Papers by Unyime R O B S O N Etuk
The study assessed the attitude and participation levels of youth corp members in Akwa Ibom State... more The study assessed the attitude and participation levels of youth corp members in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria, in the Community Development Service (CDS) scheme. A multi-stage sampling procedure was used to select 180 youth corps members from nine Local Government Areas across the state, with data collected through a structured questionnaire. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, mean scores, and factor analysis. Findings revealed that 54.4% of the respondents were male, with the majority aged between 25 and 30 years, and 81.7% were single. The respondents' level of participation in CDS was high with the cluster mean of 2.83 and the most participated CDS activities included Environmental Sanitation Campaigns, educational Programs for Local Communities and Skill Acquisition and Training, while participation in Infrastructure Development and Environmental Sanitation Campaigns were the lower. Attitudes toward CDS were generally favorable (cluster mean of 3.08 ), with corps members recognizing its role in leadership development and personal growth. Participation levels ranged from low to high depending on resource availability, community support, and personal interest. The study concluded that while attitudes were favorable and the level of participation in CDS activities was high. Resource constraints and organizational inefficiencies limited full engagement. Based on these findings, it was recommended that the government and NYSC officials should enhance resource availability to facilitate more effective community development services.
International Journal of Social Science and Management Research , 2024
This study assessed retirement planning among agricultural extension staff in Akwa Ibom State, Ni... more This study assessed retirement planning among agricultural extension staff in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria, focusing on strategies employed, preparedness levels, and factors influencing planning decisions. Using a multi-stage sampling technique, data were collected from 194 respondents across the six administrative zones of the Akwa Ibom Agricultural Development Programme (AKADEP) through a structured questionnaire validated by expert reviews and statistical reliability tests. The findings revealed a preference for proactive financial strategies such as early retirement planning (mean score-= 3.05), portfolio diversification (=3.00), and personal savings (=3.00), while structured strategies like written plans (=2.55) and international investments (=2.55) were less utilized. Analysis of preparedness levels showed moderate engagement in practices like regular retirement contributions (=2.70) and plan reviews (=2.73) but significant gaps in emergency preparedness (=1.45) and confidence in achieving retirement goals (=1.73). Specifically, RRG indicated a low level of retirement planning with the mean of 2.01, MRG had a low level of retirement planning with the mean of 2.24 and NRG also had a low level of retirement planning with the mean of 2. 46. The general mean for the three groups is 2.24, indicating that all the three groups had a low level of retirement planning. Key factors influencing decisions included financial constraints, family responsibilities, and financial literacy, with an overall variance explained of 68.89%. The study concluded that the level of retirement planning of Agricultural Extension Staff low and Financial constraints, family and health responsibilities, knowledge and financial literacy were the key factors affecting level of retirement planning. It was recommended that targeted financial literacy programmes emphasizing diversified investments, structured planning, and professional advisory services be implemented to enhance retirement planning efforts.
This study assessed the attitudes of farming households toward funeral expenditures in Ibesikpo A... more This study assessed the attitudes of farming households toward funeral expenditures in Ibesikpo Asutan Local Government Area, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. Employing a snowball sampling technique, data were collected from 126 respondents across nine villages, with 120 questionnaires completed and returned. The specific objectives were to; describe the socio-economic characteristics of farmers in the study area, identify the various sources of revenue for farmers' expenditure on funeral ceremonies in the study area, and determine the attitude of farmers towards funeral expenditure in the study area. The findings reveal that the majority of respondents were male, had resided in the community for 11 to 20 years, and were predominantly within the age range of 31 to 45 years. Key sources of revenue for funeral expenses included the sale of land, family savings, loans from relatives and friends, and bank loans. Findings also reveal a reliance on gifts to offset debts incurred from funeral expenses, with many farmers resorting to selling property, such as land, when alternative funding sources were unavailable. Based on the findings of the study, it is recommended that farming households reduce expenditures on food and beverages during funerals, ensuring these events remain solemn occasions for mourning. Also, families should aim to minimize overall funeral costs, allowing any gifts received to be allocated toward more productive endeavours, such as land acquisition or investments that provide a lasting tribute to the deceased.
