http://196.220.128.81:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/143 Sun, 26 Apr 2026 23:57:12 GMT 2026-04-26T23:57:12Z http://196.220.128.81:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/5671 URBAN HOUSEHOLDS’ PERCEPTION AND WILLINGNESS-TO-PAY FOR SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT SERVICES IN ONDO STATE, NIGERIA. ADEOLA, ABIMBOLA JOEL This study examined urban households’ perception and willingness to pay for solid waste management services in Ondo State. The study specifically described the socio-economic characteristics of urban households’ in the study area; identify methods of disposing solid waste in the study area; determine factors influencing major solid waste method adopted or preferred by the households in solid waste disposal in the study area; determine the factors affecting respondents’ awareness level to the effects of indiscriminate waste disposal in the study area; examine households’ perception on the effects of indiscriminate waste disposal in the study area; assess determinants of willingness-to-pay for solid waste management services among the respondents; and examine constraints militating against the use of formal solid waste management services in the study area. A multi-stage sampling procedure was employed to select 150 respondents who were interviewed, 25 in each of the selected 6 Local Governments Area within the three Senatorial Zones of Ondo State. Data were analysed using Descriptive statistics, Likert Scale, Ordered Probit, Multinomial Logit Regression and Logit Regression Model. The findings of the study revealed that majority of the respondents were male (60%) and had an average age of 45 years showing they were within their active and productive age. Also, with household size mean of 5 and average years of schooling was about 13 years which means majority had at least secondary education while the monthly income of the respondents was calculated to be approximately ₦80,000 which means each household earns within the average monthly income and can afford to pay for the services. The study identified burning as a method most widely accepted and preferred by households in disposing their solid waste and it was influenced by education, income and proximity to dumping site at 5% level of significant. As regards the awareness and perception, a high percentage of the respondents (over 80%) were aware of the services and the effects of waste mismanagement on environmental and aquatic pollution and breeding of diseases in our environment. The study highlighted income, household size and knowledge to be factors influencing respondents’ willingness to pay for solid waste services at 1% level of significant among others which were age, years of formal education and membership of an environmental association significantly at 1%, 10% and 5% respectively. The positive sign shows that an increase in the explanatory variable will increase the likelihood of respondents’ willingness to pay for solid waste management in Ondo State. M.TECH. Tue, 01 Mar 2022 00:00:00 GMT http://196.220.128.81:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/5671 2022-03-01T00:00:00Z http://196.220.128.81:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/5565 THE EFFECT OF CREDIT ON THE PRODUCTIVITY OF CASSAVA FARMERS IN OSUN STATE, NIGERIA NUBI, BABATUNDE OLUWADAMILARE The financing of agricultural activities, has been identified as an essential and crucial aspect of agriculture, as it is an important precursor needed to determine the quantity and quality of inputs in terms of: technology, materials, and labour that can be used on the farm and also greatly affect the level of productivity of farmers. One primary source of finance is credit and many farmers borrow different types of fund either from formal or informal sources. The study examined the effect of credit on the productivity of cassava farmer in Osun state, Nigeria. Multistage sampling technique was used to select respondent for this study. A total of 150 respondents consisting of seventy-five credit users and seventy-five non-credit users; were used for the study. Data were collected from primary source using a well structured questionnaire and analysed using descriptive statistics (frequency distribution table, standard deviation, percentages and means) and econometric analysis (Tobit regression model, Probit regression model, Ordinary Least Square Regression Model, Chow test, Kendall’s Coefficient of concordance and Tornquist Theil Total Factor Productivity index). The result of the study shows that majority (61.3%) of non-users of credit applied for credit but did not obtain it, 21% reported of high interest rate, thus they could not complete the requirement of obtaining credit. In addition 89.3% of non-credit users sourced capital through personal savings. This study also revealed that majority (56.0%) of credit-users obtained credit on time. The study furthers show that majority (52%) of credit users requested for a credit amount between ₦250,001 and ₦500,000 per anum but majority (49.3%) only obtained ₦250,000 and below. The probit regression analysis revealed that farm size, educational status, marital status, farming experience and membership of association positively influenced cassava farmers’ access to credit, while age and sex negatively influenced cassava farmers’ access to credit. Farm size, education status, marital status and farm experience also determined the amount of credit obtained by cassava farmers in Osun state. Furthermore, the productivity of cassava farmers is greatly influenced by farm size, years of education, farming experience and amount of credit. The study concluded that majority of credit users experience higher level of productivity when compared to their counterpart (non-users of credit). The following were the recommendations given base of the result of the study. Good and pliable feeder road should be constructed by the State government along the route that leads to farms this will consequently reduce the cost of transportation and increase farmers’ profit, access to credit should be made easy without cumbersome bureaucratic process. M.AGRIC THESIS Tue, 01 Nov 2022 00:00:00 GMT http://196.220.128.81:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/5565 2022-11-01T00:00:00Z http://196.220.128.81:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/5295 ASSESSMENT OF PRICE INTERGRATION OF COWPEA MARKETS IN GOMBE STATE, NIGERIA JONATHAN, JOEL ALI This study analysed urban and rural cowpea markets integration in Gombe State, Nigeria. It specifically examined the socioeconomic characteristics of cowpea marketers, examined the trend in the price of cowpea at the urban and rural markets and examined whether there was a long run relationship between urban and rural market prices of cowpea. Multistage sampling method was used to select one hundred and fifty (150) respondents and structure questionnaire was administered on them to collect the required data. The secondary data used for the study was obtained from Gombe State Agricultural Programme (GSADP). The methods of data analysis were descriptive statistics, price trends analysis and co-integration. The descriptive