Dietary diversity became a global concern in improving health conditions through the habit of food group consumption by adding health dimension to the issue of food calorie consumption. Access to nutritionally adequate and good quality diet is essential to human health, productivity and work output. However, despite the various concerns by governments all over the world on ensuring that every household can at least provide three square meals per day, food insecurity continues to be a major development problem across the globe. This study assessed the effect of COVID-19 pandemic lockdown on households’ dietary diversity in Jos Metropolis, Plateau State, Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique was used to select 265 households. Data was collected using well-structured questionnaire. The analytical techniques were; Descriptive statistics, Dietary Diversity index and Z-Statistics Test. Gender, age, household size, education, marital status, cooperative membership and access to credit were the socioeconomic characteristics described. Result indicate that 86% of the households had low food dietary diversity while 14% of the households had high food dietary diversity before and after the pandemic lockdown. Similarly, 18% of the households had low calorie consumption while 82% of the households had high dietary diversity before and after the pandemic lockdown. Cereals, legumes/grains, oils/fat, roots and tubers, sugar and honey and meats were the most common food consumed by the households daily before and after the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. Result further indicate that the pandemic lockdown had effect on the dietary diversity and food consumption patterns of the urban households. It can be concluded that the understanding of the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown on dietary diversity and food consumption patterns of households is important in developing policy measures such as social safety nets, home feeding programmes, the school feeding programme, conditional cash transfers schemes and improved marketing channels that will help mitigate against households falling into food insecurity during similar pandemic in the future.

Information-intensive and precise knowledge-based marketing approaches is a key aspect in ensuring the long-term viability of agriculture. Unfortunately, the economic potential of information and communication technologies used in agricultural marketing is not fully utilized. This study, therefore, unravelled the effects of information and communication technologies in the marketing of broiler birds in Enugu state, Nigeria. Primary data collected from 90 marketers were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The result showed that all the marketers accessed and used mobile phones very often to communicate with their customers but only a few (40%) used social media platforms while radio and television were rarely used. The gross margin analysis showed that broiler marketing was a viable enterprise with ₦80,972.72 (USD 197.29) gross margin monthly. The degree of use of information and communication technologies, level of education and marketing experience significantly affected the revenue margin of the respondents. High cost of information and communication technology facilities, inconsistence power supply, poor network coverage and connectivity and high cost of airtime and data were among the major constraints faced by the marketers. The study recommends that the problem of inconsistent power supply and poor network coverage should be rectified by the government and the network providers, respectively. The national communication commission should as a matter of urgency regulate, moderate and reduce the high call tariffs and internet data cost to enhance the profit margin of the broiler marketers.

The study examined the constraints of access to the use of agricultural insurance schemes (AIS) by small-scale farmers in Kogi State, Nigeria. Sustainable agricultural enterprise in most developing countries like Nigeria can be achieved through adequate financing especially in the area of agricultural insurance. Despite the existence of insurance services by the Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation and other private firms in Nigeria, there has been a low level of participation of farmers buying insurance premium; thus, there is a need to examine the hindrances in accessing the scheme. The specific objectives were to describe the socio-economics characteristic of small- scale farmers, examine the types of agricultural insurance and evaluate the constraints in accessing AIS in the study area. Primary data were collected from 150 farmers with the aid of a well-structured questionnaire. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results showed that farmers in the study area were dominated by the married (68%), literates (81.33) and males (73.33%) with the mean age and farming experience of 47 and 19 years respectively. Crop insurance (56%) and farm implement insurance (46%) were the major types of agricultural insurance used by the farmers. Rigorous procedures in claim settlement (3.266), poor government attention (3.106) poor repayment (3.080) and non-coverage of all the crops (3.093) were among the major challenges in accessing AIS) in the study area. The study recommended that the government through the ministry of Agriculture or Bank of Agriculture should eliminate the bureaucratic processes and bottlenecks encountered by the farmers in accessing AIS.