International Journal of Culture and Society , 2024
This study assessed the attitudes of farming households toward funeral expenditures in Ibesikpo A... more This study assessed the attitudes of farming households toward funeral expenditures in Ibesikpo Asutan Local Government Area, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. Employing a snowball sampling technique, data were collected from 126 respondents across nine villages, with 120 questionnaires completed and returned. The specific objectives were to; describe the socioeconomic characteristics of farmers in the study area, identify the various sources of revenue for farmers' expenditure on funeral ceremonies in the study area, and determine the attitude of farmers towards funeral expenditure in the study area. The findings reveal that the majority of respondents were male, had resided in the community for 11 to 20 years, and were predominantly within the age range of 31 to 45 years. Key sources of revenue for funeral expenses included the sale of land, family savings, loans from relatives and friends, and bank loans. Findings also reveal a reliance on gifts to offset debts incurred from funeral expenses, with many farmers resorting to selling property, such as land, when alternative funding sources were unavailable. Based on the findings of the study, it is recommended that farming households reduce expenditures on food and beverages during funerals, ensuring these events remain solemn occasions for mourning. Also, families should aim to minimize overall funeral costs, allowing any gifts received to be allocated toward more productive endeavours, such as land acquisition or investments that provide a lasting tribute to the deceased.
International Journal of Culture and Society , 2024
This study examined the factors affecting women's participation in Community and Social Developme... more This study examined the factors affecting women's participation in Community and Social Development Projects (CSDPs) in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. Despite the recognized importance of women's involvement, participation remains suboptimal. A multi-stage sampling procedure was used to select 150 women beneficiaries from three Local Government Areas (LGAs). Data were collected through structured questionnaires and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics, including factor analysis. Results show that 26.7% of women had low participation, 56.7% had moderate participation, and only 16.6% had high participation in CSDP activities. The principal factors affecting participation were family support and financial barriers (18.2%), health and educational barriers (15.7%), safety and project relevance concerns (13.8%), and time and marital constraints (12.4%), which together accounted for a total variance of 88.3% in women's participation in CSDP. The study concludes that enhancing family and community support, and offering flexible participation options can significantly increase women's participation in CSDPs, thereby fostering more effective and sustainable community development in Akwa Ibom State.
Youth volunteerism in community development is a dynamic and multifaceted field that plays a pivo... more Youth volunteerism in community development is a dynamic and multifaceted field that plays a pivotal role in fostering sustainable and resilient communities. This study examined youth volunteerism in community development in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. Multi-stage sampling procedure was used with 150 respondents selected youth groups registered with the Ministry of Youth and Sports in Akwa Ibom State. Data collection utilized structured questionnaire that ensured coverage of diverse skills, attitudes and motivational factors with a reliability coefficient of 0.87. Data were analysed using factor analysis. The factor analysis procedure with varimax rotational applied to the original data of factors motivating youth in community development volunteerism yielded a 7-dimension solution that collectively explained 72.065 percent of the total variance. These dimensions were: personal fulfillment and passion with 37.404 % of variation, positive role models and peer support with 10.783 % of variation, access to resources and training opportunities with 8.923 % of variation, recognition and appreciation with 8.923 % of variation, Social connections and belonging with 4.526 % of variation, inherent altruism and sense of purpose with 4.086 % of variation and feeling a sense of belonging with 3.785 % of variation. personal fulfillment and passion was the most important factor among the seven dimensions. Targeted skill development programmes, diversified volunteer opportunities, and collaboration with policymakers were recommended.
