A SUMMARY REPORT ON STUDENT INDUSTRIAL WORK EXPERIENCE SCHEME

(SIWES) AT FORESTRY RESEARCH INSTITUTE RESEARCH INSTITUTE OF

NIGERIA (FRIN), JERICHO, IBADAN, OYO STATE, NIGERIA, ONDO STATE

AFFORESTATION PROJECT, ONDO STATE, NIGERIA AND LEVENTIS

FOUNDATION (NIGERIA) AGRICULTURAL SCHOOL, ILESA, OSUN STATE.

SUBMITTED

BY

AROSO OPEYEMI TEMIDAYO

MATRIC NO: 137207

TO

THE DEPARTMENT OF FOREST RESOURCES MANAGEMENT

IN

FULFILLMENT OF THE PRACTICAL YEAR TRAINING PROGRAMME (PYTP)

2010/2011

FRM400

2

Department of Forest Resources Management,

Faculty of Agriculture & Forestry

University of Ibadan

September, 2010.

The Director,

Industrial Training and Coordinating Center,

University of Ibadan.

Ibadan, Nigeria.

Dear Sir,

LETTER OF SUBMISSION

I AROSO OPEYEMI TEMIDAYO, Matric No 137207 of the Department of Forest Resources

Management, University of Ibadan hereby present for consideration my work report on the

industrial training which was embarked on for six months, the training was carried out at Forest

Research Institute of Nigeria Jericho, Ibadan Oyo state, Ondo State Afforestation Project Oluwa,

and Leventis Foundation (Nigeria) Agricultural School, Ilesa, Osun State for evaluation.

I have put this summary together as part of the requirement for the completion of my industrial

training.

I hope this report will be acceptable and evaluated.

Thanks.

Yours faithfully

………………………

AROSO O.T

3

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

LETTER OF SUBMISSION

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

DEDICATION

CHAPTER ONE

1:0 Introduction

CHAPTER TWO

2:1 FORESTRY RESEARCH INSTITUTE OF NIGERIA (FRIN)

2:1:2 Activities carried out in FRIN

2:1:2:1 Forest conservation and Forest protection Department

2:1:2:2 Forest economics and extension Department

2:1:2:3 Forest product development and utilization Department

2:1:2:4 Sustainable forest management and development Department

CHAPTER THREE

3:1 ONDO STATE AFFORESTATION PROJECT

3:1:2 Sawmill/Engineering Unit

3:1:2:2 Agricultural Unit

3:1:2:3 Plantation Unit

CHAPTER FOUR

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4:1 LEVENTIS FOUNDATION (NIGERIA) AGRICULTURAL SCHOOL

4:1:2 Administration of Leventis Foundation Nigeria

4:1:2:1 Agricultural-Engineering Department

4:1:2:2 Crop Production and Agroforestry Department

4:1:2:3 Rural Enterprise Development Department

4:1:2:4 Livestock Production Department

CHAPTER FIVE

5:1 Practical activities carried out at the University of Ibadan

5:1:2 Silvilcultural practices

5:1:3 Forest-inventory practices

5:1:4 Elementary ground survey

5:1:5 Agro-forestry practices

5:1:6 Forest operations

CHAPTER SIX

RECOMMENDATIONS

CONCLUSION

APPENDIX

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ABSTRACT

The student industrial work experience (SIWES) of 2010/2011 session, 400 level class of the

Department of Forest Resources Management which is part of the Practical Year Training

Programme of the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry. The programme which took 6 months out

of the practical year proramme was carried out in three locations namely; Forest Research

Institute of Nigeria, Jericho, Ibadan, Ondo State Afforestation Project, Oluwa,Ondo state and

Leventis Foundation (Nigeria) School of Agriculture, Ilesha in Osun state.

We were divided into various groups and exposed to different units in the various locations, this

afforded us the opportunity to exchange ideas and apply our theoretical knowledge in real work

situation, thereby bridging the gap between theoretical aspect and actual practice.

Being forced to work, and forced to do your best, will breed in you temperance and self-

control, diligence and strength of will, cheerfulness and content, and a hundred virtues

which the idle will never know.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

My profound appreciation goes to the Almighty God, who sustained me in all ramifications,

indeed he is Father to me. My heartfelt gratitude also goes to my wonderful parent, who have so

far been there for me in all aspects.

I also express sincere gratitude to my classmates, especially the ones who wish me well, and also

to Nike and Tope their encouragement and support kept me moving on the track.

To Dr Jimoh my PYTP coordinator, Mr. Fatoba my supervisor and Mr. Kolapo I deeply

appreciate your love, support and moral advice.

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DEDICATION

This piece of work is dedicated to the Great God of the heaven and earth, for his unending love,

undeserved favor and unmerited mercy upon my life and for seeing me through this period of

practical work. I also dedicate this work to my marvelous parents and my wonderful siblings.

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CHAPTER ONE

1:0 INTRODUCTION

The student industrial work experience scheme (siwes) was introduced into the school

curriculum in order to bridge theory with practice by making it possible for students to expose

themselves to real job conditions and actual job situations and environment. Siwes prepares

students for the working conditions they are likely to meet and how to cope with such conditions.

The practical year period is really a challenging period, a time of real exposure to the practical

things of ones course.

In time past there has been a menace of producing graduates who though are able to pass their

exams which are usually in theory form but are not well equipped with the potentials to apply

what they have been thought in real life situations, in order to bridge this gap siwes was therefore

introduced into the school curriculum. The programme is expected to last for six months usually

outside the academic system, students are posted or expected to work in organizations related to

their course of study in order to familiarize themselves with job opportunities and gain working

experience. Siwes was introduced in the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry as a way of

exposing students to the practical aspect of their course and also to gain practical experience.

Student industrial working scheme (siwes) was established with the following objectives;

To provide avenue for students in the Nigerian universities to acquire industrial skills and

experience in their course of study.

To prepare students for work conditions they are likely to meet after graduation.

To expose students to work method and techniques in handling equipment and machinery

that may not be available in the university.

To make transition from university to the world of work easier and thus enhance contest

for later job placements.

To provide students with an opportunity to apply their theoretical knowledge in real work

situation thereby bridging the gap between University work and actual practice.

To enlist and strengthen employers’ involvement in the entire educational process of

preparing University graduates for employment in the industry.