Honey is a popular product consumed for its health benefits. It is an effective antimicrobial an antioxidant agent. Globally, palynological and chemical methods are among the means of authenticating honey quality, geographical origin and floral origin. Six honey samples from six Nigerian towns (Abi, Ikom, Lokpanta, Nsukka, Okigwe and Shaki) were subjected to the aforementioned tests. Eighty-six pollen taxa were recorded in all the samples. The richest sample with seventy-three taxa was from Nsukka, followed successively by Okigwe, Lokpanta, Shaki, Ikom and Abi samples with sixty-eight, sixty-seven, sixty-two, fifty-nine and fifty-seven pollen species respectively. The oil palm Elaeis guineensis pollen dominated the samples in different proportions except Shaki honey dominated by Acacia spp., The commonest plant family was Fabaceae (Caesalpinioideae, Mimosoideae, Papilionideae) with twenty-one taxa followed by Euphorbiaceae, Combretaceae, with four representatives and Rubiaceae with three taxa each. The physico-chemical analysis carried out were total moisture, total ash content, colour assessment, percentage of total solids, relative density, acidity, and Fischer’s Test. The samples were found to concur with the international standards for honey.

Analysis of consumer preferences for cowpea varieties in Osun State was carried out with a view to identifying attributes that determine price variation among cowpea varieties and the effect on consumer’s willingness to pay for those varieties. A multistage sampling technique was used to randomly select 240 respondents for the study, comprising 180 cowpea consumers and 60 retailers. Primary data were collected on cowpea varieties, their attributes and the consumer’s willingness to pay for cowpea varieties using well structured questionnaire. Data collected were analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The results showed that out of thirteen varieties found in the area, only nine varieties of cowpea were common in the market. The quality of each variety differs which explained variation in their price. In terms of preference the Oloyin variety is preferred most by 78% of consumers. Weevil resistance had the highest rank among the cowpea attributes. Oloyin had the highest WTP followed by Milk and Drum with ₦303, ₦237 and ₦213 per kg, respectively. Hedonic pricing methods provide a statistical estimate of premiums and discounts for cowpea attributes. Results indicated that weevil resistance was the most important attribute to consumer. Cowpeas with weevil damage tolerance, brown colour, large grain size and short cooking time commanded price premium for almost all the varieties. The consumer discounted prices for insect damage, small size, white colour, smooth skin and grain colour mixed together. The study concludes on the need for breeders and research institutes to incorporate these cowpea attributes that attracted price premium into their cowpea breeding programmes.

Concentrations and profile of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons(PAHs) and metals (Cd, Pb, Ni, Cr, Fe and Mn) were determined in selected brands of canned maize in the Nigeria market with a view to providing information on the hazards associated with the consumption of these products. The measurement of the concentrations of PAHs was carried out by using a gas chromatography equipped with flame ionization detector (GC-FID) after extraction by ultra-sonication with acetone/dichloromethane and clean-up. The 16 PAH concentrations varied between 45.1 and 335.7 µg/kg. The concentrations of the indicators for occurrence and effects of PAHs in food varied from 3.6 to 114.5 µg/kg for BaP, 6.4 to 168.2 µg/kg for PAH2, 11.8 to 232.7 µg/kg for PAH4 and 19.4 to 327.3 µg/kg for PAH8. The concentrations of metals were determined by using atomic absorption spectrometry after acid digestion. The concentrations of metals in these samples ranged from

The study aimed to evaluate the economic viability and profitability of cultivating improved tomato varieties in Akure North and Ifedore Local Government Areas of Ondo State, Nigeria. Primary data were collected through a well-structured questionnaire, with a sample size of 150 farmers selected using snowball sampling through a multi-stage procedure. Data analysis involved descriptive statistics, farm budgeting techniques, and multiple regression. Findings revealed that 36.7% of farmers were within their active working age. Most farmers (71.3%) were female, and 73.3% were married, with an average household size of seven. Around 40.7% of the farmers had higher education (HND/B.Sc.), and 68.7% were members of farming associations. Economic analysis indicated a total cost of N208,374.04 and a net income of N601,625.96, yielding a return on investment (ROI) of 3.89, meaning N2.89 profit for every N1 invested. The study also highlighted that farm size, farming experience, educational level, and agrochemical applications significantly influenced tomato production. Challenges identified included unfavorable climate, theft, price instability, poor seed supply, and inadequate capital. The study recommended government support in providing subsidies and resources for farm expansion and better extension services to ensure a steady supply of improved tomato varieties.