The study assessed consumers' utilization of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for t... more The study assessed consumers' utilization of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for the consumption of household goods and services in Choba Rivers State, Nigeria. Data was collected from 100 randomly selected respondents using a structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics such as percentage and means while inferential statistic such as pearson moment correlation were used in analyzing data. Majority of the respondents were males with ages ranging from 21 to 30 years and single. Most respondents had tertiary education and have been using ICT for 5 years for the consumption of household goods and services (58.5%) via smartphones (97.6%). Household electrical appliances (63.4%), phones (56.1%), clothes (68.3%), shoes (68.3%) and mobile phone vouchers (credit recharge) (56.1%) were the most consumed goods and service using ICT. When rated on a scale, the respondents indicated that consumption of goods and services via ICT improves time spent with the family (2.76), improves access to producers of goods and services (2.71), and makes goods and services easily available (3.51) as reasons for using ICT. The result showed that there was positive correlation between occupation and mobile phone (r = .340, n = 100, p < 0.05), negative correlation was observed between age and television (r =-.313, n =100, p< 0.05) and a negative correlation was observed between marital status and television (r =-.398, n = 100, p< 0.05). It was recommended that Government and stakeholders should invest more on improving ICT infrastructure such as solar energy to avoid erratic and poor electricity supply
Youth volunteerism in community development is a dynamic and multifaceted field that plays a pivo... more Youth volunteerism in community development is a dynamic and multifaceted field that plays a pivotal role in fostering sustainable and resilient communities. This study examined youth volunteerism in community development in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. Multi-stage sampling procedure was used with 150 respondents selected youth groups registered with the Ministry of Youth and Sports in Akwa Ibom State. Data collection utilized structured questionnaire that ensured coverage of diverse skills, attitudes and motivational factors with a reliability coefficient of 0.87. Data were analysed using factor analysis. The factor analysis procedure with varimax rotational applied to the original data of factors motivating youth in community development volunteerism yielded a 7-dimension solution that collectively explained 72.065 percent of the total variance. These dimensions were: personal fulfillment and passion with 37.404 % of variation, positive role models and peer support with 10.783 % of variation, access to resources and training opportunities with 8.923 % of variation, recognition and appreciation with 8.923 % of variation, Social connections and belonging with 4.526 % of variation, inherent altruism and sense of purpose with 4.086 % of variation and feeling a sense of belonging with 3.785 % of variation. personal fulfillment and passion was the most important factor among the seven dimensions. Targeted skill development programmes, diversified volunteer opportunities, and collaboration with policymakers were recommended.
World Journal of Entrepreneurial Development Studies , 2024
This study was conducted to assess the Entrepreneurial Personality Traits of Male and Female Farm... more This study was conducted to assess the Entrepreneurial Personality Traits of Male and Female Farmers in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. The specific objectives for addressing the main objectives were to examine the profile of male and female farmers by type of agricultural entrepreneurial activities, examine the profile of respondents by information sources for agricultural entrepreneurship activities, assess the respondents by their motivation for entrepreneurship and assess the entrepreneurial personality traits (EPTs) of agro-entrepreneurship possess by the male and female farmers in Akwa Ibom State. Eighty six (86) males and sixty-four (64) female respondents were selected for the study using a multi-stage sampling procedure. Descriptive and inferential statistics such as means, frequencies, percentages, Z-Test and cluster analysis were applied to analyze the data for this study. From the results, the major types of agricultural entrepreneurship activity carried out by the male respondents was poultry farming (30.2%) while melon farming constituted the major agricultural entrepreneurial activity for the female farmers (12.5%) in the study. The major sources of information of agricultural entrepreneurship were extension agents (48.8% and 39% respectively) for both male and female respondents. The primary motivation for entrepreneurship recorded by the respondents was recognition of business opportunity (44.2%) and personal intention (48.4%) for both male and female respondents respectively. Z-test result on the difference in the EPTs of male and female entrepreneurs in the study area showed that there was a significant difference in all the six personality traits adopted for this study (Passion, Openness to Experience, Resilience, Strong Sense of Self-Confidence, Conscientiousness and Vision). The result further shows that members of cluster 2 (average EPT level) formed the majority in the entire respondents and female farmers were more involved in this group than male farmers. Among other recommendations, this study recommended that the gap in entrepreneurial personality traits of the respondents can be brought closer through adequate training programmes, awareness and education to enhance entrepreneurship spirit amongst the farmers.
Journal of Business and African Economy , 2024
The paper examines the analysis of farm accounting practices and wealth creation of rural farmers... more The paper examines the analysis of farm accounting practices and wealth creation of rural farmers in Akwa Ibom State. A multi-stage sampling method was applied and 381 respondents were used for the study. Rural farmers were drawn from six Akwa Ibom State Agricultural Development Programme field Structure Zones. The objectives of the study included to: determine the various types of farm account practiced by rural farmers, examine wealth creation level of rural farmers, and establish the relationship between farm accounting practices and wealth creation amongst rural farmers in Akwa Ibom State. The study reveals that rural farmers mostly kept records of debtors and creditors while majority rarely kept record as they considered it to be time consuming. The result obtained from wealth creation showed that majority (58.27%) of the farmers experienced an increase in income. The result of the multinomial regression showed that farmers accounting practices on preparation of balance sheet shows that there is a significant relationship in increase in income (P < 0.05) and increase in physical assets of rural farmers (P < 0.05). More so, farm accounting practices on debtors' record and creditors' record were significantly related to increase in income (P < 0.01) and physical asset (P < 0.01) of the farmers. Farmers' accounting practices on preparation of cash flow statement, Cash receipt book, sales and purchases day book was only significant on increase in income (P < 0.05). The farm accounting practices on profit and loss statement affected income (P < 0.01) and investment in other businesses and services (P < 0.05). Farmer's practices on records management showed a significant relationship in all the response variables as follows: increase in income (P < 0.01), increase in physical asset (P<0.05), ability to 'meet family and other responsibilities (P < 0.05), investment in other business and services' (P < 0.05) and improvement in knowledge and skill (P <0.05). The study therefore recommended that an enabling environment where farm accounting training with qualified extension personnel should be provided by government also formation of cooperatives which will help pull their resources to farm at large scale to ease the burden of preparing accounts for scattered farm plots and enhance their wealth creation capacities.
