Suchergebnisse

The study examined agriculture its challenges in Nigeria and how GIS can be applied effectively to help farmers to increase their yields. The study opined that agricultural production in Nigeria has taken a serious nosedive since the discovery of crude oil and for the country to regain her lost glory improved technology must be applied to raise production in order to meet domestic needs reduce dependence on imports which is costing the country billions of Naira on annual basis and one of such technologies is GIS. The study enumerated useful applications of GIS in agriculture in areas such as water quality control soil suitability agro-climatology management of natural resources disease and pest control. Also the use of GIS helps to avoid excessive use of fertilizers and other chemicals which can have negative environmental effects based on analysis of data. It is recommended that government should make agricultural information weather forecasts available to farmers in order to guide them in their decision making processes especially on annual rainfall pattern soil suitability for a particular type of crop disease and pest control water quality control etc. The study suggested that farmers should embrace improved technologies such as GIS to plan their crops cultivation in cost effective manner so as to maximize yield.

The study investigated poor sanitation and its effects in Nigeria as the country is heavily plagued with the burden of open defecation. Communities are put at greater risk of infection when sources of drinking water are polluted with human faecal matter, untreated water, sludge etc. Also, the environment can be negatively impacted on especially when coastal areas are bombarded with direct defecation and discharge of sewage thereby disrupting normal ecosystem functions especially of the marine world. It is therefore recommended that all house owners should provide adequate sanitation facilities in their houses and new building plan should not be approved by the regulatory agency of the government unless there is provision for sanitation facility in it. i.e. strict enforcement of building standards. It is also recommended that government at all levels should provide public toilets in order to eliminate the menace of open defecation and should also promote public enlightenment on the dangers of poor sanitation.

The study investigated poor sanitation and its effects in Nigeria as the country is heavily plagued with the burden of open defecation. Communities are put at greater risk of infection when sources of drinking water are polluted with human faecal matter, untreated water, sludge etc. Also, the environment can be negatively impacted on especially when coastal areas are bombarded with direct defecation and discharge of sewage thereby disrupting normal ecosystem functions especially of the marine world. It is therefore recommended that all house owners should provide adequate sanitation facilities in their houses and new building plan should not be approved by the regulatory agency of the government unless there is provision for sanitation facility in it. i.e. strict enforcement of building standards. It is also recommended that government at all levels should provide public toilets in order to eliminate the menace of open defecation and should also promote public enlightenment on the dangers of poor sanitation.

The study assessed the impacts of natural hazards on the environment and agriculture in Nigeria as the cost of negative impacts of natural hazards either on the environment natural and built environment or food production is unimaginable. The aftermath of the 2012 flood in Nigeria was catastrophic as over 300 people lost their lives more than 7 million people were affected and economic activities were paralyzed in a lot of places with huge damage to farmlands houses and basic infrastructure. The devastating consequences of natural hazards are of immense magnitude or proportion particularly on the environment and agricultural activities and that is why it is imperative that pro-active measures must be taken by all and sundry to safeguard the environment so that investments in other fields of endeavours can be secured and made useful or productive to meet current needs without hampering the ability of the future or coming generations to meet their own needs. It is recommended that early warnings must be dispatched or sent out to people in hazard prone areas in the language that they understand and people in such areas should be ready to evacuate immediately to avoid loss of lives and minimize damage to their property. Each local government area should also strive to establish its own disaster risk reduction and emergency management authority to address emergencies locally before the arrival of help from the national body. Since man has no absolute control over natural hazards it is also recommended that people should cultivate the habit of insuring their lives farms and other assets that they have in order to mitigate the destructive impacts of natural hazards.

This study critically examined the negative effects of importation of rice on the Nigerian economy. The study also took a look at various import policies embarked upon by the Nigerian government as inconsistency in policy is a major hurdle to long term investment in the rice sub-sector. Nigeria spends billions of Naira on annual basis to import rice with its attendant depletion of the nation's foreign reserves and this study analyzed that this negative trend can be reversed as there are a lot of opportunities in the rice sector that will not only help the country to achieve self-sufficiency in rice production, but also transform the country from a net importer to an exporter of rice. In order to meet local demand, right investment has to be made in production, milling and grading (especially in the production of excellent quality rice that can replace imported rice), marketing, road infrastructure etc. It is recommended that farm inputs (fertilizers, improved quality seeds, pesticides etc.) should be heavily subsidized by the government at different levels as timely access to inputs can significantly raise the level of production and also lead to an increase in the quantity and quality of yield. Also, there has to be a consistent and business friendly government policy in the rice sub-sector in order to encourage investors.