The study assessed aquaculture table-size fish farmer’s activities in the Kainji Lake basin, Nigeria. Specifically, the study examined aquaculture  activities in the area, assessed market information, channels and support organizations, and identified the major constraints to aquaculture table- size fish farming in the area. A two-stage sampling technique was used to select 120 table-size fish farmers. Primary data were collected with a questionnaire and presented using descriptive statistics. The result shows that majority of the respondents were males (82.1%), with mean age of 36.7 years, 53.8% had tertiary educational qualification while 66.7% had more than six years’ experience in fish farming. Majority (92%) of the table-size fish farmers operate with less than two ponds, 51% practice earthen pond system, while 91% of the farmers engage in the business for the purpose of generating income. Majority (90%) of the farmers sell their farmed fish after six months, 80% of the sales take place at farm-gate level, 80% of the owners of the fish farms are contacted directly by fish buyers. Also, majority (53.8%) of the fish buyers are the middle men who buy and resell to other fish users (processors, consumers, farmers etc). The major constraints to table-size fish farming were inadequate capital (46.2%), poor water management (33.3%), high cost of feed (10.3%) and poor pricing (10.3%). It is therefore recommended that fish farmers should form  strong Farmer Associations to enable them combat the issues of accessing capital and poor pricing. This will aid in business expansion as the farmers will take advantage of economy of scale. Key words: aquaculture, table-size, fish, farmers

Social media is a new trend in communication and a new platform for sharing, engagement and networking in all spheres of life including agriculture. This study analysed social media mainstreaming in e-extension services delivery by the Agricultural Development Programmes (ADPs) in North CentralZone of Nigeria. Four ADPs of Kogi, Federal Capital Territory, Nasarawa and Niger states that participated in the Research Extension Farmer Input Linkage (REFIL) activities in November 2017 were purposively selected and used for the study. Secondary data were generated from the REFIL reports and descriptively analysed. Result established insufficient field extension agents to effectively reach out to1.412 million farm families in the zone. Also, the result reveals zero exclusion of social media such as Facebook, WhatsApp, Chats, YouTube and Mobile phone tools in the ADPs communication strategies. ADPs communication targets dwelled more on old media such as radio (21%) and television (50%) were costly and achieved low projected targets. Mainstreaming social media in e-extension will be more effective to reach out to farm families and overcome observed field manpower shortage problems. Modern networking tools and proactive creative measures such as Facebook, WhatsApp, YouTube, Chat, mobile phone tools of short message sending and voice call are recommended for inclusion in their communication strategies. In this regard, REFIL organisers and Federal Department of Extension should facilitate ADPs innovativeness and staff training on social media to improve competence and skills of actors in the agricultural value chain providers in extension delivery to the agribusiness community.

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The existing power differences among men, women and youths in aquaculture pre-empted the study on gender roles and economic differentials in aquaculture of Kainji Lake Basin, Nigeria. Specifically, the study assessed sources of production resources, gender roles, cost and returns and existing gender gaps in aquaculture. Using a survey design, a two-stage sampling procedure was used to select 81 males and 39 females from a population of 229 fish farmers. Data were presented using descriptive statistics and analyzed with budgetary technique and gender gap ratios. Key result shows that the men and youths had direct access to land through inheritance and purchase while the women (61%) accessed land through a family relation. The men and male youths performed majority of the gender roles involved in preparation of ponds, fingerlings stocking, fish management and post-harvest activities while the women and female youths were actively involved in fish management, liming and grading. Economic indicators show that the men and youths have a higher return on investment than the women implying that such power differences still exist. Hence, it is recommended that women should be organized in groups for empowerment. This will enable them utilize their collective strength through division of labour in fish farming.