Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License This study determines the impact of agroforestry practices on food production, income generation and poverty reduction among farming households in Oyo State, Nigeria. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select the respondents. Both descriptive statistics such as frequencies and percentages as well as inferential statistics such as Propensity Score Matching (PSM) and Foster Greer Thorbecke (FGT) analysis were used in the study. It was discovered that the propensity score distribution and common support for propensity score estimation shows the results from the covariate balancing tests both before and after matching in which the treatment (adopters) and comparison (non-adopters) groups are said to be balanced. The result of the impact of the adoption of agroforestry practices on farmers' income from the PSM analysis shows that the adoption produces a positive and significant impact on the farmers' income, while the result of the impact of the adoption on farmers' output was found to be negative, though not significant. This could be attributed to improper adoption or practices of the technologies by the farmers. It was also discovered that about 27% of the adopters fell below the poverty line ($183.25) and were therefore regarded as poor while about 67% of the non-adopters fell below the poverty line ($102.21) and can therefore be described as poor. FGT poverty index was then used to show the extent of poverty among the farming households and it was found that the adopters of agroforestry technology were faring better than the non-adopters of agroforestry technology.

The study assessed carbonated and healthy drinks consumption pattern of the undergraduate students of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), IIe –  Ife, Nigeria. Random sampling technique was employed in this study. The study relied on primary data which was collected through questionnaires. Data collected were analyzed using mean and percentages. The total number of respondents was 260 undergraduate students, which comprised 102 males and 158 females. Majority (47.3%) of the respondents were between 17 – 20 years old and were single. It was indicated that majority (49.6%) of the respondents has less than N10,000 as income level from their monthly stipend. The result indicated that the carbonated drinks that the students consume the most were Fanta and Coke. Majority (38.5%) of the respondents consume fruit smoothies while they sometimes (38.8%) consume zobo drink. The result also reveals that zobo drink has the highest percentage (76.2%) of consumption than other healthy drinks. The major factors influencing healthy drinks consumption based on individual perceptions were taste (40.4%), price (38.9%), preferences (36.2%), and  nutritional benefit (35.0%) while price (36.5%), taste (35.8%), preferences (33.5%) and availability on campus (31.5%) were the major factors influencing carbonated drinks consumption based on individual perceptions. It is therefore recommended that the Federal and State Government should ensure proper health education of undergraduates regarding the nutritional benefits of healthy drinks as well as the adverse effects of  carbonated drinks. Keywords: carbonated drinks, healthy drinks, consumption pattern, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU)

This study examined the effect of forest degradation on livelihood returns in

This study was carried out to assess effects of wood harvesting on the livelihood of forest communities in Ibarapa region, southwest, Nigeria. The  study was conducted to identify the various livelihood activities engaged in by forest communities in the region; to assess how wood harvesting in the forests has affected the livelihood of the people in the region as well as to determine the factors influencing wood harvesting in the region. Three hundred copies of structured questionnaire were used to elicit information from the respondents. Focused Group Discussion and Key Informant Interview were also used. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and logistic regression. Results show that various livelihood activities were engaged in by the respondents, prominent among which were food crop production, cash crop production, charcoal production, among others. Among the factors that were responsible for wood harvesting in the region, only age, occupation, household size and the distance of respondent’s house to the forest were significant at 5%. It was observed that excessive wood harvesting has negatively affected the forests in the study area as most of the forests have been greatly degraded. This study recommends that the activities of forest communities should be regulated by local authorities and governments, at different levels, in order to sustain the forests in the region. Key words: timber, charcoal, lumbering, regression, fuelwood

This study examined the knowledge on functional value of edible insect in per urban communities of Ijebu Ode Local Government Area (LGA) in  Ogun State. Sixty residents were selected through purposive sampling from 11 communities in the LGA. Primary data collected through   administered questionnaire. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used for data analysis. Descriptive statistics such as simple percentage and frequency count were used. Hypothesis was tested using Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC). The results revealed that about half (48.3%) of the respondents were between 31-40 years. A larger percentage was male (61.7%) and Christian (61.7%). Majority (68%) was married and 63.3% possess tertiary education. About one third of the respondents (33.3%) were civil servants and 28.3% earn between ₦41,000-₦60,000. Cricket, termite, palm weevil, yam beetle, caterpillar, silkworm, and locust respectively were the identified indigenous species of insects being consumed by the people. Also, more of the respondents eat crickets followed by locust and then termites. The results further revealed respondents’ knowledge of functional values of edible insects’ consumption and constraints to edible insects’ consumption. The results of the Pearson Product Moment  Correlation revealed that there is no significant relationship between respondent’s socio-economic characteristics’ and their edible insect  consumption at p < 0.05. This study concludes that residents of peri urban communities have good knowledge of functional values of edible insects. It is therefore recommended that there should be more awareness on consumption of edible insects since it is nutritious so that people can benefit from the numerous nutrients of these edible insects. Key words: functional value, edible insect, Ijebu Ode, pearson product moment correlation