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This study examined the various forms of agroforestry technologies adopted by the farmers as well as assessed the factors influencing the adoption of agroforestry technologies among farmers in the study area. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select the respondents from the study area. Both descriptive statistics such as frequencies and percentages as well as inferential statistics such as Logistic Regression model were used in the study. From the study, it was discovered that adopters of agroforestry technology accounts for 42.47%, while non-adopters accounted for 57.53% of the sampled respondents. The result further shows the different forms of agroforestry practices adopted by the farmers in the study area which includes boundary planting, multipurpose trees/shrubs, wind breaks and live fencing. The result of the analysis of the factors that influence the adoption of agroforestry technologies among farmers from the logistic regression analysis revealed that access to extension services, age, education, farming experience, farm size and gender were positive and significant factors in determining the adoption of agroforestry technologies among the farmers.

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

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 investigated the assessment of smallholder farmers’ vulnerability to climate change in Ogun State, Nigeria. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select 150 farmers in the agricultural zones of Abeokuta, Ijebu and Ilaro. Data were collected with the aid of well structured questionnaire from the farmers. Descriptive statistics and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) were used for the data analyzed. The average age of the respondents was 45.5 years. The majority were married with an average household size of 5 persons while a larger percentage of the respondents are involved in crop farming. The result shows that most of the farmers are aware of variations in the prevailing weather conditions of their area and floods were mostly experienced in the year 2018 and 2019. The vulnerability indices in Ilaro, Abeokuta and ijebu ode agricultural zones were -0.652, 0.250, and 0.303 respectively. This means that Ijebu ode was the least vulnerable to climate change followed by Abeokuta while Ilaro is the most vulnerable. Therefore, the study recommends that an integrated rural development scheme aimed at increasing access to social amenities should be established by the government to strengthen the resilience of rural farmers to climate change.

Nigeria is endowed with natural resources which include timber which has contributed in a significant way to the economy. This study examined the dynamics of wood export from 1962 to 2017. Secondary time series data obtained from FAOSTAT (Food and Agriculture Organization Statistics) were used for the study. The data were analyzed using some econometric tools such as Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) models and subjected to Augmented Dickey Fuller (ADF) test. Results revealed that the future volume of sawn wood export is significantly determined by its previous two lagged values. In other words, the current quantity or value of export of sawn wood will be determined by the previous two quantities of export. It was also observed that there were series of upward and downward movements in export volumes of sawn wood over the period of study. The study shows that Nigeria will continue to witness decline in wood export over a period of time. Decline in wood export can only be halted if there is a drastic intervention by the government and other stakeholders to invest in plantation establishment and an effective forest management mechanism put in place for a sustainable management of this valuable renewable resource.

Meeting the energy demands and sustainable development goals in Nigeria requires investigation of potentials of alternative energy sources and possible challenges to their reliability. In this study, we investigated the impact of four (4) teleconnection patterns on the solar energy potential within different climatic zones of Nigeria. Our results indicate that there are weak and insignificant correlation between the studied teleconnection patterns and solar energy potential on the long run. However, monthly analysis suggests significant correlation values between all the teleconnection patterns studied and solar energy production within all the climatic regions of the country. Therefore, it is important to consider the role of teleconnection pattern in energy planning and forecasting within the region.

This study examined the effect of forest degradation on livelihood returns in Government forest reserves of Ogun State. Primary data used in the study were obtained in a multi-stage random sampling procedure across non-degraded and degraded forests. Both qualitative and quantitative analytical methods were employed for data analysis. Different forest based livelihood and returns were investigated in this study and the Levene’s test results showed that there is disparity in the livelihood returns across the non-degraded and degraded forests. Logistic regression results revealed that gender, number of household members working and earning income, number of children in the household, earning income from tree crops and earning income from hunting were statistically significant factors influencing forest degradation within the study area. Therefore, the study recommends that strong and participatory forest management practices should be encouraged to ensure that tree crop farming and hunting are monitored and done without hurting the forest. Keywords: Forest degradation, Livelihood returns, Government Forest Reserve, Ogun State