COMPLETE SCHOOL PROJECT TOPICS & MATERIALS :
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CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the study
The agricultural sector of the Nigerian economy has contributed immensely to rural development, industrial materials, food security and non-oil foreign earnings. Prior to the discovery and commercial exploitation of crude oil in the late 1960s, agriculture accounted for a significant contribution to the national export; improvestandard of living and poverty reduction. For sustainable food production and balance of payment surplus, the Federal Republic of Nigeria has revisited issues of the improvement of agricultural sector instead of depending solely on petroleum for national development by embarking on institutional efforts, such as cocoa rehabilitation techniques, cocoa trade sector to grow at an average rate of 7.5% per annum between 2002 and 2003.
Cocoa, Theobroma cacao L (Sterculiaceae), also known as food of the gods, is an important economic tropical tree whose center of origin is thought to be in several native areas of the tropical rainforest of equatorial America or Upper Amazon (Bailey et al. 2005), and grows profitably within latitudes 20ºN and 20ºS of the equator.
However, most of the harvest is produced at latitudes 10ºN and 10ºS (Anim-Kwapong et al., 2002). Cocoa is the world’s third largest agricultural export, after coffee and sugar, and a major source of foreign exchange earnings for the number of countries dominating production. It is also a major cash crop in many tropical countries, ranking among other staple bean and nut products in terms of global crop production (World Wide Fund for Nature 2006, World Cocoa Foundation). , 2010). Grown on more than 7.5 million hectares, cocoa is a livelihood for around 40 to 50 million people worldwide, including five million cocoa farmers (World Cocoa Foundation, 2010). Smallholders with farms under 10 hectares (ha) grow more than 90% of the world’s cocoa and use little or no fertilizer and agrochemicals (International Cocoa Organization, 2005, 2010). Cocoa is a major economic resource for many tropical countries (Browna et al., 2007, Lanaud et al., 2009). The cocoa sector alone employs more than 80 000 smallholder farming families (Asamoah and Baah 2003, Frimpong et al., 2007), representing 19% of rural households and contributing between 70% and 100% of the annual incomes of farmers. smallholder households (Breisinger et al., 2008).
Pollination ecology is the scientific study of plant-pollinator relationships and it involves the life histories, floral phenology, energetics of foraging, distribution, and behavior of individual species as well as the structure and function of natural systems at the level of populations, communities, and ecosystems. The ecological importance of pollinators is crucial (Kearns et al., 1998), but management of pollination systems is relatively new and untried (Kearns and Inouye, 1997). This applies to cocoa with its unique qualities such as the pollination mechanism which are shared by very few tropical plants (Bos et al., 2007). A significant issue of cocoa pollination ecology is the synchronization between pollinator population cycle, the floral phenology of cocoa tree and the adequacy of pollination (Fisher, 2015).
Winder and Silva (1972) have suggested that in order to enhance knowledge on natural pollination and hence the crop yield, the characteristics of the cocoa tree: the number of flowers produced, and the period of the year in which they are produced must be considered. Furthermore an understanding of factors underlying phenological patterns is said to assist conservation scientists in predicting consequences of perturbations such as a typical climatic events (Foster, 1982) or global warming (Tutin and Fernandez, 1993). There is therefore the need to update knowledge of the factors affecting adoption of hand pollination technique by Cocoa Farmers in Ondo state Nigeria.