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This report therefore provides a detailed outline of all the work that was carried out and all

the work experience I gathered throughout the period. The industrial training of the

Department of Forest Resources Management was carried out in three (3) locations namely;

I. Forest Research Institute of Nigeria (FRIN), Jericho, Ibadan, Oyo State.

II. Ondo State Afforestation Project (OSAP),Oluwa, Ondo State.

III. Leventis Foundation (Nigeria) Agricultural School, Ilesa, Osun State.

The time scheduled for the locations were 2 months each. The Industrial training started 20 th of

April 2011 and ended on the 23rd of September.

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CHAPTER TWO

2:1 FORESTRY RESEARCH INSTITUTE OF NIGERIA (FRIN)

Forestry research institute of Nigeria was established in 1954, to conduct research in all

areas of forestry, wildlife, environmental management of the forest, forest product utilization

and portraying of technical and sub-technical personnel for the forestry service in the country.

The name FRIN came into being in 1976 alongside with other agric related research institutes.

The institutes, apart from its headquarter that is located in Jericho, Ibadan, Oyo state, Nigeria has

six (6) outstations and four (4) colleges. The outstations which are established on ecological zone

basis are;

1. Shelterbelt Research Station, Kano State.

This station aimed at planting of tree crops to serve as windbreak for the wind and to occupy the

free spaces.

Importance

Regulate the climate

Stabilize the water table

Grazing of farm animals

Production of transmission poles

For farmers to practice farming activities

For settlement

Providing fuel woods

2. Savanna Forest Research Station, Samara, Zaria.

It comprises mixture of grasses and trees, where the trees are stumps and short.

Importance

To introduce fast growing trees example Tectona grandis (Teak)

3. North-East Arid Zone Research Station, Damask, Borno State.

It has the same conditions with the institutes in Kano state

4. Eastern Research Station, Umuahia, Abia State.

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The area is familiar with rainfall and it causes erosion (gully erosion), also land slide.

Importance

To introduce fast growing trees to reduce the intensive of high rain.

To compact the soil particles together using indigenous and exotic species of trees.

To reduce the speed of water on the soil by planting of grasses.

5. Swamp Forest Research Station, Onne, Port Harcourt, River State.

The area is water logged and salty, also closer to the sea which hinders some trees to be grown in

the location. Seeds germinate from the parent and drop to the sea before growing. The problem

in this location includes the type of harvesting method and sustainability. The aim of the station

is to improve the area for planting of trees (exotic and indigenous species)

6. Moist Forest Research Station, Sapoba, Benin City, Edo State.

The station was relocated to Benin City as a result of illegal fellers harming the workers. Sapoba

is common with tall trees but they are no more due to illegal felling. The area is now populated

with stumps and saplings. FRIN is a federal government organization; set out in order to ensure

sustainable management of our environment and forest resources for the benefit of the present

and future generations through appropriate research and training, the measure to ensure

environmental production, amelioration of degraded environments and conservation of our forest

resources for sustainable development.

Mandate of the Institute includes the following;

Conservation and improvement of genetic resources of forest trees and ecosystem for

economic development.

Improvement of silvilcultural practices relating to forest trees of economic importance.

Mechanization and improvement of methods of cultivating, harvesting and processing of

forest trees of economic importance.

Improvement of the utilization of forest product and wood residues.

Study of ecology of pest and disease of forest trees and their control.

Development of agro-forestry system for the investigation of the integration of forest

trees of economic importance into farming system in different ecological zones of

Nigeria.

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Study of socio-economic importance of forestry in the Nigerian economy.

Forestry education and training.

Sericulture.

Any other problem relating to forestry flora and fauna.

The four Colleges are;

Federal College of Forestry, Ibadan, Oyo State.

Federal College of Forestry, Jos, Plateau State.

Federal College of Forestry Mechanization, Afaka, Kaduna State.

Federal College of Wildlife Management, New bussa, Niger State.

All the colleges award Pre –ND, OND and HND degree to students.

FRIN (Ibadan) has four (4) departments.

Sustainable Forest Development Department

Forest Products Development and Utilization Department

Forest Conservation and Protection Department

Forest Economic and Extension Department

Other supporting departments include;

Administration Department

Financial Service Department

Information and Documentation Department (Library)

A new department called biometrics and statistics department has just been established in

2008

Functions of the Institute

FRIN perform the following functions in the institute

Research into all aspect of forestry, wildlife and environmental management.

Dissemination of their research findings.

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Training of low and middle level technical manpower for forestry, tourism and

environmental sub-sections.

2:1:2 ACTIVITIES CARRIED OUT IN FRIN

The four departments of the institute has sections and sub-sections whereby they operate and

carry out different researches in all aspect of forestry and at the end of the research, they collate

their findings together and disseminate it to the public. The recent department that has just been

established is biometrics and statistics department, though we didn’t pass through the

department. To carry out practical training, we were divided into groups at the administrative

office. We were grouped into four groups consisting of four students each and one with students

of five. Also the activities we were to observe at the various departments were scheduled by

creating a time table for our movement.

2:1:2:1 FOREST CONSERVATION AND PROTECTION DEPARTMENT

The department of Forest Conservation and Forest Protection perform various roles; these

include wildlife conservation and improvement of genetic resources of forest trees and

ecosystems for economic development, research on the ecology of forest trees pests and diseases,

their economic importance and improved methods of their control. The department has five

major sections which include Ecology section, Conservation section, Entomology section,

Pathology section, and Taxonomy section. The first section I was allocated to was the wildlife

and conservation section, I was at the grass cutter section where I and members of my group

were taught on domestication and management. At the grass cutter section we performed a lot of

task by feeding the animals and we made sure their cage was neatly cleaned before feeding them.

We also went to the agro-meteorological section which is under ecology where we took reading

of the soil temperature with the aid of a soil thermometer, rainfall using rain gauge, atmospheric

temperature and relative humidity using Stevenson’s screen, wind speed using anemometer,

wind direction using wind vane, radiation balance using Gun-bellani, rate of evaporation using

Class-A pan, sunlight intensity using automatic sunshine reader, duration of sunlight using camp-

bell stokes. The observation can be taken within the hours of 9:00GMT & 15:00GMT.

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At the Pathology section, we participated in the mushroom production by pasteurizing the

substrate. The substrate used consists of saw dust, lime, wheat bran and water. We also saw how

the substrate was being inoculated with spawn. The procedures involved in the production are:

Preparation of composted saw dust; mixture of saw dust with lime which removes

microbes; wheat bran which add nutrients to the mixture. This is kept in an open space

there is effect of rainfall and sunshine on it and turned at 3 days interval. It is left for 2-3

months until there is no smell emitting from it.

