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The study was on effects of banditry on income and livelihoods of yam marketers in Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State, Nigeria. Banditry is one the major confronting production and marketing of yam in Shiroro Local Government of Niger State. The activities on banditry over the years have paralysed economic activities since majority of the populace derived their livelihood from farming. The menace posed by banditry has affected rural populace income livelihood thereby making them sojourning in the neighbouring Local Government Area. Multi-stage sampling technique was used to select 197 of yam marketers. Data were collected using structured  questionnaire and interview scheduled. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics (percentages, frequency, count and mean), multiple regression and livelihoods status index. The results revealed that majority of respondents were male with long year of experience in yam marketing. The coefficient of low participation on weekly contribution (Adashi) (1.9823.93) was negatively significant at 10% level of probability. Also, 84.8% of the respondents in the study area were of very low livelihood status. Displacement of yam marketers from their native markets to nearby markets (x̅=2.42) and rising of the price of yam stead (x̅=2.20) were the major constraints faced by yam  marketers. It was recommended that yam marketers should diversify into other income generating activities in order to improve their livelihood status and government should collaborate with village heads for provision of security for yam marketers.

Biased estimates of population status are a pervasive conservation problem. This problem has plagued assessments of commercial exploitation of marine species and can threaten the sustainability of both populations and fisheries.We develop a computer-intensive approach to minimize adverse effects of persistent estimation bias in assessments by optimizing operational harvest measures (harvest control rules) with closed-loop simulation of resourcemanagement feedback systems: management strategy evaluation. Using saithe (Pollachius virens), a bottom water, apex predator in the North Sea, as a realworld case study, we illustrate the approach by first diagnosing robustness of the existing harvest control rule and then optimizing it through propagation of biases (overestimated stock abundance and underestimated fishing pressure) along with select process and observation uncertainties. Analyses showed that severe biases lead to overly optimistic catch limits and then progressively magnify the amplitude of catch fluctuation, thereby posing unacceptably high overharvest risks. Consistent performance of management strategies to conserve the resource can be achieved by developing more robust control rules. These rules explicitly account for estimation bias through a computational grid search for a set of control parameters (threshold abundance that triggers management action, B trigger , and target exploitation rate, F target ) that maximize yield while keeping stock abundance above a precautionary level. When the biases become too severe, optimized control parameters-for saithe, raising B trigger and lowering F target -would safeguard against a overharvest risk (<3.5% probability of stock depletion) and provide short-term stability in catch limit (<20% year-to-year variation), thereby minimizing disruption to fishing communities. The precautionary approach to fine-tuning adaptive risk management through management strategy evaluation offers a powerful tool to better shape sustainable harvest boundaries for exploited resource populations when estimation bias persists. By explicitly accounting for emergent sources of

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The study investigated the information and training sources used by rice farmers in North central, Nigeria. A total of 320 respondents were selected and interviewed using structured interview schedule. The respondents were of two categories, the participants and non-participants of the intervention programme. The data were analyzed using frequency, percentages, mean, ranking and chi square. Majority (80.6%) of the non-participants had been cultivating rice for more than 20 years and it was only few (10%) of the participants that had been cultivating rice for more than 20 years, majority (91.3%) of the participants had above 2.5 ha and only about 33.1% of the non-participants had rice farm size above 2.5 ha. Many of the non-participants (57.5%) had up to 3 different plots of rice farm, while the majority of the participants (51.3%) had up to 2 different plots for rice farming. Non-participants and participants claimed that other farmers (93.1%) and USAID/Market field officers (100%) respectively were their main sources of information. Training perception indicates that selection of high yielding varieties with the mean score of 3.95 ranked 1 st , selection of healthy seeds with a mean score of 3.92 ranked 2 nd and fertilizer use ranked 3 rd as the most relevant improved technologies on which training was received. The study also reveals that training was positively associated with adoption, the result of the paired mean difference between the output (35.863) and income (149113.8) of participants and non-participants showed clearly significant mean deference. Implying that training and adoption of improved rice package had a positive and significant effect on output and income. It was recommended that frequent training of the rice farmers in the study area should be given topmost priority so that the farmers can obtain adequate information and, consequently, obtain optimum yield from the adoption of improved rice packages.