1.2 Problem Statement
Even though the economic importance of cocoa is globally acknowledged, very little is known about the factors that determine its yield (Bos et al., 2007). Most studies on cocoa pollination were done between 1950’s and 1970’s. Due to the nature of the known cocoa pollinators cocoa entomologists easily shift to other insects, thus less attention is given to cocoa pollination studies (Winder, 1972). The cumulative result is that cocoa pollinators are totally ignored; their identity (i.e.taxonomy) is less known; paucity of relevant literature on cocoa pollination and what is available is outdated. Due to lack of systematic dissemination of information on pollination farmers and extension workers are less informed of the value of cocoa pollinators. This in turn has led to lack of proper management of pollinators in cocoa production and methods for monitoring cocoa pollinators are both limited and inefficient.
In most West and Central African countries, growth in the cocoa subsector have been achieved by increasing the area cultivated rather than by improving yield (Kuwornu et al., 2011; OforiBah and Asafu-Adjaye, 2011). Consequently, cocoa production has been among the most significant factors associated with the near disappearance of the West African Guinea rainforest as cocoa farms are increasingly encroaching on the rainforest ecosystem (Binam et al., 2008). The pollinator assemblage in the cocoa ecosystems and the relative importance of breeding substrates of cocoa pollinators are less researched. There is therefore the need for an update on the pollination ecology of cocoa, the activities of cocoa pollinators and their practical relevance to the cocoa farmer. The cocoa tree is visited by a myriad of insects which were viewed as potential pollinators. Some researchers (Billes, 1941; Posnette, 1944; Entwistle, 1972; Kaufman, 1973, 1974; Brew, 1984) had presented some claims about the possible involvement of other pollinator guild. However, they were quite unanimous on the pollinator status of the midges. This calls for further study to establish the pollinator status of other insect visitors to the cocoa flowers, especially the bees and thus, update the studies of natural pollination of cocoa. It is believed that the breeding substrates of recognised pollinators can illicit and increase the rate of pollination (Sarfo et al., 2003) yet no comprehensive study has been carried out on them.

1.3 Objectives of the study
 Main Objective
The main objective of this study is to investigate the Factors affecting adoption of hand pollination technique by Cocoa Farmers in Ondo state Nigeria.
 Specific Objectives
1. To determine the floral phenology of the cocoa trees and its ecological significance.
2. To examine the effect of hand pollination technique on production of cocoa.
3. To examine the challenges of hand pollination technique.

1.4 Research Questions
The following research questions were addressed in the study:
1. What is the floral phenology of the cocoa trees and its ecological significance?
2. What is the effect of hand pollination technique on production of cocoa?
3. What are the challenges of hand pollination technique?

1.5 Significance of Study
Globally there is great concern over the apparent reduction in populations of pollinators of all kinds due to its potential impact on agricultural productivity (Kevan and Philips, 2001; Biesmeijer et al., 2006; Chagnon, 2008).
Worldwide recognition of the key role pollinators in health of ecosystem both in farmers’ fields and in wild landscapes has led to the establishment of International Pollinator Initiative (IPI) of the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). In collaboration with some member countries the IPI is developing strategies for pollinator conservation and management. Consequently, the African Pollinator Initiative was established in 2009 to promote pollination as an essential ecosystem service for sustainable livelihoods and the conservation of biological diversity in Africa. In this regard some detailed ecological study of cocoa pollinators is necessary to augument the growing body of knowledge. An improved understanding of natural pollination of cocoa can make a substantial contribution to two key sectors of Nigerian economy i.e. agriculture and conservation (Rodger et al., 2004).
The Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria employs supplementary hand (artificial) pollination to increase yield and also breed new varieties of cocoa. The study therefore is expected to rekindle interest among cocoa entomologists and ultimately result in the integration of hand pollination into agricultural extension protocols.

1.6 Scope of the study
This study carried out on the factors affecting adoption of hand pollination technique by Cocoa Farmers. The study is limited to Ondo state, Nigeria.

1.7 Definition of terms
Farmer: A farmer is a person who is engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials.
Hand Pollination: Hand pollination is also known as mechanical pollination. It is a technique that can be used to pollinate plants when natural or open pollination is either undesirable or insufficient. This method of pollination is done by manually transferring pollen from the stamen of one plant to the pistil of another.
Cocoa: The cocoa bean or simply cocoa, which is also called the cacao bean or cacao, is the dried and fully fermented seed of Theobroma cacao, from which cocoa solids and cocoa butter are extracted.
Pollination: Pollination can be defined as the act of transferring pollen grains from the male anther of a flower to the female stigma. The goal of every living organism, including plants, is to create offspring for the next generation. One of the ways that plants can produce offspring is by making seeds.

1.8 Organization of Study
The study is divided into five chapters. Chapter one deals with the study’s introduction and gives a background to the study. Chapter two reviews related and relevant literature. The chapter three gives the research methodology while the chapter four gives the study’s analysis and interpretation of data. The study concludes with chapter five which deals on the summary, conclusion and recommendation.