Packaging of the composted saw dust; this done by wetting the composted saw dust with

water and then kept in nylon such that it has a flat base.

Pasteurization or sterilization; This is done by heating the substrate not placed directly in

a drum containing water so as to kill the microbes. While sterilization is done by heating

the substrate with the use of an autoclave for 1 hour at 1210c.

Preparation of spawn; Wheat is soaked for 24 hours and then parboiled. It is later cultured

in a lamina flow machine in a culture room. Within 2 weeks, it gets ramified

Inoculation; It is the process of introducing the spawn into the substrate

Exposure: The inoculated substrate is kept in a dark room for about 2 weeks

Sprouting

Harvesting

At the Taxonomy section we learnt about the Naming, identification and classification of

various plant species, while at the entomology section we were able to identify various insects.

2:1:2:2 FOREST ECONOMICS & EXTENSION

The department has a mandate to disseminate forestry research result to potential end users. In

carrying out the mandates it collaborates with other research department in the institute, relevant

department, in the universities, non-governmental organisations, wood based industries and other

various stakeholders in the industry. It consists of the following departments, extension

&sociology, farming research section, publication section, forest economics section,

photographic section. We started our activity in the sociology section where we were taught on

various aspects on sociology, at the publication section we learnt about the publication of various

report, things to know while writing a report. At the economics section we learnt about the

principles of forest economics and how economic principles can be applied to forest operations,

we were also taught on research methodology. In the extension department we learnt about what

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extension is all about? Our last point of call was the photographic section where we learnt about

cameras in general, we were taught on how to effectively use the camera considering light as an

important principle. We were also told about its importance to forestry like aerial survey, forest

inventory and so on.

2:1:2:3 FOREST PRODUCT & DEVELOPMENT UTILIZATION

This department consist of six sections namely, wood science, wood chemistry, wood & metal

section, sericulture, non-wood forest produce and bio-energy production. Their objectives

include: improvement of the utilization of wood by products, forest education and training,

training on sericulture, mechanization and improvement of methods of cultivating, harvesting

and processing of forest trees of economic importance. The sections which consist of subsections

includes;

Wood Science Section: This section has the following units : Wood anatomy, Wood chemistry,

Wood seasoning and preservation, Wood mechanics and timber quality and Bio-technology.

Panel and Product Technology: This section has the following units ,Wood panel technology

and New product technology.

Sericulture Section: This section has the following units Non-mulberry and Mulberry.

Non-Wood Product Technology: This section has the following units Apiculture, Parkia

biglobosa and Jatropha curcas

Wood and Metal Section: This section has the following units Sawmill, Metal and Saw

doctoring.

At the wood science section, we were made to understand that knowing the anatomical aspect of

wood helps one to know how you can utilize species of wood. We were made to know how to

identify wood based on their macroscopic features, it has to do with what is visible to the eyes

e.g the pores, their smell, weight, taste, and color. While that of microscopic has to do with the

internal features like the type and arrangement of cells and this can be seen with the aid of a

microscope and this also helps to differentiate softwood from hardwood. It was concluded that

wood anatomy is the” mother of utilization of wood”. We taught on how prepare wood slides.

This is done by boiling the wood for several hours, cut a thin portion of the wood with

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microtone, stain with safranine and then washed with alcohol before it viewed under the

microscope to view the anatomical properties.

At the wood library, we saw displays of different samples of authenticated wood species that

research has been carried out on collectively by the botanist, taxonomist and anatomist, having

their names, family, the authority and F.H.I (FRIN Herbarium Index) number. We also learnt

that the properties of the same species of wood might be different based on their provenance,

source of seed, soil type and age.

At wood chemistry we were told about the ongoing projects like extraction of ethanol from

sawdust, this is done by hydrolyzing the sugar with H2SO4,fermenting the hydrolyzed sugarand

then carry out distillation on the sample, at78o c ethanol comes out the heating mantle. Another

project is the use of neem tree extract i.e the leaves and the bark as wood preservative,

preparation of biogas from sawdust and so on. At the wood seasoning and preservation unit, we

were made to understand the difference between wood seasoning and preservation, reasons we

preserve and season our wood, chemicals used in preserving against bio-deteriorating agents in

order to increase the service life

of the wood, reduce organisms that destroy wood, method of preservation, wood treatments

while the advantages of seasoning wood are that it improves its stability, durability, preservation,

wood finishing, handling and processing, reduces corrosion and bio-deterioration. But however,

wood seasoning also has its disadvantages especially when not done properly. There are

basically two methods of seasoning woods which are Natural or Artificial (kiln) drying methods.

To calculate the moisture content of wood we make use of top load avery weighing machine.

At the non-wood products unit, we learnt about the production of locust bean (parkia biglobosa),

parkia ,a n economic tree of multipurpose is found in the savanna. The bark of the tree can be

used to treat leprosy, malaria and headache. The root is also used as a chewing stick to cure

mouth ache and the pod is used to feed domestic animal.

Processing of Locust bean includes;

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Cooking- the amount of locust bean to be used is cooked for 48 hours preferably it will

be left over till the next day, this is done in order to soften the cotyledon because of its

strongness.

Marshing -locust bean is marshed with the aid of a mortal or pistil, this is done to ensure

that the shaft is removed from the cotyledon.

Washing-the quantity of locust bean which has been marshed will be put inside a bowl, a

large quantity of water will be added to it to wash away the shaft.

Re-cooking- locust bean will be cooked for at least 30-45 minutes.

After this fermentation of locust bean will take place for 48 hours, the bacteria responsible

for fermentation are bacillus and staphylococcus, during fermentation the Nitrogen (N) will

be broken down into ammonia gas (NH3) and carbondioxide (co2). The more the fermentation

of locust bean the higher the protein content. After this has taken place salt is now added.

Packaging-locust bean is distributed into a little bowl with lid or a foil paper.

At the saw doctor & sawmill section, we were made to know there are two major processes

that a log will undergo which are the primary conversion and secondary conversion. We were

taught on the different sawing methods which are flat sawn or tangential or through and

through and the quarter sawing or radial sawing methods, the advantages and disadvantages

of both. In an ideal sawmill, the two basic that should be found there are the Horizontal band

sawing and the Circular sawing band machines. But when others are found in sawmill, it

becomes an integrated sawmill. We were also told that the lumber recovery efficiency during

conversion is determined by three factors: the human, machine and wood species factors.

At the carpentry unit we saw various machines like the circular saw, planning, sandpaper,

crosscutting, surfacing, wood turning late, mortising, drilling, vertical band saw machines and

were told what they are used for. The chemicals used for the production of laminated wooden

bowl include Top bond glue and poly-guard lacquer.

