Framing of environmental stories in two Nigerian daily newspapers

The environment has major impact on the economic, social, cultural and ecological activities of man. Through framing analysis (Inter-coder Reliability Coefficient=.95), this study examined 36 stories each from the Punch and Nigerian Tribune daily newspapers from January 1 through December 31, 2008, to uncover how environmental issues were framed. This was done by investigating what these newspapers emphasized, information sources relied upon, and the slant and frames used in reporting environmental stories. Results indicated that majority (52.8%) of the headlines were presented from the negative perspective. Victims/eye-witness (Nigerian Tribune=59.5%, Punch=40.5%) were relied upon more than government officials (Punch=60%, Nigerian Tribune=40%) as information sources. The disaster frame (33%) was the most frequently used frame in reported environmental stories as posing high risk to agriculture and humans among the five frames (awareness/campaign = 27.7%, assistance =18.0%, warning/blame = 13.9%, responsibility = 9.7%) that emerged from this study. Overall, environmental issues were presented from the negative perspective, and capable of causing uncertainty and fear among lay public and farmers. The reading audience will continue to lack accurate knowledge and understanding of environment as it relates to agriculture and other economic activities, if journalists continue to cover environmental news that is problematic or associated with risk factors.Keywords: Environment, Newspapers, Framing, Nigeria

Perceived effectiveness of Agricultural Information Channels (AIC) in marketing of poultry eggs in Ijebu North-East local government area of Ogun State

The productivity of the poultry industry like any other industry is hinged on adequate dissemination of information through appropriate channels. This study assessed the perceived effectiveness of agricultural information channels in marketing of poultry eggs in Ijebu North East local government area of Ogun state. Fifty four randomly selected poultry farmers and an equal number of purposively selected marketers were administered with questionnaires. Data on socioeconomic characteristics, availability and extent of use of AIC as well as perceived effectiveness of the channels were collected and analysed. Results showed that more of the farmers were male (81.7%) compared to the marketers, majority of the respondents had formal education (91.7%) and had over five years of experience in their trades (94.4 and 90.7%). Mobile phone was the most readily available and utilised AIC (97.2% and x = 1.46) while the presence of extension agents was not very pronounced (62.0% and x = 0.73). Inconsistent power supply (x =1.52) was the most limiting constraint to the use of the AIC. There was significant difference in the perceived effectiveness of AIC among poultry farmers and marketers (t=3.833, p.0.005). Sustained use of preferred channels of information was thus advocated while extension agents were urged to step up their activities.Keywords: egg marketing, extent of use, information channel

Access to production information among citrus farmers in Atisbo local government area of Oyo State, Nigeria

No Abstract.International Journal of Tropical Agriculture and Food Systems Vol. 1 (3) 2007: pp. 242-24

Reporting of Climate Change News in Three Nigerian Newspapers

The trend of news frame in the print media has implications for public perception of emerging development issues and actions that members of the public in general and farmers in particular will take in similar situations in the future. Combining the occurrence of climate change topical news variables and framing theories, this study content-analysed 111 climate news items framed in three Nigerian newspapers (the Guardian, Punch and Nigerian Tribune) between January 2010 and June 2011. Variables measured included news types, placement, sources, space allotted and period of report of climate change related stories. Data were analysed using both descriptive (frequency, percentage) and inferential (chisquare) statistics at

Analysis of farmers’ adaptation strategies to climate change in cocoa production in Kwara State

Changing climate and weather patterns are predicted to have severe negative impacts on food production, food security and natural resources in the immediate and coming years. Climate change alters the  development of cocoa pods, insect pests and pathogens which translate into lower crop yields and impact farm income. This study examined the climate change adaptation strategies of farmers on cocoa production practices. A multi-stage random sampling procedure was used to select 60 cocoa farmers from three out of eight Local Government Areas (LGAs) producing cocoa in Kwara State. Interview schedule was used in data collection and analyzed with descriptive statistics and correlation analysis. The results reveal that 60.7% of the farmers were male. Majority (59.9%) of the farmers were between middle and old age with farming experience of 21-30 years and farm size of mainly between 0.4-2.7 hectares. Most farmers (85%) observed an extension beyond the normal dry months of November to February. This situation could have some implications on cocoa production. The main climate change strategies adopted by farmers include praying for rain (86.7%), use of improved varieties, (81.7%), climate prediction (76.7%), changes in cropping pattern and agro-forestry (75% each), control of soil erosion (73.3%) and fertilizer application (60%). Inadequate irrigation, 41.7% and crop diversification, 36.7%; constituted minor strategies. The cocoa production practices still adopted were weeding, 98.3%; seedling planting, 96.7%; insect pest and diseases control, 95%; bush clearing, 93.3%; fermentation and drying, 91.7%; tree felling, 88.4%; pruning, 85% and burning before planting, 70%. However, Pearson product moment correlation coefficient (PPMC) showed that a significant relationship existed between age of cocoa farm (0.016) and cocoa production practices at P< 0.05. Cocoa farmers’ climate change strategies (0.121) were not statistically related with cocoa production practices at P< 0.05. Most of the strategies and practices currently used by farmers should be improved upon to ensure appropriate agronomic practices and adaptation to changes in climate.Keywords: Climate change, adaptation, cocoa production practices, farmer