Salami M.F.

Effect of water sources on the health of rural children: evidence from household survey in Kwara state, Nigeria

R.O. Babatunde, M.F. Salami, J.O. Aroke

ABSTRACT. Majority of the disease outbreak in developing countries have been attributed to contaminated water with children being the worst hit. Therefore, this study analyzed the effect of water sources on the health status of children under the age of 5 years in Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara State, Nigeria. Primary data was obtained through the use of semi-structured interviews; 150 households with at least one child under five years were interviewed however; only 146 questionnaires were completed and found valid for analysis. The data was subjected to descriptive statistics, such as pie chart, bar charts. The results show that majority (58.2%) of the children were males. Also, most (83.5%) of the children were infants, i.e. within the age range of 0-2 years. Most (96%) of the households had access to improved water sources of which protected dug well is the most accessible. Many (42%) of the households reported that they experience periods of water shortage, this explains why water washed diseases (disease associated with poor hygiene in the face of water scarcity) was the most predominant diseases reported among the children with 70 reported cases. These were closely followed by the water related insect vector diseases with 64 reported cases and then water borne diseases with 48 reported cases. Water based diseases rarely occurred in the study area. This study, therefore, recommends that effort should be geared towards provision of safe water all year round for the farming households. Also, insecticide treated nets should be made available for the children in the farming households so as to prevent insect bites.

Keywords: water washed diseases; incidence rate; dysentery; malaria; improved water sources; water shortage.

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Effect of Market Participation on Food Security Among Smallholder Sorghum Farmers in Kwara State, Nigeria

M.F. Salami, K.K. Osasona, G.O. Akinsola, S.U.O. Akanbi, M.T. Durosaye

ABSTRACT. It is paradoxical to note that food insecurity remains a menace among many African farmers’ households. There are arguments for and against smallholder farmers’ market participation as a pathway for ensuring household food security. The paper therefore examined the market participation- food security relationship using smallholder sorghum farmers in Kwara State, as a case study. Primary data were obtained from 112 sorghum farming households using the semi-structured interview survey method. Descriptive statistic (frequencies and percentages), Crop output market participation index, Logistic regression model and Tobit regression model was used to analyse the data obtained. The result revealed that market participation positively and significantly contributes to the food security status of the sorghum farmers. Also, household size, farm output quantity, access to market information, access to credit and farm power types were the factors influencing the level of market participation in the study area. Therefore, all factors that will aid farmers’ market participation should be pursued.

Keywords: food insecurity; tobit regression; farm output; credit.

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Sustainable agricultural practices and related problems among rice farming households in Kwara state, Nigeria

K.K. Osasona, G.B. Akinsola, M.F. Salami, L.O. Adebisi, O.A. Adebisi, O. Fashola

ABSTRACT. Farmers in Nigeria are unpredictable unlike other developing countries where a good agronomic practices are used for a sustainable increase in rice production as result, the demand for rice consumption far overweighs rice production. This study presented empirical findings on the sustainable agricultural practices and its constraints among the rice farming households in one selected state of Nigeria. The study utilized primary data collected in 2019 using a four stage random sampling techniques. A total sample of 150 rice farmers was collected with the use of descriptive statistics, Likert-type scale and multinomial logistic regression model for analysis. The result indicates that the recommended sustainable agricultural practices (SAP) least adopted were the use of High Yielding Variety seed and agrochemicals probably due to their high cost. The factors that influences the full usage of SAP in rice farming were farm size, level of education, farming experience, extension contact and access to credit. Also, farm size and access to credit also influenced the partial usage of SAP. The major constraints limiting the usage were high cost of fertilizers, high cost of improved seed and unavailability agrochemicals. The study recommends that extension agents should visit local farmers more often and carry out more demonstrations on the usage of SAP.

Keywords: sustainable agriculture; rice farming households; multinomial logit; Kwara State; Nigeria.

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