At the wood cement and board section, we were made to participate in the production of wood

cement & particle board. Wood cements board is a form of particleboard manufactured from

ligno-cellulosic materials with the use of cements as a bonding agents instead of formaldehydes.

This is an important practice as it helps in reducing waste to the barest minimum.

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RAW MATERIALS

The Raw materials for producing the wood cement boards are :

1. Sawdust which is collected from the institute’s sawmill;

2. Portland Concrete Cement which is the binding agent;

3. Chemical additives;

4. Various Color cements or powders

5. Water

PROCEDURES OF PRODUCTION

Collection: The collection of sawdust or wood particles. Although any form of wood

particle can be used, particles of relatively useful sizes would be preferred for this board

production.

Sieving of the saw dust so as to remove wood barks that may be present since this will

negatively affect bonding.

Boiling: this is done by pouring the saw dust into a pot of boiling water or boiling the

saw dust directly with the water. It is done to reduce the soluble sugar content as well as

the carbohydrate and tannin components of the wood mausoleum. This process helps to

reduce the operation of bio-deteriorating organisms on the wood product

Mixing : The sawdust was mixed with the river sand, Concrete cement, the chemical

additives and water

Mat laying : the mixture was spread on a polytene mat of the target size.

Consolidation: the surface of the board was consolidated with cement, here the cement

of the wanted color is used because this determines the final color of the board.

Pressing: the moulded board is compressed to remove the moisture to the barest

minimum and to form handle able lap. The jack is used for this process.

Drying: This is done to totally remove the moisture by air drying the boards. The next

day, the mould boards are taken a room whereby the environment is stable and later to

the open air for them to become harder.

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Trimming: Resizing of the board is done using the resize. This has a sharp saw that can

be used to trim boards into desired sizes.

Arrangement: The boards are arranged in a free area for easy accessibility and

transportation.

At the bio-energy section we learnt about Jatropha curcas, a perennial crop which grows well on

marginal soil and poor soil. It could be used for various purposes as live fence or edges around

farmland or grazing root to minimize crop disruption by browsers. It contains curcine a toxic

chemical that prevents animals from eating the plant. However most importantly the by-product

from Jathropha curcas which is the oil seed can be used as a bio-diesel, Jathropha bio-diesel can

be used 100% or mixed in any ratio with petroleum diesel, it is about 70% CO2 free , and

environmental friendly instead of the normal bio-diesel that releases CO2 into the atmosphere

thereby depleting the ozone layer. The process of production could be simply followed in the

chart below;

Plant-Harvest-Sundry seeds-Shell seeds with grinding stone-Re-dry seeds-Milling-Extracting

(this is done with extractor machine).

In Apiculture, I learnt it’s about the rearing of bees for conservation purpose and for honey

purpose. We went to the field where the beees were kept in a Kenya-topbar hive, a method of

capturing the bees is the use of a method called baiting, and a major material used in baiting is

the use of honey which is rubbed on the bar. Apis mellifera is the most common specie of bee in

Africa especially Nigeria and it produces very quality honey. They forage on flowers to get

nectar and pollen, the pollen is used for the production of propolis to seal up every opening in an

hive, while the nectar is used in the production of honey.

2:1:2:4 SUSTAINABLE FOREST MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT

The sections in this department are; West African Hardwood Improvement Project (WAHIP),

Central Nursery, Physiology Section, Ornamental Section, Biotechnology Section, Seed Section

and Soil Section however we (I & members of my group) were only opportune to go to only a

few of these department because of the short time frame.

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We began the practical activity in the seed section of the department, where we were lectured on

their mandates was given such as; seed procurement, seed extraction, handling and processing,

seed storage, seed testing, seed distribution, seed record and seed research. We saw the seeds of

different species. At the growth and yield section we were thought on how to manage our forest

sustainably, we also learnt about the equipments used in a forest and were able to identify them,

equipment included metre tape, girth-tape, haga altimeter, spigel relaskop, compass, global

positioning system, vertex iv, hypsometer, Swedish bark screw guage, ranging pole. At the

ornamental nursery and landscaping designs section we watered some of the ornamental plants

and filled some poly pots after which we were given a brief lecture on ornamental plants, we also

went about the nursery identifying various ornamental plants such as Tuja orientalis, Masquerade

tree or police tree, Terminalia randii, Royal palm, Kings Palm etc. There are various methods of

raising seedlings, a major method done in the ornamental nursery is raising through the

germination box the procedures involve:

a. Collect soil from river (optional) and wash to remove impurities.

b. Heat soil to kill bacteria and pathogens.

c. Collect soil into germination box.

d. Spray seeds into germination box and wet thrice a day.

e. Seed is transferred into pot and put in a green house.

At the West African Hardwood Project (WAHIP) we transferred seedlings from the nursery to

the field for transplanting. We also learnt about the various methods of propagation and were

shown the practical aspect of this.

CHAPTER THREE

3:1 ONDO STATE AFFORESTATION PROJECT (OSAP)

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OSAP was established in 1979 and commenced operation in May 1980 through the loan

obtained by the federal government of Nigeria in 1979 from the international Bank for

Reconstruction and Development[IBRD} towards the combine cost of establishing associated

forestry plantation projects in Ondo, Ogun and Anambra states. The project is funded by the

loan and contributions from the federal government and Ondo state government, with the

following objectives;

To increase roundwood production from plantation development to meet Nigeria increasing

demand for utility grade timber.

To provide fibre pulpwood of the plantation for a federal government owned pulp and paper Mill

located in Iwopin ,Ijebu east of Ogun state.

3:1:2 SAWMILL & ENGINNEERING UNIT

This unit consists of various other sub-units which are; wood conversion, civil & mechanical

engineering, furniture making, sawmill mechanical and sawmill engineering. We were however

introduced to furniture making; the department is into the production of various household items.

We also learnt about the seasoning of woods, which deals with the drying of woods and this

depends on thickness of

Wood specie, weather condition etc. We were also shown some of the machines, such as the

vacuum impregnator, heavy duty thicknesser.

3:1:2:2 AGRICULTURAL UNIT

The agriculture unit has a plantain plantation, oil palm plantation, cashew farm, fish pond, grass

cutter subunit, and a pineapple plantation. In this unit I was practically exposed to palm oil

production.

