Two trials were conducted at the Teaching and Research Farm of the Institute for Agricultural Research, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria located on latitude 11°11N’, longitude 7°38’E and 686 m above sea level in Northern Guinea Savannah Ecological Zone of Nigeria. The experiment was laid out in a split plot design replicated three times keeping farm yard manure (0, 10, 20 and 30 tonnes per hectare) as main plot treatments and spacing (10, 15, 20 and 25 cm) as sub plot treatments replicated three times. Results showed that spacing at 25 cm resulted in the highest mean yield, gross margin and cost benefit ratio. The application of manure at 10, 20 and 30 tonnes per hectare resulted in similar mean yield and gross margin. The cost-benefit ratio was highest when 10 or 20 tonnes of farm yard manure were applied. It can therefore be concluded that for sustainable production of garlic in the study area, application of 10 tonnes per hectare of farm yard manure with 25 cm spacing will enhance yield and profitability of garlic.

This study aims to examine poverty and its consequences on farmers of six Subsistence Schemes (SS) in Sudan. Stratified random samples were drawn from SS. Subjective (sufficient income) and objective (calories intake, food) poverty lines were constructed. The subjective poverty line estimated about 72% to be below the poverty line compared to 83% below food poverty line, thus there is a wide spread of poverty among farmers. The main causes behind this were unfavorable economic policies, and the interference of politicians in technical aspects. Poverty is associated with diseases identified as related, infectious, and neglected and water related diseases.

Agricultural productivity growth is vital for stimulating growth in all parts of the economy. Importance of this sector cannot be denied as it feeds people, used as a base for foreign trade and provides raw material for industry. Due to its enormous importance to national economy, high priority should be given to raise agricultural productivity and farm’s income. The objective of this study was to find out the key factors contributing towards agricultural growth in Pakistan. For this purpose, the study examined the impact of total cropped area, irrigation water, agricultural credit, import of pesticide and improved seed distribution on growth in Agricultural GDP (AGDP) for the period of 1970 to 2009. Total cropped area, irrigation water, improved seed distribution and import of pesticides have significant effects on the growth of AGDP. The long-run relationship between the Agricultural GDP and the total cropped area (million hectares) was positive for the Pakistani economy. The short run elasticity of the total cropped area with respect to AGDP was 0.47 and long run elasticity was 2.13. Thus, 1% increase in the total cropped area on average could enhance AGDP by 0.47% in the short run and 2.13% in the long run. Irrigation water has very critical position in farm production; 1% increase in availability of water on average boosted the AGDP by 0.93% in the long run while it fostered AGDP by 0.64% in the short run. Thus, it is evident that genuine economic development cannot be achieved without a prominent improvement of productivity in the agricultural sector.

This study was carried out to analyze the technical efficiency of artisanal fisheries in Ijebu waterside of Ogun State, Nigeria. The objective was to analyze the socio-economic characteristics of the fisherfolks; estimate the technical efficiencies of artisanal fisherfolks and determine the factors influencing the technical efficiencies of artisanal fisheries in the study area. A multistage sampling technique was used to select a total of 400 fishers from the study area. Primary data were collected using structured questionnaire as interview guide, on the socio-economic characteristics, production inputs and output prices. Stochastic production frontier model was used to estimate the technical efficiencies of artisanal fishery system and the factors influencing the technical efficiencies of the fishers. The study revealed that majority of the fishers was still in their active age and fairly educated. The results of the maximum likelihood estimates of the parameters for the technical efficiency of the fisherfolks revealed that number of fishing gears, outboard engine, litres of kerosene used and quantity of bait used were found to be significant variables in the fish catch level. The inefficiency function of the sampled fisherfolks revealed that age of the fisherfolks, household size, gender and mode of operation were found to be significant factors determining the level of efficiency with a mean technical efficiency of 0.77. The study concluded that age, experience, household size, distance to the fishing ground and the mode of technology adopted were the significant variables influencing the level of technical efficiency of the fisherfolks in the study area.

In South Africa the milling and baking industries are highly concentrated, and most of the major millers are vertically integrated with bakeries and this study aimed to identify the factors that restrict the development of agro-processing in the small wheat-milling and -baking industries in the rural areas of South Africa. Data was collected by means of a structured questionnaire and by conducting 15 interviews with various small wheat-milling and baking firms in the supply chain and with major role-players. The study found that the small wheat-milling and -baking industries had high barriers to entry, including the ability to acquire capital to start operations; to establish a market; to acquire knowledge of the wheat-milling and -baking industries; to uphold a well-maintained infrastructure; to acquire marketing knowledge, and require the necessary cash flow. The barrier to exit was to sell machinery at book value. They were exposed to wheat price volatility, and did not have the cash flow or the knowledge to counteract these price risks through risk-mitigating strategies available through derivative markets. They took several months to recover from setbacks which sometimes proved to be detrimental. Large-scale wheat millers and bakers had a competitive advantage over their smaller-scale counterparts to overcome above obstacles.