Natural Resources and Sustainable Development (May 2023)

DETERMINANTS AND CONSTRAINTS OF RICE HUSK UTILIZATION AMONG RURAL HOUSEHOLDS IN SHENDAM LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, PLATEAU STATE, NIGERIA

  • Ademiluyi Ibiyinka Olubukola* , ,
  • Adebayo Olaoluwa Ayodeji**

DOI
https://doi.org/10.31924/nrsd.v13i1.113
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 13, no. 1
pp. 1 – 10

Abstract

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In addition to polluting the environment, improper disposal of agricultural wastes litters, a lot of valuable biomass resources. The study was carried out to analyze the utilization of rice husks among rural households in Shendam Local Government Area, Plateau State, Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique was employed to select 131 respondents. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, mean-score and logistic regression. The result revealed that the mean age of the respondents was 33 years. 72.1 % of the respondents were male while 27.9 % were female. The households sampled had an average family size of 4 members. The average annual income of the respondents was 35,927 Naira while the mean farm experience was 10 years. The result on environmental sanitation revealed that 95.3 % of households participated in environmental sanitation. The major perceived effect of rice husk utilization include the reduction in particulate pollutant emission, increased yield when used on the farm, source of employment through recycling and the increase in farm income. Age (β = 0.960; p ≤ 0.05), marital status (β = -9.064; p ≤. 0.05), gender (β = -3.459; p ≤ 0.1), educational status (β = 0.979; p ≤ 0.05) and awareness (β = 4.746; p ≤. 0.01) were major determinants of rice husk utilization respectively. Insufficient information about the proper use, deprivation of subsidy, lack of awareness, and cost of rice husk transformation were the major constraints to the utilization of rice husks in the study area. It was recommended that the extension agents and other relevant stakeholders should embark on enlightenment campaigns and training of milling households in the study area on how to adopt more efficient and environmentally friendly ways to improve the standard of living, through the use of innovative rice husk utilization by the households.

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