The whole process first began with harvesting; the bunch was cut from the mother tree with the

aid of a ladder, before harvesting a method of knowing if the bunch is ripe is that the falling of

the fruits. After the process of harvesting the palm fruits were removed from the bunch with the

aid of an axe or by beating the bunch to the ground, the fruits were then sieved; the method of

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sieving in this unit is done with the aid of an improvised sieving aid. The oil palm seeds were

then put into a drum to boil for about 30minutes in order to soften the seed; however oil palm

seeds could be boiled for at least 30minutes to 1 hour depending on the intensity of the fire. The

boiled oil palm seeds were then conveyed bit by bit into a machine called the lister grinder or the

digester, the digester performs the task of breaking out the part which contains oil from the

seeds. The product from the digester was transferred to a hydraulic press which performs the task

of extracting the oil. The oil was then heated for about 15 minutes (30 minutes at times) after

which decantation was carried out. The whole process of production could be

The next day the shaft from the oil palm seeds were made to under the same process of grinding

in the digester and in the hydraulic press, little quantity of oil was extracted which was boiled

and left to cool. After decantation the sediments remaining is called ‘’ikite’’ it could be used to

eat yam. The whole shaft or waste from the kernel could still be used in the production of palm

kernel oil.

Harvesting Sieving Heating Crushing Pressing out to extract oil Reheating

Decantation

3:1:2:3 PLANTATION UNIT

This unit is made up of other sub-unit which are logging/exploitation, regeneration, survey, log

control, hammering procedures. In the regeneration sub unit we had a lecture on nursery

establishment and the types of nursery. I learnt that before establishing a plantation one must first

go on a reconnaissance survey, the site must not be hilly or stony and should not be water

logged.

We planted Teak and Gmelina seedlings which were in alignment with one another; we planted

about 180 seedlings of Gmelina and about 500 seedlings of Tectona grandis. For the Teak we

used a spacing of 4m by 4m. During planting after the seedlings are planted the poly pot is used

to cap the peg for easy identification.

CHAPTER FOUR

4:1 Leventis Foundation (Nigeria) Agricultural School

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Leventis Foundation (Nigeria) is a non-governmental organization that was founded by Chief

Anastasios George Leventis. The foundation was set up to assist educational, cultural, and other

charitable causes in Nigeria as a major beneficiary. But the foundation took a major policy

decision in 1986 by choosing its main goal in training young farmers in modern agricultural

methods. Based on this policy, the foundation donated equipment, workshop tools, and teaching

aids to colleges in order to promote vocational training of Nigerian youths. The foundation is

active in three main areas namely agricultural schools, Scholarships and assistance programmes,

including healthcare support, Environment and conservation. The agricultural schools are in

various locations in Nigeria such as Ilesa Osun state, Dogon Dawa Kaduna state, Panda Kano

state, Yaba Lagos, Idoani Ondo state and Gombe state. The objectives of the Agricultural school

include training young Nigerian small-scale farmers:

(a) In more efficient farm management, including the maintenance and repair of simple

agricultural tools and equipment.

(b) In improving soil fertility on a sustainable basis and adopting appropriate high-yielding

crops and efficient livestock production practices.

(c) In offering valid alternatives to the current practice of shifting cultivation, and in making

the permanent cultivation of farmland possible by the adoption of proper crop-rotation

and agro-forestry practices.

(d) In healthy nutrition practices, processing major food commodities, family planning, first

aid techniques and handling textiles.

(e) In post-harvest handling, (storage, processing and marketing).

(f) An appreciation of civic responsibilities, good governance and democracy.

Leventis Foundation (Nigeria) Agricultural School, Ilesa, Osun State is situated in the

premises of the former “Farm Institute Ilesa” which was released to the foundation in 1987.The

area is 360-400m above sea level in a agro-ecological zone characterized latheric and

hydromorphic valley bottom soils in a semi-humid region which has annual rainfall of bi-modal

period from March to November of between 1200mm and 2000mm allowing two cropping

seasons.

The school curricula consists of

Crop production and Agro-forestry, including fadama/irrigation agriculture

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Livestock production, including fisheries

Bee keeping

Agricultural engineering

Farm management

Rural Enterprise Development and farm product processing and utilization.

The training include 80% of practical works and 20% of classroom lectures and each trainee

receives a “statement of participation” at the end which is not intended to be used for outside

employment as the principal aim is that the trainee should go back to work on their farms and put

into practice what they have leant during the training course.

The various departments in Leventis Foundation (Nigeria) Agricultural School are;

Agricultural engineering department

Animal production department

Rural enterprise development department

Crops and agro forestry department

4:1:2:1 AGRICULTURAL-ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

The mandate of this department is to fabricate machines used in agricultural produce, repairing

of farm implements and also rendering of service to other department. The sections in this

department include fabrication section, carpentry & joinery, maintenance section, clerical

section. The fabrication section deals with the fabrication of iron and metals. Upholstery work is

done in the carpentry and joinery section, the maintenance section is responsible for the repair of

machinery implement while the clerical section is involved in writing of reports and budget etc.

They are the administrative section of the department. We were taught various types of

agricultural tools, equipments, implements, and the various mode of operation and application,

also practical demonstration on the and how to maintain them. We were also taught on various

safety precautions to be taken in the workshop, we were also exposed practically to the driving

of a hydraulic tractor.

4:1:2:2 CROP PRODUCTION AND AGROFORESTRY DEPARTMENT

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Agro-forestry as a discipline can be defined as a farming system that integrates crops and/or

livestock with trees and shrubs. It is also a land use system and practice in which woody

perennials are deliberately integrated with crops and/or animals on the same land management

unit.

Agro-forestry is a sub-section to crop production department and this is section where

following activities are carried out:

Nursery practices

A nursery is a place where different young seedlings of plants species are raised under intensive

care until they are ready to be transplanted to the main field. In villages or local areas, the type

usually practiced but not widely recognized is the peasant nursery. They raise seedlings of some

plant species around their houses especially where there is run-off of water from the bathroom so

that the seedlings are watered with such water.

But the two major types of nurseries are;

Temporary or Intermediate nursery

In this type of nursery, a crop is targeted and the nursery should be near the permanent site to

reduce the cost and damage of seedlings when transporting. It is temporary because once there is

establishment of the raised crop seedlings on the field, the nursery practices ends.

Permanent or standard nursery

In this type of nursery, permanent structures and sources of water are created on the site. Store

houses for keeping nursery equipments office are built. Trees are planted to serve as wind breaks

and weaning shelters, also fencing must be done around the nursery either by metals, bar wire,

tree planting (live fence) etc. The land should be well leveled for drainage.

