Conference Agenda

Formulating sound policies on harnessing the full potential of underutilized edible insects requires a deep knowledge of their current commercialization level and its drivers. The objective of this study is therefore to bring to light the determinants of edible insect commercialization. The study was carried out in Benue State due to its high involvement in edible insect commercialization. A cross sectional survey using a three-stage sampling procedure was used to retrieve data from 200 rural households that were involved in the commercialization of underutilized edible insects in the State. Descriptive statistics, the household commercialization index, and the Tobit regression analytical tools were adopted for this study. The study revealed that cricket, termite, caterpillar, grasshopper, and palm weevil were the edible insect species that are popularly commercialized in the study area. The prime drivers of commercialization of underutilized edible insects were gender (p = 0.1), marital status (p = 0.05), years of schooling of the household head (p = 0.1), annual income (p = 0.01) and household size (p = 0.01). It is recommended that the government and other interested bodies reorient rural households on the benefits that can be derived from this enterprise to further promote the concept of commercializing of under-utilised edible insects.

Cashew production has a lot of potentials for the development of the Nigerian economy. However, these potentials have not been optimized as cashew farming in Nigeria is characterized by use of traditional practices such as poor spacing and direct sowing of seeds, poor use of innovation along the value chain of the crop and weak linkages among stakeholders in its innovation system. The aim of the study was to examine local economic development in cashew production using the agricultural innovation system approach. The objectives of the study were to: (i) examine the linkage among actors in the cashew value chain; (ii) describe the stakeholders’ innovative activities in the value chain; (iii) assess the value chain actors’ use of innovative practices; (iv) examine the effects of selected innovative practices on actors’ welfare.

The study employed a cross-sectional research design. The study adopted both quantitative and qualitative approaches and the targeted population for this study were the cashew value chain actors and the key stakeholders in the cashew sector in Kwara and Oyo States. A stratified random sampling technique was used to select 282 actors from a sampling frame obtained from the State Chapters of the National Cashew Association of Nigeria. There was a purposive selection of 10 key stakeholders in the cashew sector. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire, and Focus Group Discussion. The statistical tools used for the analysis were descriptive statistics, double hurdle model, and structural equation model.

Result showed that producers, local buyers, and local processors were the main cashew value chain actors, with an average weighted degree of 27.07 linkage between them. Also, planting depth, spacing, pruning, and polyclonal seeds were the innovative practices used by the actors; with an overall mean usage level of 37.20. The result further showed that the use of innovative practices had a positive significant effect on the welfare indicators at p<0.05.

The study concluded that the examined innovative practices had positive effects on the welfare of the actors. The study therefore recommended that there is need to drive the use of innovative practices by the key stakeholders in cashew production through training and capacity development of the actors.

The dearth of users’ feedback is the bane of improvement and popularization of NSPRI developed and designed postharvest technologies. Hence, this study sought to boost the improvement of NSPRI Technological innovations such as NSPRI Fish-Smoking-Kiln (NSK), Parabolic-Shaped Solar Dryer (PSSD), Iced Fish Box® (IFB), Hermetic Steel Drum (HSD) and Stackable-Ventilated Plastic Crate (SVPC) through feedback from the users. The study employed Interview schedule to obtain primary data from 1049 beneficiaries of NSPRI disseminated technologies purposively selected from thirteen (13) out of the twenty-four (24) States where the technologies were distributed and promoted. Descriptive statistics (frequency count, percentages, and mean) and inferential statistics were used for data analysis. Results revealed that HSD has the highest (27.7%) number of users, while 3.27%, 21.26%, 24.12% and 23.64 of the respondents used SVPC, IFB®, PSSD, and NSK respectively. About 41.2% and 26% of users of the SVPC and IFB® reported that the quality of commodities during transit was maintained for an average of 13 and 24 hours, respectively. The utilisation of all the technologies improved users’ income and increased their capacity to meet market demand. The majority of the users (VPC: 100%, IFB®:92.7%, NSK: 51.3%, PSSD: 74.9%, HSD: 86.9%) are willing to pay for the technology, albeit at varying amounts. Despite the relative advantages of the postharvest technologies as indicated by beneficiaries, several areas for improvement were highlighted for all the technologies except the IFB®. The NSK and IFB® had adoption rates of 56.45% and 50.22%, respectively while the PSSD, and HSD and SVPC had less than 50% adoption.