statistics such as tables, frequencies and percentages were used to describe the socioeconomic characteristics of the respondents. Co-integration was used to establish the integration in cowpea prices between urban and rural markets. The result of analysis of socio-economic characteristics shows that 2.5% of the respondents were less than 20years of age in the urban markets, while only 5.7% of the respondents were less than 20years of age in the rural markets. The percentage of respondents that were between 21 and 30 years of age in the urban markets was 8.8% and 27.1% of the respondents in the rural markets. About 15% of the respondents in the urban markets were between 31 to 40 years of age while 34.3% of the rural respondents were between the ages of 31 to 40 years of age. The urban markets had 99% of male respondents and 1% female respondents, while the rural markets had 81.4% male respondent and 18.6% female respondents. About 32.5% of the respondents in the urban markets had primary education while 37.1% of the respondents in the rural had primary education. In the urban markets, 37.5% of the respondent had education up to secondary school level whereas 30% of the respondents in the rural had secondary education. The maximum price of cowpea in the urban area was found to be ₦450/kg which was obtained in July 2017. However the minimum price in the urban area was obtained in January 2010 at the rate of ₦90/kg depicting fluctuation in prices across various seasons. Similarly, for rural cowpea markets, the maximum price attained was ₦400/kg in July, 2017, whereas the minimum price obtained was ₦80/kg January, 2013. The price of cowpea was not stable across seasons in both urban and rural markets. The co-integration test result for cowpea prices indicate one co-integrating equation in the market pairs at 5% level of significance. Since the test statistics was greater than the critical value for the market pairs. The null hypothesis (r=0) is therefore rejected at 5 percent level of significance. This means that the two markets are linked together in the long run despite a potential short run divergence between them. The result of pair-wise granger causality test for cowpea markets has shown one significant directional (one-way) granger causality between the rural and urban cowpea markets. Rural markets prices was however stronger as it granger caused urban prices at 5% level significance. In conclusion the study shows that there are male dominant marketers of cowpea in the urban and rural markets, market prices are cointegrated. Price relative stability to improve rural markets/farmers in getting what is commiserates with cost and obtains profit. Governments’ efforts should be geared at the provision of rural-oriented economical markets with available facilities in both rural and urban markets for cowpea. Improved varieties should be made available for the growers, so as to increase the volume for marketing and inter region marketing, exportation. M.TECH.THESIS Wed, 01 Dec 2021 00:00:00 GMT http://196.220.128.81:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/5295 2021-12-01T00:00:00Z http://196.220.128.81:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/5294 ASSESSMENT OF COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION IN FOREST CONSERVATION IN ONDO STATE, NIGERIA AGBAJE, TOLULOPE THERESA This study assessed community participation in forest conservation in Ondo State, Nigeria. The study specifically described the socio-economic characteristics of respondents in the study area; evaluated the perception of the respondents about forest conservation; determined the awareness of any forest conservation programme among the respondents; identified different forest conservation association among the respondents; examined the perceived benefits derived by the respondents from the forest reserves; assessed the level of willingness of the community to accept a premium for conservation of forest; and identified factors that influenced the respondents willingness in forest conservation in the study area. A multi-stage sampling technique was employed to select 200 respondents. Stage one involved purposive selection of two Agricultural zones out of the four zones in the State for occupying the largest sqkm2 of forest reserve. Stage two involved purposive selection of two Local Government Area (LGAs) from each of the selected Zones that are identified as having forest reserve in the State. In the third stage, five rural communities around the forest reserves were selected randomly from each LGA. The last stage involved random selection of 10 respondents from each community. Data obtained were analysed using descriptive statistics, Likert Scale, Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) and Double-bounded Logit Model. The findings of the study revealed that average age of the respondents were 41.90 years which indicate that they were in their active age and most (49.5%) of them had secondary school completed. Also, larger proportion (63.0%) of the respondents were indigene of the villages around forest reserve and some (35.0%) of them had lived in the area for more than 21 years. On the average, the distance of the respondents from their home to forest was 2.68km while their mean income earned on monthly basis was ₦27,580. All the respondents have no access to social amenities. From the respondents’ perception, it shows that they strongly agreed that forest protection programme is necessary to sustain the forest reserve with mean score of 4.7. Larger proportion (65.0%) of the respondents were aware of forest degradation while some (29.0%) of them got their information on forest degradation from community leaders. From the result, it also shows that 49.0% of the respondents were aware of forest conservation programme (FCP) and 40.5% of them identified REDD+ (Reducing Emission from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) programme as their FCP. 44.9% of the respondents are fully involved in planning stage on how to control illegal logging in REDD+ programme. Most (85.0%) of the respondents harnessed fuel wood from the forest reserve while 81.0% of them were using the reserve for agricultural production. Furthermore, larger proportion (95.0%) of respondents were willing to accept a premium to conserve forest reserve and the exact mean of WTA monthly was ₦42,325.00. The double-bounded logit regression model showed that bid amount, age, marital status, income and forest distance were factors that significantly influenced the respondents WTA premium for forest protection. This study concluded that the respondents` were aware of forest degradation, and the importance of maintaining, conserving and sustaining forest reserve. In addition, the respondents` were willing to accept a premium for forest conservation. The study recommended that since they are willing to accept premium, Government and other Stakeholders should use the opportunity to involve the rural dwellers in conservation program so that forest management will be participatory in nature. M.TECH.THESIS Wed, 01 Sep 2021 00:00:00 GMT http://196.220.128.81:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/5294 2021-09-01T00:00:00Z