Advantages of the nursery

1. The best planting stock can be selected before planting on the field.

2. Vegetative propagation like grafting, budding etc can easily be carried out in the nursery

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3. The seedlings from the nursery get matured faster and fruits earlier than those planted

directly on the field.

4. It reduces wastage of seeds

5. It is easy to control pest attack.

Disadvantages of the nursery

1. Time consuming.

2. Government policy may affect the nursery negatively

3. Cost of production is high.

4. Irrational burning of bushes.

.

Activities in the nursery include;

Plant Propagation

Plant are propagated in two major ways which are,

Sexual propagation ; this is through the use of seeds

Asexual propagation; this includes

Cutting propagation (stem and root cuttings)

Budding

Grafting

Marcotting

Layering (which is one of the oldest method)

Materials used during propagation are powder hormone or ashes or decomposed sawdust and

budding knife, secateur. Propagation is carried out in the nursery in humidity chamber or non-

mist propagation (a chamber constructed having the features of a natural soil profile with a

relative humidity that can sustain the growth of cuttings).

We planted the stem cuttings of ornamentals like yellow bush. We also planted the cuttings of

Stone bearer, Vernonia amygdalina and Moringa oleifera.

Plant Identification

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Identification of seedlings in the agro-forestry nursery according to their uses was carried out,

and at same time we were told their means of propagation. Examples of plants identified are,

Medicinal plants –Azadirata indica (Neem), Gacina kola (Orogbo), Anacardium

occidentale (Cashew), Carica papaya (Pawpaw), Dacryodes edulis (Native pear).

Oil producing plants – Elaeais guineense (Oil palm tree), Cocos nusifera (Coconut)

Beverage plant – Theobroma cacao (Cocoa)

Stimulant plant – Cola nitida

Latex producing plant – Hevea braziliensis

Timber trees – Tectona grandis (Teak), Triplochiton scleroxylon (Obeche)

Ornamental plant – Duranta spp (India formal, yellow and green bush flower)

Fodder plant – Gliricidia sepium, Leucaena leucocephala

Practical Establishment of Oil Palm Plantation (Elaeis guineese)

We were also taken to the nursery site and taught how the seedlings of oil palm are raised. The

nursery practices involved are getting of sprouted nuts from Nigeria Institute for Oil Palm

Research (NIFOR). The sprouted nuts are planted in the poly-pots filled with top soil, watered

and then palm fronds are placed on it to serve as a mulching material and to protect from rodents

and rain. After 2-3 months, the palm fronds are removed and a pinch of NPK fertilizer is applied

to each poly-pots. After application, mulching is done again with the use of wood shavings.

Rogueing is also done i.e removal of weeds with the use of hands. The oil palm seedlings are

ready for transplanting to the field after raising for 1-11/2 year in the nursery.

During the course of this practical, an area of land was used as an example to demonstrate how

the establishment of oil palm plantation is done. The following are operations carried out in

establishing a hectare of oil palm plantation;

Lining: This is first carried out to mark out boundary of where to start planting and it

helps in the alignment of planting arrangement. It is done with the use of a measuring

tape and ranging poles.

Pegging: This is an operation carried out to mark out the points where the planting of

seeds will be done. This spacing of planting of a particular crop determines the intervals

at which pegging is done. Ranging poles or improvised pegs are used for this operation.

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Digging of holes: This is done where there are pegs.

Transplanting of seedlings: This is the planting of raised seedlings taken from the nursery

to the field where is to be planted.

Wire netting/ collaring: It is an operation carried out on establishment of oil palm

plantation in order to guide against pest such as the grass-cutter and to separate from

other crops that could be planted.

In a hectare, 143 seedlings are planted at a spacing of 9m by 9m in triangular form. The labour

cost for each planting operation is N20 and at least10 workers will be needed. To use the

plantation for agro-forestry system, plantain (Musa spp) can be included after planting of the oil

palm seedlings in-between at the spacing of 4.5m away from each oil palm stand on each row.

This attracts additional benefit, such as the suppression of weeds. The space between the rows of

the oil palm stands, which is otherwise known as an ‘Avenue’, can be used for planting cover

crops or arable crops are planted leaving a spacing of 1m between the palm trees. Ring weeding

is done around the palm seedlings so as to avoid the cover crops from creeping into it. After six

(6) months of planting, 0.25kg fertilizer is applied and a year, also two (2) years later another

1kg fertilizer is applied in rig method. Dead branches are pruned, when fruiting; you maintain

the row or avenue.

Before application of fertilizer, soil testing is done and some years (30 years) there will be more

kernel than oil, thereby replacement of the old tree are replaced with new ones.

The three species of oil-palm trees are’

Dural- 50% oil and 50% kernel

Teneral – 25% oil and 75% kernel

Pisiferal – 75% oil and 25% kernel

We were told that the teneral specie fruits early between 3-4 years after planting and can produce

up to 8 bunch of palm kernel.

Pineapple Production

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Pineapple is one of the sun loving crops which its fruit in nature used for juice production. It

contains vitamins and grows in different sizes. The two parts in pineapple which can be planted

are the sucker and the crown. The sucker are better than the crown for planting because they

have short maturation period which is 18 – 25 months while the crown takes 5 years or more to

mature and fruit. The suckers are gotten after harvesting the fruit; 3 or 4 suckers from the old one

harvested called the ‘ratoon’. The different planting distance for pineapple production is 50cm by

50cm in 4 rows and 1m after before the next 4 rows,60cm by 30cm and 1m after 2 rows, and

70cm by 70cm Spacing distance but the best to use when going into commercial production is

the 60cm by 30cm.

The steps involved in pineapple production are

Site Selection

Land Preparation

Planting Materials

Planting Distance

Weed Control

Inducement

Crop Protection

Fertilizer Application

Maturation/Harvesting.

Pineapple Inducement

This deals with the use of a catalayst to speed up the fruiting age of a crop. It is mostly

used for pineapple. We made use of calcium carbide as a catalyst and dissolved it in

25grams of water and sprayed this on the pineapple with the aid of a boom sprayer. The

essence of this was to make increase the friuten age and quicken maturing of the

pineapple for market and also make them grow equally at the same time.

Chemical Weed Control

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The chemicals used for weeds control are called “herbicides” and are formulated based on the

following;

Leaf morphology (which could either be broad or narrow leaf): the broad-leaved are dicot

plants, have net-leaf venation and are essentially legumes while the narrow-leaved weeds

are usually grasses, essentially monocots with parallel veins.

