Research
Effect of Rural- Urban Labour Migration on Rural Household Livelihoods and Rural Environment in Delta State, Nigeria
There has been increasing research interest in rural migration in recent times. Rural migration is the movement of people from one geographical location to another. The rural areas are the banks of the world’s natural resources such as land and forests which house timber forest and non-timber resources. This study was carried out to ascertain the effect of rural-urban migration on household livelihoods and rural environment in Delta State, Nigeria. It assesses a conceptual framework involving rural household livelihoods as an integrative mediating factor between rural-urban labour migration and the rural environment of Delta State, Nigeria. Data were collected through household surveys and key informant interviews from six villages. The results reject the null hypothesis that labour-migrant and non-labour-migrant households do not differ significantly in livelihood activities, including agricultural production, agricultural technology use, income and consumption, and resource use and management. Implications for future environmental outcomes of rural labour emigration and the related natural resource management and policy in rural push areas are discussed.
Urban- Rural Migration In Delta State, Nigeria: Implications For Agricultural Extension Service
This study was conducted to examine urban-rural migration in Delta State, Nigeria and its implication for extension service. Data were collected from 180 respondents who were purposively selected. It was discovered that most of the migrants were males, mostly in the age range of 50 years and above; mostly married and had one form of formal education or the other; had average household size of 6 persons. Most of them have spent 6-10years in the rural area and their migration was mostly prompted by retirement. The selected socio economic variables of the migrants had significant relationship with the decisions of the migrants to engage in agricultural activities. Implications of the findings for extension service include identifying and training the migrants on the current skills and technologies of agriculture, taking advantages of their level of exposure to make them opinion leaders and identifying them a year to their retirement and giving them training in agricultural enterprise of their choice for their post retirement life.
Influence Of Farmersa Group Cohesion On Adoption Of Climate Change Adaptation Strategies In Delta State, Nigeria
This study was conducted to assess the influence of farmers’ group cohesion on climate change adaptation measures in Delta State, Nigeria. Data for the study were collected from 143 arable crop farmers drawn from the three agricultural zones of the state. Data were collected with the use of descriptive and inferential statistics. Most of the farmers subscribed to groups for access to extension service and credit facilities. The various groups were cohesive and the level of adoption of climate change adaptation strategies was high. Group cohesion influenced the high level of adoption of climate change adaptation methods .The major barriers to adaptation to climate change were lack of money and scarcity of technologies. It was recommended that farmers should be encouraged to continue to subscribe to farmers’ group and should be given credit through the groups by the government and more technologies on climate change adaptation should be transferred to farmers.
Effect of settlement patterns on cassava production in Delta State, Nigeria
This study investigated the effect of settlement patterns on cassava production in Delta State, Nigeria. A sample size of 250 cassava farmers was used for this study. Data were collected with use of questionnaire and analyzed with the use of descriptive statistics such as frequency counts, percentages and mean derived from four Point Likert-type scale.The relationship between cassava production and the distances from the farmers’ home to their farms was tested with the use of Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation (PPMC). The study revealed that the majority of farmers (77.2%) live in nuclear settlements, and as such affect their output, due to trekking long distances to their farms and lesser energy was used in the farm work, inadequate access to markets, and high cost of transporting farm produce, were major challenges facing the farm settlers. It was found that the farmers no longer practice dual residence due to security reasons. It is recommended that farmers should practice dual residence in order to have enough time for their crops and to reduce stress and waste of time during farming season. Extension agents should take into cognizance the settlement patterns of the farmers and design ways on how farm innovations can be disseminated to them.
Farmersa groups growth trend in Delta State, Nigeria
This study investigated the growth trend of farmers’ groups in Delta State, Nigeria.Primarily data were collected from 77 respondents randomly selected from 20 randomly selected farmers’ groups, while secondary data were collected from 20 randomly selected farmer’s groups records. The Data were measured with the use of frequency counts and percentages, contingent tables and inferential statistics was analyzed with the use of ANOVA. Most of the groups experienced dwindling membership strength and decreased payment of monthly subscription fees. The individual members rarely had access to credit and cheap inputs. There was significant difference in membership strength in the period (2002-2011) under study. Implication for sustainable agricultural production and extension service was emphasized. It was recommended that extension agents should organize leadership training, at regular intervals, for the group leaders; leaders of the various groups should endeavour to disseminate information on any meeting to members adequately and early enough and extension agents should fix their meetings with group members’ participation.