The paper examines the analysis of farm accounting practices and wealth creation of rural farmers... more The paper examines the analysis of farm accounting practices and wealth creation of rural farmers in Akwa Ibom State. A multi-stage sampling method was applied and 381 respondents were used for the study. Rural farmers were drawn from six Akwa Ibom State Agricultural Development Programme field Structure Zones. The objectives of the study included to: determine the various types of farm account practiced by rural farmers, examine wealth creation level of rural farmers, and establish the relationship between farm accounting practices and wealth creation amongst rural farmers in Akwa Ibom State. The study reveals that rural farmers mostly kept records of debtors and creditors while majority rarely kept record as they considered it to be time consuming. The result obtained from wealth creation showed that majority (58.27%) of the farmers experienced an increase in income. The result of the multinomial regression showed that farmers accounting practices on preparation of balance sheet shows that there is a significant relationship in increase in income (P < 0.05) and increase in physical assets of rural farmers (P < 0.05). More so, farm accounting practices on debtors' record and creditors' record were significantly related to increase in income (P < 0.01) and physical asset (P < 0.01) of the farmers. Farmers' accounting practices on preparation of cash flow statement, Cash receipt book, sales and purchases day book was only significant on increase in income (P < 0.05). The farm accounting practices on profit and loss statement affected income (P < 0.01) and investment in other businesses and services (P < 0.05). Farmer's practices on records management showed a significant relationship in all the response variables as follows: increase in income (P < 0.01), increase in physical asset (P<0.05), ability to 'meet family and other responsibilities (P < 0.05), investment in other business and services' (P < 0.05) and improvement in knowledge and skill (P <0.05). The study therefore recommended that an enabling environment where farm accounting training with qualified extension personnel should be provided by government also formation of cooperatives which will help pull their resources to farm at large scale to ease the burden of preparing accounts for scattered farm plots and enhance their wealth creation capacities.
All right reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in retrieval system or ... more All right reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of the publishers.
University of Uyo, 2023
Many people in Nigeria and other countries of the world depend on cassava products as their major... more Many people in Nigeria and other countries of the world depend on cassava products as their major source of food. Forecasting the yield of cassava makes farmers and agricultural stakeholders proactive in strategic planning towards its availability for the teaming population. The complexities of Cassava Yield Forecasting (CYF) incapacitate linear models in producing accurate results. Sequel to the necessity of comprehending the patterns, influence and parameter combination for optimal cassava yield forecasting, this work proposes Artificial Neural Network (ANN) paradigm with abilities to learn from previous yield parameters and generalize into unseen patterns. ANN model for CYF was designed and furnished with hyperbolic transfer function in the hidden layers while Sigmoid transfer function was deployed in the output layer. The cassava dataset with 2500 samples was collected and used for training and testing of the model. Least training and testing errors of 0.0013 and 0.0259 respectively were observed in the ANN model. Investigations regarding cassava yield based on the number of cassava cultivars planted per stand revealed that the cultivation of one stem per stand had a higher contributory effect on average cassava yield than cultivation of more stems per stand. The ANN model earned 94.80% and 96.10% for accuracy and precision metrics respectively, indicating acceptable performance. Detailed ANN investigations of cassava yield patterns in response to cassava varieties, soil types, fertilizer types, weather conditions and cultural practices as well as intelligent computational techniques for selection of ANN optimal training parameters are recommended for further research with a view to improving cassava yield forecasting.
