. The result of the test showed that the highest product temperature, which gives an indication of the quality and durability of the pellets produced was 930C at 0.8 mm hammer mill screen size, 10% moisture content and 150 rpm die speed, at this temperature the machine is operating at optimum efficiency of 74%. High product temperature is an important parameter during pelleting/briquetting operations because it gives the degree of compaction and binding of the pellets/briquettes. The densification equipment for organic biomass was developed using locally sourced materials as a means of converting agricultural wastes into pellets for domestic cooking and cottage industry uses.

The study aimed at evaluating the functional performance of a developed portable ginger rhizomes slicing machine. The study was conducted at various levels of impeller speed, impeller gang and slicing compartment in the Department of Agricultural and Bioresources Engineering, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria between April 2018 and June 2018. A factorial experiment in a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) was used. The indices for the performance evaluation were the Slicing Efficiency and Throughput Capacity. The machine was powered by one horse power petrol engine and ginger moisture content of 77.44%. Data collected were subjected to statistical analysis using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) to test the significance level of the experimental factors and their interactions; and those found significant were further subjected to Duncan Multiple Range Test (DMRT) for mean separations at (P = .05), respectively. The results showed that, the ANOVA for all the factors evaluated and their interactions on Slicing Efficiency were highly significant at (P ≤ .01). However, the ANOVA for the factors evaluated on Throughput capacity were highly significant but interaction between type of compartment and speed of impeller was not significant at (P =.05). The mean Slicing Efficiencies for the cushion and spring compartments were: 63.5 and 50% while the mean Throughput Capacities were: 58.32 and 6.32 kg/h, respectively.

Large quantities of agricultural residues produced in Nigeria can provide an alternative way in meeting her energy demand through briquetting. Biomass briquetting is the process of compacting raw biomass materials (wood, charcoal, crop residues, and animal waste) into standard mini-brick units as solid fuel for improved handling and efficiency. A small scale, 40 bar hydraulic operated piston briquetting machine with a capacity of 120 briquettes per hour was developed. The machine comprised of hydraulic, control, press, power, ejection and frame sections, and adopted the binder-less technology. Sawdust and rice husk were used as sample biomass materials. The compressed biomass obtained from the developed machine in form of briquettes had mean diameter and height of 30 mm ±0.02 and 16 mm ±0.01 respectively. The force, deflection, and Young Modulus at peak were 16.30 N, 3.29 mm and 548.11 N/mm2 for Sawdust Briquettes (SB) respectively, while 12.50 N, 1.49 mm; and 481 N/mm2 were obtained for Rice Husk Briquettes (RHB). The yield stress for SB and RHB were 12 and 9 N/mm2. The heating values obtained for SB and RHB were 51.0 Kcal/g and 39.4 Kcal/g respectively. The output efficiency of the machine was 88% indicating a satisfactory performance of the machine.

Planting of turmeric has been a challenge to the farmers in Nigeria due to the absence of planting machine. The farmers are left to the traditional method of planting with hoes and cutlasses. This method is time consuming, labour intensive, associated with human drudgery and a high demand for human energy. As a result, a mechanical planter was designed and fabricated. The main objective of the study is to develop and evaluate the performance of a tractor- drawn turmeric planter. The planter was designed, fabricated and tested in the Agricultural and Bioresources Department of The Federal University of Technology, Minna. It consists of a ground drive wheel, hopper, metering system furrow opener, residue cutting edge, furrow closing device press wheel and power transmission mechanism. The performance tests of the fabricated machine were carried out using three levels of turmeric rhizome lengths (30 mm, 45 mm and 60 mm) at three levels of operational speeds (8km/h 10km/h and 12km/h). The results revealed that there was no steady pattern in the increase or decrease of miss index with increase in turmeric rhizome length and machine operational speed. The highest percentage turmeric rhizome miss index of 35% was recorded for turmeric rhizome length of 30cm at machine operational speed of 10km/h whereas the lowest percentage turmeric rhizome miss index of 15% was obtained for turmeric rhizome length of 60cm at the machine operational speed of 12km/h. The machine operational speed and size of the turmeric rhizomes affect the field capacity of the machine. The highest capacity of 0.96ha/h was recorded at the highest operational speed of 12km/h. The lowest field capacity of 0.63ha/h was recorded at the lowest machine speed of 8km/h. The developed machine could reduce drudgery involved in manual turmeric planting and save about substantial amount of labour and operating time.

As a result of increase in population growth and urbanization, the demand for timber in construction industry has exponentially increased. Common and popular timber in the industry do not meet up with the high demand and attention has been shifted to unpopular timber species such as Bush mango (Irvingia gabonensis) and Ire (Funtumia elastica) but their properties are yet to be fully researched and documented. This research therefore aimed at characterizing and grading of two less-used timber species in Kwara State, Nigeria for structural applications. The selected timber species were obtained from Irewolede Sawmill in Ilorin, Kwara State and various test specimens were prepared according to the BS 373: 1957 using Small Clear Size Specimens of Timber. A total of 200 specimens free from visible defects were used for the determination of the strength properties using the Universal Testing Machine of 300 kN capacity at the Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, University of Ilorin in accordance with BS 373: 1957 (revised in 1999). It was revealed that Bush mango and Ire had average moisture contents of 13.95 and 12.71%, respectively. For density classification, Bush mango and Ire were classified as medium and light wood, respectively. Bush mango and Ire were therefore graded according to NCP 2 (1973) and BS 5268 (2002) and assigned to their corresponding strength classes. Hence, Bush mango can be applied as bridge beam and railway sleepers while Ire can be used for lightweight furniture.

Sorghum is a major source of food for most families and as raw material to many industries in Nigeria. Cleaning is among the most important post-harvest operation after threshing. However, manual cleaning of crop is quite tedious, time and labour intensive. A prototype thresher has already been developed at Institute of Agricultural Research (IAR) but yet it has been associated with many difficulties during operation. Among the problems of IAR prototype sorghum thresher are low operating performance such as higher scatter loss and low cleaning efficiency thus the need for modification to improve the above mentioned parameters. This study was undertaken to modify the cleaning system of the IAR sorghum thresher with the aim of minimizing the drudgery involved in its operation and to improve its performance. The major modifications were on shaking mechanism and sieves. The number of sieves was increased from one to three while the connecting rode for shaking mechanism was changed from horizontal to vertical orientation. The sizes of the pulleys were also changed. Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) experimental design was used for determining the effect of moisture content, speed and feed rate on the cleaning performance of the machine. The maximum performance achieved were 99.95 %, 5.45 %, and 250 kg/h for cleaning efficiency, scatter loss and throughput capacity respectively.