Life cycle (annual, biennial or perennial): the annual weeds are weeds that complete their

life cycle within a year while the biennials complete theirs within two years. But for the

perennial weeds, they able to survive within the environment for several number of years

by virtue of some vegetative adaptive features e.g underground stolons, roots. Examples

of such weeds are Imperata cylindrical, Pennisetum purpureum.

Herbicides can be classified into;

Selective or Non-Selective (2, 4-D, Glyphosate)

Systemic or Contact (Glyphosate, Diuron, Pendimenthalin)

Pre-Emergence or Post Emergence (Force Top, Fusillade)

Foliar Applied or Soil Applied (Pendimenthalin)

Guidelines to Effective Use of Herbicides

Read and Follow the instructions the manufacturer instruction carefully

Obtain chemicals from reliable and dependable sources

Don’t apply herbicides to water logged soil

Soil applied herbicides are best to moist soil

Rainfall period of 4 – 6 hours is needed after application

Alley Cropping

This is the planting of leguminous plant on hedge row and in between the rows (allies) where we

plant agricultural crop. It is a suitable alternative to shifting cultivation; it is stable and affords

one the opportunity of planting on a piece of land for more than 15 years. Trees used in alley

cropping are Enterolobium cyclocarpu, Leucena leucophela, Gliricidia sepium. Out of the trees

mentioned, Enterolobim cyclocarpu is the best, this is due to the facts that the leaves get decayed

faster when pruned and it also fruits in 2 years. The spacing of allies that is between rows varies

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with 2m, 4m or 6m. The advantage in spacing is that for 2m, it helps check for erosion better

than 4m, while 4m checks better than 6m on a slopy land. For spacing with 6m, it is easily

accessible by a tractor while that of 2m cannot be accessed at all.

Snailry Management

The breeds in snail production are

Archachatina marginata – Edible land snail

Archachatina achchatina – Helix asperse

Achatina fulica – Helix asperse

Limicolaria spp – Helix lucorum

Features of snails

They are nocturnal animals i.e active at night

They are cold blooded

Hermaphrodites in nature

Its components include Shell (30% - 40%), Muscular foot (35% - 45%), Visceral mass

(20% - 25%).

Eggs are laid during rainy season (from March to November) which incubate between 25

– 32 days and mature 8 – 12 months, the life span ranges from 8 – 9 years.

The reasons for snail farming are not far-fetched in the sense that people get them from the wild

without replacing them, some people set fire irrationally and indirectly destroy them, the use of

herbicides and tractors can also destroy them.

Some of the benefits derived or needs supplied from the rearing of snails are: cheap source of

animal protein, fat content and cholesterol level is very low, cure anemia, shell for ornamental

purposes, and after all it easy to set up with low capital requirement.

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Management practices are to be observed at the right time in case of signs of illness, causes and

control/prevention. One of the practices carried out while here was feeding the snails with

Pawpaw leaves and not fully ripped fruit and the separation of the growers from the baby.

Bee Keeping

This is the management and keeping of bee in a hive. Bee keeping is also referred to as

“apiculture”. But, when it involves the cultivation, harvesting and the processing of bee products

especially on sites where there are cultivation of flowering plants, it is called bee farming. The

products are honey, bee wax, propolis, royal jelly and bee venom. Their housing units called hive

include Kenya top bar, Frame bar, leventis drum but locally baskets, old tyres, gourd and so on.

Factors that are to be considered before siting an apiary include;

a. It should be under a shed, preferably a fruiting plant.

b. The place should be secured and accessible.

c. It should not be sited where there are high human activities.

d. Should be located near a river side or a source of water but not a swampy area.

e. The apiary should not be sited near trees that are associated with insects because they will

lick up the bait

Ways of inviting bees into the hive include

a. By baiting i.e rubbing the mixture of pure honey and jam at ratio 1:1 with cotton wool

and placed in their hive.

b. Dividing of strong colony: This is done by picking 4-5 top bars from the middle of the

hive which contains the eggs and larva, into another apiary.

c. Capturing of wild colony: Here, the former hive is destroyed and other hives around are

being baited, thereby attracting the bees. This is usually done during harvesting.

A colony consists of the queen, drones and workers. The queen is the mother of the colony

which lay & fertilizes the eggs. The workers are females whose reproductive organs are not

pronounced as that of the queen, they go in search of nectar and pollen, build the honey

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comb, and guide the colony. While the drones mate the queen once in the lifetime of the

queen.

We were also told the guides to avoid bee sting, medicinal value of honey, enemies of bees

and so on.

4:1:2:3 RURAL ENTERPRISE DEPARTMENT (RED)

This department comprises of Extension unit, Home economic unit, Family life

development unit, and rural enterprise unit. The three things carried out in the deparment

includes; Extension activities, Rural financing and Home economics. We received lecture on

how to write good feasibility report of any crop or animal, necessity of having a good record

keeping in farm management and a good business plan before setting up.

4:1:2:4 LIVESTOCK AND FISHERIES PRODUCTION DEPARTMENT

This department comprises of the following units;

Poultry unit: This is a unit where all kinds of domesticated birds are raised both for eggs

and meat production in commercial quantity.

Rabbitary: A unit where rabbits are raised in hutches as pet and meat.

Cattle production unit: This unit which involves the rearing cattle in commercial scale is

done in a semi-intensive system way.

Aquaculture unit: In this unit, fish are cultured both in earthen and concrete pond on a

large scale and are sold to eateries and canteen or individual.

Piggery unit: improved breeds of pigs are reared in an intensive system on a commercial

scale.

In the poultry unit, lecture was given on how to prepare for the arrival of birds which includes

clearing and cleaning, disinfection, and fumigation; standard packing per birds, medication i.e

the vaccination programme given, types of feeds and period given. I, personally learnt about the

feeding procedures of Layers and broilers

Also, at the aquaculture unit, we learnt about the 3 types of earthen ponds which are (excarvated,

embarkment and partially excarvated) ponds, while we also have concrete ponds with 3 types

35

also they are surface, partially subway and totally ponds. We were also taught on pond

preparation, liming of ponds, stocking and fish breeding.

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CHAPTER FIVE

PRACTICAL ACTIVITIES CARRIED OUT IN UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN

The whole practical exercise was done in the University of Ibadan. University of Ibadan is

located at latitude 7026’N and 3054E in Oyo state, Nigeria. It is characterized by several

buildings meant for academic purposes and to its extended interior there are extensive covers of

green vegetation including farmlands of individuals belonging to the farming population in

Ajibode village, satellite campus of the university. The practices carried out were based on the

aspect of silviculture, agro-forestry, forest inventory, ground survey.

