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Cassava as a food is widely eaten in nearly all tropical countries. This has led to the emergence of many cassava processing centres, which consequently results in extensive ecological pollution due to the release of cassava processing wastewater into the environment. Wastewater treatment is mostly carried out using chemical coagulants, which are not environmental friendly. This study aims at providing non-chemical based alternative treatment procedures for cassava wastewater. The treatment procedures involved the use of alum and Moringa oleifera seeds as coagulants. The coagulants were used in combination with sodium hypochlorite at 25 and 50 mg/L for coagulation periods of 24 h and 48 h. Physicochemical parameters including, pH, biological oxygen demand (BOD), cyanide, coliform count and heavy metals [Ni, Zn, and Cr] were evaluated for both raw and treated wastewaters using standard methods. The data obtained were subjected to descriptive and inferential statistics. At 50 mg/L dose and 48 h coagulation period, the removal efficiencies of cyanide were 98.91% and 99.63% for alum and M. oleifera seeds, respectively. M. oleifera seeds reduced coliform in the effluent by 96.73% and decontaminated heavy metals [Ni, Zn, and Cr]. However, none of the two treatments could reduce BOD to a permissible level. The study concluded that M. oleifera seed is a potential coagulant, and could therefore be used as a substitute to synthetic coagulants.

The study examined the role of local leaders in community development decision making in Dutse Local Government area of Jigawa State, Nigeria. A multistage (4) stage sampling procedure was employed in selecting 120 respondents for the study. Mean age and household size are 53 years and 10 persons. Majority (97.5%) were males, married (95.8%) with secondary education (57.6%). Only about 1/3 (33.3%) had tertiary education while 8.3% had primary education. Significant proportion (91.7%) claimed to have travelled within and outside the study area. The type of leadership existing and acting were; traditional and household leaderships (x ̅=1.011), religious and cooperative leaderships (x ̅=1.383). Areas of roles and influences of the leaders mostly were in; support for art and culture, mobilization, control of market activities, advice on religious matters and chieftaincy matters (x ̅=1.047). Participation in community activities were in the areas of; conflict resolution, chieftaincy affairs, religious matters, support for community development projects, mouth piece of the people, mobilization, political/LGA advice, cultural matter and council matters (x ̅=1.071). Major constraints to participation were; cultural belief and heterophili (x ̅=1.250), mindset of the people and poor socialization (x ̅=1.199) and exclusion from government development projects (x ̅=1.009) respectively. The Pearson Correlation analysis showed positive relationship between participation and degree of Cosmo-politeness, age, educational level respectively. It was recommended that local leaders should be engaged more in community development activities because they serve a catalytic function to the people. Community intervention or development programmes must be geared towards the socio-cultural structure of the people. Respondents should also be encouraged to visit other place in order to foster understanding of cultural differences and diversity, socialization and modernization emanating from ....

The study examined credit sources of rural households under the Village Alive Development Initiative (VADI) scheme in Kwara State. Multi-stage sampling technique was employed to select one hundred and twenty (120) respondents. Data were collected on the various sources of credits available to rural households and how it affects their output. Data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics such as percentages, mean, frequency counts and chi-square. Respondents’ mean age was 56 years, average household size was 5 persons, and farming experience was 7 years. Majority (50.7%) was males and married (49.3%). About average (54.5%) had secondary education while majority (87.7%) accessed credit from VADI scheme. The most critical constraint to credit accessibility was institutional bureaucracy (MS = 2.85). Age (p = 0.014), sex (p = 0.013) and source of labour (p = 0.058) of the respondents significantly influenced their choice of credit sources. The study concluded that the output of rural households is directly dependent on the sources of credit. Farmer friendly sources of credit should be encouraged and made available to them. Improvement in credit bureaucracies and provision of incentives for prompt repayment behavior should be ensured.

African locust bean (Parkia biglobosa) is one of the major seed plants used for the production of the most popular indigenous fermented condiment. Parkia biglobosa seeds were fermented for 24, 48 and 72 hours using four different fermentation containers (stainless steel, plastic and calabash), and the effect of both time and type of container were examined. The chemical and functional properties of fermented iru were determined using standard methods. Crude protein, fat, fibre, ash, carbohydrate and moisture were significant (p

Bidens pilosa Linn belongs to the family Asteraceae. It is considered a weed in some tropical habitats; however, its allelopatthy potential has not been fully established. Therefore, this study aimed at investigating the allelopathic effects of B. pilosa on germination of soybean, maize, tomatoes and seedling growth of soybean. Allelopathic effects of B. pilosa leachate on soybean, maize, tomatoes germination and soybean seedling growth were assessed in the screen house. Germination percentage (%) for test crops was determined at 10 Days After Sowing (DAS); while Number of Leaves (NL), Plant Height (PH) (cm), Root Length (RL) (cm) and Dry Weight (DW) (g) were evaluated at 9 Weeks After Sowing (WAS). Experimental design used in the study was Completely Randomized Design. Data were analyzed using ANOVA. Means were separated and compared using Least Significant Difference (LSD) at 5% probability. The least germination (27.0 ± 0.3) was recorded for L1-Soybean, while L1-Maize gave the highest germination (60.0 ± 1.0) and L1-Tomatoes gave (37.0 ± 0.3). The L1 soybean seedling had the lowest NL, PH and DW values; while control had highest RL in soybean. Biden pilosa inhibited germination in all test crops. The leachate of Biden pilosa could be a potential bio-herbicide.