Abstract: The majority of Sierra Leoneans consume rice as their primary staple food every day. The most significant staple crop worldwide and in Sierra Leone is rice (Oryzae sativa L.), which provides nourishment for about half of the world's population. The goal of this research is to quantify post-harvest losses in rice processing at agriculture business centers (ABCs). The research experiment was carried out at eight selected functioning Agriculture Business Centers (ABCs) in eight districts across Sierra Leone. An assessment was conducted to determine the level of knowledge and farmers’ awareness of post-harvest losses from harvesting to milling. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data from two hundred and thirty-two (232) rice farmers who were selected through a combination of multi-stage, purposive, and simple random sampling techniques. Yemen's (1967) scientific formula was adopted in selecting the sample size. Data analysis was undertaken using descriptive statistical tools for a phased estimation of postharvest losses. The study areas were found to be dominated by females; only 84 (36%) were males. The data showed that 92 (39.7%) of the farmers had no formal education in the research areas; the majority (63%) of the rice farmers cultivated between 1 and 3 hectares; and 98 (42.2%) had farming experience between 10 and 14 years. According to the findings, the majority of respondents (80%) believe that postharvest losses are excessive. From the results, threshing losses account for the peak of 26%, which is 0.26 kg; 92.7 percent of the respondents revealed that a lack of harvesting equipment is the main challenge; and 41.8 percent of the respondents have a strong belief that the problems of postharvest losses of rice can be significantly reduced through mechanization. The results revealed that drying losses vary significantly between parboiling methods. The values obtained for milling are different for both, but they are not significant. The values obtained from the grain quality parameters (head grain, fissuring, 1000 grain weight, chalky, and dockages) show a significant difference between the improved and traditional methods for parboiled rice at the @=0.05 level of significance. The study concluded that threshing losses had an adverse effect on rice farmers' income and consequently recommended awareness campaigns and demonstrations on rice handling and postharvest loss prevention.Abstract: The majority of Sierra Leoneans consume rice as their primary staple food every day. The most significant staple crop worldwide and in Sierra Leone is rice (Oryzae sativa L.), which provides nourishment for about half of the world's population. The goal of this research is to quantify post-harvest losses in rice processing at agriculture business c...Show More
Abstract: The e-commerce of agricultural machinery components can help the rapid development of the agricultural machinery industry and accelerate the implementation of rural revitalization strategies. The study selected the small and micro enterprises in Pangkou Auto Agricultural Machinery Parts City, Gaotang County, as the research subjects, and conducted an empirical analysis on the adoption willingness of e-commerce operators of agricultural machinery parts in Pangkou Auto Agricultural Machinery Parts City by building an economic model. The results showed that the accuracy of the economic model's prediction reached 76%, and the value of Nagelerke R2 reached 0.580, indicating that the model has a good fitting effect as a whole, it has a good explanatory effect and statistical significance for the dependent variable. The results show that age has become a protective factor for the e-commerce willingness of agricultural machinery component operators, while other factors have a relatively weak effect on the e-commerce operation of hospitals. The research provided a specific explanation of the results and summarized the construction of a complete network system to improve the level of after-sales service; strengthen digital empowering retail and implement an e-commerce+live streaming marketing model; improve e-commerce capabilities and break down barriers to information exchange; strengthen financial policy support and a series of countermeasures to expand the e-commerce operation of agricultural machinery parts.Abstract: The e-commerce of agricultural machinery components can help the rapid development of the agricultural machinery industry and accelerate the implementation of rural revitalization strategies. The study selected the small and micro enterprises in Pangkou Auto Agricultural Machinery Parts City, Gaotang County, as the research subjects, and conducted ...Show More
Abstract: Barley is a major cereal crop in Ethiopia accounting for about 20% of the total cereal production. It is grown in a wide range of agro-climatic regions under several production systems. Barley grows best on well drained soils and can tolerate higher levels of soil salinity than most other crops. Although many improved food barley varieties have been released nationally and regionally, these varieties have not been tested in Buno Bedele and subsequently are not well popularized as well. In this Zone, farmers are growing local varieties which are low yielder and susceptible to diseases and other stresses. Hence recently released food barley varieties were tested for their phenotypic performance to confirm their environmental adaptation using Randomized Complete Block Design in three replications for two consecutive years (2020 to 2021) in Gechi and Chora districts. Quantitative traits such as plant height, spike length, Biomass, and grain yield were collected and analyzed using RStudio and Genstat 18th edition software’s. Qualitative trait such as days to maturity and days to heading were also collected. The combined analysis of variance indicated that the eight tested varieties showed significant variations for all traits. The highest combined mean grain yield was recorded from variety “Adoshe” (5184 kg ha-1) followed by “HB 1966” (4758 kg ha-1).Abstract: Barley is a major cereal crop in Ethiopia accounting for about 20% of the total cereal production. It is grown in a wide range of agro-climatic regions under several production systems. Barley grows best on well drained soils and can tolerate higher levels of soil salinity than most other crops. Although many improved food barley varieties have bee...Show More
