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Globally, hunger and poverty are major challenges with number of household malnourished increasing daily. Conscious integration of the home gardens strategy into peri-urban and urban development can help to achieve food security. In this regard, a total of 412 questionnaires were administered to home garden owners around the National Horticultural Research Institute (NIHORT) in Ibadan (Southwest Nigeria), Mbato (Southeast Nigeria), Bagauda (Northwest Nigeria) and Dadinkowa (Northeast Nigeria). In all, 366 (88.8%) questionnaires were found suitable for analysis. The data collected was analyzed using descriptive statistical analytical tools. Majority of people involved in the practice of home gardening were male (78%) and young <50 years (53%), implying that they were capable of handling more tedious activities than the female and the elderly respectively. Land and house ownership were found to be the most important factor in home gardening. Goat (77.1%), sheep (58.7%) and local fowl (49.7%) were the dominant livestock in the areas investigated.Most of the livestock were fed with household waste and crop residues which ought to have caused great problem through microbial build up, while the animal wastes were usually incorporated into the soil to serve as soil amendments. Some of the livestock owners were also mindful of zoonosis.

This study examined net farm income of maize production in Gwagwalada Area Council of Federal Capital Territory. The specific objectives are to: identify the socio-economic characteristics of maize farmers in the study area, evaluate the costs and returns of maize production in the study area, and evaluate factors affecting net farm income of maize production in the study area. A simple random sampling technique was used to obtain samples of 120 maize farmers. Primary data were used for this study. The data were collected using structured questionnaire. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, farm budgeting technique and econometric multiple regression analysis. The result shows that 95 percent of sampled farmers are males. About 83 percent of sampled maize farmer’s age is less than 55 year, while, 96 percent are married. Econometric multiple regression analysis revealed that marital status; level of education and F-value were significant at 1% probability level. The Coefficient of Multiple Determinations implies that 22.3% of the independent variables included in the model jointly explain the variations in dependent variable. Estimated costs and returns analysis revealed a net farm income of N937, 656 per annum which shows that maize production in the study area is profitable. From the findings, it is suggested that agricultural extension agents should educate farmers on the need to be involved in agricultural activities especially on technologies that can improve maize production.Key words: Maize, Net Farm Income

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This study assessed Fadama project phase II in Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Nigeria. The specific objectives were to: Assess the need for gender analysis in Fadama project as the basis for policy formation in agriculture; examine benefits and challenges encountered by beneficiaries in the course of involvement in the project. Primary data were used. The data were collected from 100 respondents using simple random sampling technique. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. The results showed that 75% of beneficiaries were introduced into the project by female Fadama facilitators. About 44% of beneficiaries had their counterpart fund or equity capital aided. Furthermore, 96% of the women farmers acquired asset for processing of agricultural products. Also, 49% of beneficiaries attended both advisory services and capacity building training. It was recommended inform of policy implication, that donor agencies and development projects should adopt the approach of gender mainstreaming in the construction of policy and programmes meant to encourage participation and income generating activities among beneficiaries.