African eggplants are highly valued constituents of the Nigerian food. However, their nutritional potentials have not been fully tapped due to inadequate information on their nutritional and anti-nutritional qualities. This present study investigated the proximate, minerals, anti-nutrient contents as well as the estimation of mineral ratios and Mineral Safety Index of four selected edible solanum species namely, Solanum anguivi, S. gilo, S. menalogena and S. aethiopicum. The proximate contents (%) ranged from 4.19-5.46 (moisture content), 1.71-2.49 (crude fat), 4.57-5.45 (crude ash), 3.76-4.93 (crude protein), 5.20-6.30 (crude fiber) and 77.14-78.58 (carbohydrate). The solanum species were good sources of energy with total metabolizable energy of 1.458MJ-1.484MJ. The four solanum species contained high K, Ca, Mg, low Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu, while amount of Cd, Ni and Pb were very low. The mineral ratios of K/Na, Ca/Mg, Ca/K, Zn/Cu and [K/(Ca+Mg)] were below the minimum good ratios levels of 1.0, 4.17, 4.0, 8.0 and 2.2 respectively which are good for man. The anti-nutrient contents revealed low phytate, oxalate and cyanide levels. The calculated Phytate/Zn, Phytate/Ca and Oxalate/Ca were lower than the threshold levels and would support absorption and bioavailability of Zn and Ca in the samples while that of Phytate/Fe was above the critical value and this indicates unavailability of iron in these eggplant fruits. The mineral differences observed showed that S. menalogena and S. aethiopicum had greater minerals while the Mineral Safety Index results revealed that the body could not be overloaded with any of the minerals investigated. The eggplants are rich in fiber, ash, carbohydrate and minerals with moderate protein. The low level of the anti-nutrient is good and poses no deleterious effect when consumed. The eggplants have nutritional health benefits; hence, their consumption should be encouraged to address food insecurity in Nigeria

Agriculture is one of the sectors most affected by climate change, especially through the reduction in the number of rainy days in semi-arid areas, which require deficit supplementary irrigation (DSI) to minimise crop failures. Few studies have utilised soil quality indices (SQIs) to evaluate the quality changes of soils under DSI practices in semi-arid agricultural ecosystems. This paper examines the effects of DSI activities on soil quality in the Ingawa area of Nigeria’s semi-arid region. Plots subjected to different years of DSI (3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11, 14 and 15 years) practices were chosen to serve as the controls. Soil samples were collected from each of the nine sites at depths ranging from 0 cm to 20 cm and 25 cm to 40 cm. The collected samples were analysed for physico-chemical properties. Soil quality change was estimated by computing percentage equivalence values that define the extent to which mean values of soils under DSI vary from those of the control. The results obtained show that the practices have caused significant negative changes in the levels of most of the properties considered, with significant deleterious effects on the selected physical and chemical indicators of soil quality to extents that might preclude sustainable agriculture on the soils. Potassium, organic carbon, organic matter, and some other essential nutrients needed for plant growth and soil stability have dropped a lot in irrigated farms compared to control farms, but salinization hasn't happened much. It was suggested that the right steps be taken to prevent the loss of important nutrients that crops need to grow well.

This study examined the situation of food insecurity in Africa with special emphasis on Nigeria with a view to giving the picture of the trend with respect to causes, effects and possible solutions. The study employed secondary data sourced from the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations and subsequently compared the results with other previously conducted studies on food security status in Nigeria and few other African countries. Data for the trend of food security between 1990 and 2014 were sourced from FAO. The findings of this study combined with other previously conducted studies revealed that the food insecurity in Nigeria is not only becoming worrisome but frightening. According to the FAO three commonly employed indicators (prevalence of undernourishment, prevalence of food insecurity and number of undernourished people), it was observed that food insecurity in Nigeria continued to rise from 2009 according to the results of the annual survey till 2014. The implication of this is that if the trend is not halted as quickly as possible it is a time bomb that may pose grave security risks and danger to the country and Africa as a whole being the most populous black nation and it is almost certain that any destabilization suffered as a result of hunger in Nigeria is a destabilization of the entire sub-Saharan Africa region considering her enormous population and the strategic place she occupies in the economy of the region especially the western Africa. This paper made some far-reaching recommendations that could halt the trend if judiciously implemented.