The International Journal of Humanities & Social Studies, 2020
Food is one of the basic needs of man and a fundamental requirement for sustenance of life. It is... more Food is one of the basic needs of man and a fundamental requirement for sustenance of life. It is required for growth, development and other metabolic activities of the body. Also, the contributions of good quality food to the health of members of the farming household and other consumers range from tissue building/repairs to prevention of nutritional diseases and disorders (Ohlhorst, Russell, Bier, Klurfeld, Mein, Milner, Ross, Stover and Konopka, 2013). Therefore, sufficient foods in quantity and quality must be produced to feed and keep members of the household and the teeming population healthy. A farmer must first be healthy to work at optimum level in the production of the required food materials. This is because the health of the farmer and other members of the farming households affects the quantity and quality of farm labour, especially in areas where family labour is mostly used in agricultural production. According to Okoro, Etuk and Nathaniel (2019), the farmer is distracted from farm work and the quantity and quality of family labour reduced if a member of the farming household is sick. Though the role of food in human existence and healthy living is well acknowledged, some households do not have sufficient quantity of the required food. This is because food demand has always lagged food supply. Moreover, agricultural production does not keep pace with population growth, thereby creating a gap between the quantity of food supplied and the quantity demanded (Frona, Szenderak and Hurangi-Rakes, 2019). Some households therefore experience food shortage and hunger and members sometimes experience nutritional diseases or disorders. Households that cannot access the right quantity and quality of food required may face some level of malnutrition and are said to be food insecure.
International Journal of Innovative Research and Development, 2018
The study was carried out to examine the dimensions of Computer-Based Internet Technology (CBIT) ... more The study was carried out to examine the dimensions of Computer-Based Internet Technology (CBIT) technophobia among extension personnel in Akwa Ibom State. Specifically, it identified respondents: personal characteristics; incidence of CBIT technophobia, level of CBIT technophobia and identified factors influencing CBIT technophobia. The study hypotheses tested: the relationship between personal characteristics and the levels of CBIT technophobia and the difference in CBIT technophobia between Field Extension Personnel (FEP) and Supervisory Extension Personnel (SEP). Simple random sampling technique was used to select respondents. Data was generated from primary source through a structured questionnaire and analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Findings show that 57.8 % of the respondents were male, 91.7% were married and their mean age was 43 years. Also, while 79.5% respondents constituted FEP, 64.4% were graduates and the mean household size was six (6). Mean monthly income of respondents was revealed to be N73, 108.00, while 62.8% had no formal computer training. It was also revealed that 83. 9 % respondents had moderate CBIT technophobia, while predisposing factors to CBIT technophobia were revealed to encompass; human, operational, learning anxiety, lack of exposure and experience, technology, environment and self-efficacy indices. Hypotheses revealed that educational level influenced CBIT technophobia, although no significant difference was observed between FEP and SEP respondents with regard to CBIT technophobia. The study concluded that level of education influences CBIT technophobia. It was recommended that training and exposure to the use of CBIT should be given to extension personnel to ameliorate the effect of CBIT technophobia.
Wine Economics and Policy, 2016
Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch ge... more Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden. Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen. Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. Terms of use: Documents in EconStor may be saved and copied for your personal and scholarly purposes. You are not to copy documents for public or commercial purposes, to exhibit the documents publicly, to make them publicly available on the internet, or to distribute or otherwise use the documents in public.
Journal of Sustainable Society, 2014
The study assessed the impact of Shell Petroleum Development Company's (SPDC) sustainable communi... more The study assessed the impact of Shell Petroleum Development Company's (SPDC) sustainable community development (SCD) approach to interventions in the Niger Delta region. It specifically assessed performance of projects implemented through SCD approach against projects' objectives and also assessed projects impact on livelihood activities of the beneficiaries. A desk review of SPDC's approaches to project implementation was done and a field work was carried out during which opinion leaders, youth, women leaders were interviewed and field observation of the projects were made. The data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics and composite index. Response on the level of performance of SPDC's agricultural intervention revealed that the project performance was high, but there was an average level of impact on the livelihood activities of the beneficiaries as it did not exceed 0.699 index range. It was concluded that the SCD approach used for the implementation of the community projects was less effective, thus the project objectives were not fully achieved. Therefore, SPDC should re-strategize her community development initiatives to achieve her goal of sustainability.
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Papers by Unyime R O B S O N Etuk