http://irepo.futminna.edu.ng:8080/jspui/handle/123456789/28973 2026-05-13T03:47:44Z http://irepo.futminna.edu.ng:8080/jspui/handle/123456789/28981 Title: JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE AND AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGY (Volume 13(2)) Authors: SCHOOL OF AGRICULTURE AND AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGY Abstract: This study was executed to estimate the profitability of poultry egg production and its determinants in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. A two-stage sampling technique was used to survey 120 poultry farmers, and primary data was collected using a structured questionnaire. The data obtained was analyzed using descriptive statistics, cost and returns analysis and multiple regression. Results revealed that the majority (75%) were male, with an average age of 41 years. Many (64.2%) of the poultry farmers had secondary education, and 25.8% had farming experience of 1-4 years. The majority (88.3%) were cooperative society members, and 87.5% operated a battery cage system of poultry management. The cost and returns result showed that poultry egg production was profitable, with a net income of ₦1,823,252.61. The profitability ratio further revealed that for every ₦1 invested in poultry egg production, the poultry farmer earned ₦0.26 as profit. In addition, factors influencing profit level among the farmers include age (β = 0.23, p<0.01), experience (β = 0.71, p < 0.05), feed cost (β = - 0.12, p < 0.01), labour cost (β = - 1.30, p < 0.01), cost of medication (β = - 1.06, p < 0.01), stock size (β = 0.79, p < 0.01), price of crate of eggs (β = 0.90, p < 0.01) and cost of laying birds (β = - 0.28, p < 0.05). Based on the findings of this study, it is recommended that policies that will assist poultry egg farmers to attain a drastic reduction in the cost of poultry feed, possibly through subsidies, should be formulated by the government. In addition, it is essential to encourage the use of locally sourced raw materials in feed formulation to increase profit. 2024-07-01T00:00:00Z http://irepo.futminna.edu.ng:8080/jspui/handle/123456789/28980 Title: JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE AND AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGY (Volume 13(1)) Authors: SCHOOL OF AGRICULTURE AND AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGY Abstract: This experiment explores the effect of Moringa oleifera leaf powder (MOLP) as a natural substitute for synthetic lysine supplementation in broiler diets on storage quality properties of broiler breast meat. The study used 250-day-old Cobb-500 broiler chickens in a completely randomized design, with five treatment groups receiving different proportions of synthetic lysine and MOLP during the starter and finisher phases. The meat quality properties evaluated were pH, water holding capacity, cooking yield, and thawing loss (TL). The results showed that MOLP significantly (p≤0.05) impacted meat quality properties as values recorded for each quality property followed a specific trend. The minimum values (5.35) recorded for pH were in Month1 and Month 2 at T4 (25% lysine and 75% MOLP) and T3 (50% lysine and 50% MOLP), respectively, while the maximum value (6.82) was recorded at Month 6 in chickens fed T5 (0% lysine and 100% MOLP). The dietary treatment also affected water holding capacity, with Month 1 showing the lowest value (2.46 %) in chickens fed diet T4, while Month 6 revealed the value (6.86 %) in chickens fed diet 2. The effect of dietary treatment on cooking yield and loss did not take a specific/straight trend as the cooking yield was highest at Month 2 (69.27 %) and lowest at Month 5 (42.96) in T2 and T4, respectively. The cooking loss was also recorded at 49.73 % in Month 6 in Diet T1 and 31.05 % in Month 1 in Diet T5. The thawing loss followed a steady trend and increased in value from month 1 to 6, with the lowest value being recorded at Month 1 (1.02 %) in chickens fed diet T3, while the highest value was recorded in Month 6 (8.5 %) in chickens fed diet T1. The effect of MOLP as a substitute for lysine on storage duration impacted all the meat quality properties evaluated. Keywords: Broiler chickens, Lysine, Meat quality and Moringa oleifera, 2024-04-01T00:00:00Z http://irepo.futminna.edu.ng:8080/jspui/handle/123456789/28979 Title: JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE AND AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGY (Volume 12) Authors: SCHOOL OF AGRICULTURE AND AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGY Abstract: This study was conducted to determine the dietary influence of graded levels of roasted lebbeck (Albizia lebbeck) seed meal on the growth performance and sensory evaluation of broiler chickens. One hundred and sixty Ross 308 birds were used for the experiment. The birds were randomly allotted to four treatments having forty birds per treatment with four replicates in a completely randomized design. Roasted lebbeck seed meal (RLS) was included in diets of broilers at 0, 1.5, 3.0, and 4.5 % levels for Treatments 1 (control), 2, 3, and 4, respectively. The diets formulated were isocaloric and isonitrogenous. The results showed that the dry matter and ash contents of the raw and RLS were similar. While the crude protein and nitrogen-free extract contents of the seed were increased upon roasting. The crude protein content increased from 28.03 in the raw to 31.93 (12.35 % change). However, crude fibre dropped from 18.50 in the raw seed to 7.50 % in the RLS, producing a drastic change of 59.9 %. There was a decrease in ether extract content from 11.06 in raw to 10.04 % in RLS, which is a 9.22 % decrease. Results revealed that as the inclusion levels of RLS increased in the diets, the daily feed intake, daily weight gain, and final live weight decreased significantly (p<0.05). This result may be because the growth-retarding factors in the RLS were partly eliminated during the processing of the seeds. However, the feed efficiency for all 2 treatments was similar (p>0.05), which may imply that the amount of feed required to produce a unit of weight gain was not significantly different for broilers fed different levels of Albizia lebbeck. The sensory attributes like; colour, juiciness, appearance, aroma, and overall acceptability were not significantly (p>0.05) influenced by the dietary treatments. However, flavour and tenderness were significantly (p<0.05) affected. It is, therefore, recommended that RLS be included up to 1.5 % in the diet of broilers for optimum growth performance. 2023-12-01T00:00:00Z http://irepo.futminna.edu.ng:8080/jspui/handle/123456789/28978 Title: JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE AND AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGY (Volume 11) Authors: SCHOOL OF AGRICULTURE AND AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGY Abstract: The study assessed the use of sustainable land management practices among food crop farmers in Niger State and Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria. Multistage sampling procedure was used to select a total of 350 farmers and primary data were collected using questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and multivariate probit regression model were used to analyze the data. The results reveled that the sustainable practices mostly undertaken by the farmers under agronomic practice was sole cropping (81.43%), the most undertaken cultivation practice was ridge tillage (92.00%), structural and mechanical erosion control practice mostly carried out was construction of ridges across field slopes (23.14%), and soil management practices (fertilizer application (93.43%) were the structural and mechanical erosion control practice mostly carried out. The results of multivariate probit showed that the significant determinants of land management practices among the farmers include membership of farmers’ association (p≤0.10), source of information (p≤0.01), years spent in school, age (p≤0.01), days unable to go to work or farm (p≤0.01), years of farming experience (p≤0.05), distance from home to nearest market (p≤0.01), rainfall sufficiency for crop production (p≤0.05), adequacy of soil fertility (p≤0.05), tenancy security of farm land (p≤0.10) and access to extension (p≤0.01). It was recommended that more sustainable land management practices should be adopted by the farmers. 2020-04-01T00:00:00Z