5:1:2 SILVICULTURAL PRACTICES

MAINTAINANCE OF AJIBODE PLOTS

We did what was called fire-tracing; it is done by clearing every inflammable material within

1m to the plot boundaries, this was done to prevent occurrence of ignition of teak plants from the

surrounding bushes when there is a natural or artificial fire during the dry season.

NURSERY PRACTICES

The practical nursery operations were carried out nursery, at the department of forest resources

management. The various activities were carried out;

Seed Collection

Various seeds were collected from various locations, they include;

1,000 seeds of Terminalia superba (parry road and departmental location).

2000 seeds of Tectona grandis (University Teak plantation.

300 seeds of Khaya senegalensis.

Alstonia boonei (opposite nursing department)

The Terminalia, Alstonia, and Khaya seeds which were planted did not require any special pre-

treatment as Teak.

Pre-treatment of Tectona grandis

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The method used in pre-treating the seed of Teak was the cold and hot water method. For the

cold water treatment, the teak seeds were soaked for 7 days and the water was changed morning

and evening while for the hot water treatment the water was mixed with cold water. Poured into

the seeds after which it was left to dry. This whole treatment was done in order to break seed

dormancy, soften seed coat for rapid germination.

Bed preparation

After seed collection, the next step is bed preparation of which a standard bed is 8-15m long and

a height of 1-1.5m or 10-15 cm height for raising seedlings however we used a spacing of 0.5

with a heap of 5.10cm. After the bed preparation, treated seeds were broadcasted on the bed. I

planted cold water treated teak separately from the hot water treated teak. The cold water

however produced a higher number of seedlings. The total number of seedlings gotten was about

800-900. (Bed preparationwas also practiced for Alstonia and Terminalia.

Preparation of poly-pods/Soil mixture

The top soil was gotten at the back of the departmental workshop; it was a fertile sandy-loamy

soil.The top soil was filled into the pure water sachets.

Pricking-out of seedlings/Transplanting

This was done after about 2 weeks, when the seeds were noted to be germinating. The pricked

out seeds were then transplanted to the poly pods filled with top soil which was under the

weaning shed to prevent hardening off.

Watering and Weeding

Watering was done every day (morning & evening) and weeding was done mostly every 2

weeks.

CONSTRUCTION OF NURSEY SHED

A shed was constructed using a measurement of 25m by 40m, the shed was constructed with

materials such as palm fronds, wire gus, bamboo.

5:1:3 FOREST INVENTORY PRACTICES

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This was done at the teak plantation second gate; the objective of carrying out the exercise

was to carry ou the inventory of the Tectona grandis stand and to formulate management

techniques. We carried out inventory which involves measurement of Total height,

Merchantable height, crown diameter, diameter at breast height, diameter at base, diameter at

middle, diameter at top of the tree with the use of a relaskop and a measuring tape. With the

parameters mentioned above, we calculated the stem volume using Newton’s formulae, we

also checked out the health status of the stand and the environment by getting the slenderness

coefficient, competitive index and crown ratio of the stand.

5:1:4 ELEMENTARY GROUND SURVEY

We performed various task such as; Alignment of ranging pole, taking of bearing, pacing and

office work or presentation.

1. ALIGNMENT: This was done by placing three ranging poles on a straight line,

when aligning a minimum of three poles. The poles are fixed in such a way that that

when viewed the three ranging poles would be seen as one when viewed through the

first pole.

2. TAKING OF BEARING: This was done with the aid of a suunto compass. This

was used by viewing through the window and getting the readings on the scales when

the needle stops moving. In taking bearing, to get accurate readings one has to hold

the compass firm and straight, sight the tip of the ranging pole before taking readings

and the person taking reading has to be aligned with the poles.

3. PACING: In pacing you trace your steps from the first pole alignment and walk

down to the next pole. It involves walking steadily and counting the steps along

distance.

To get the pace, the formula below is used

Measurement from tape

No of steps

During the operation, a distance of 20m was measured with the use of a tape. After then, pacing

was done along that same distance. In this case, the distance is known. But for an unknown

39

distance, to get distance in metres, the pace for a known distance has to be calculated and then

multiplied by number of steps taken.

If the pacing is constant, the distance in metre for the unknown will be equal when it is measured

with a measuring tape.

4. OFFICE WORK: This This involves plotting of surface small maps & plans. It is the

final stage of ground survey. At this stage, the measurements recorded on the field book are

translated into maps or plans.

We also carried out the close transverse survey of the department of forest resources

management.

5:1:5 AGROFORESTRY PRACTICES

ACTIVITIES CARRIED OUT AT THE PRACTICAL SITE

We practiced taungya system of farming, the whole process of cultivation involves;

Clearing: This involves the physical preparation of the ground and soil. It was done with

the use of cutlass, hoe and with bare hands.

Ridge making: This process was skipped due to the nature of the soil.

Sowing or Planting: The crop that was sown was Zea mays (maize)

Weeding: This involves the removal of unwanted plants on the plots. The weeding was

done 2 weeks after planting and weeding was done at consecutive times later.

The maize was planted in between tree seedlings of Tectona grandis.

5:1:6 FOREST OPERATION

The operation was carried out at Wadie Martins road, near Awba-dam, the operation included

felling of trees, crosscutting of stems with the use of power saw (for easy evacuation), the power

saw was also used for felling while the monkey winch was used to control the direction of felling

especially trees with large buttress.

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CHAPTER SIX

RECOMMENDATIONS

At Ondo State Afforestation Project little or no task was done compared to where we had

earlier been to, therefore student should be taken to other places where they would gain

more and be more exposed.

Siwes should not only be limited to place their predecessors has visited; they should be

exposed to many more locations for educational enhancement.

The time spent in FRIN was brief as we were not opportune to cover some sections,

therefore the duration should be longer than the usual.

Attempts should be made in providing good accommodation unit, especially in FRIN.

Payment of allowance to student, will serve as a motivation tool.

Enforcement of forest policies and regulation.

Effort should be intensified at soliciting external financial support for the scheme at the

departmental level.

Effort should be made to improve the road condition in OSAP, if student are to go there

and trip should also be scheduled to dry season.

A standard shed should be constructed in the nursery of the department.

The sprinklers in the nursery should be repaired or borehole should be repaired to reduce

drudgery.

CONCLUSION

Indeed siwes is a very essential exercise which all students must partake in. It is although a

challenging period, a moment of real exposure to the practical details of one’s course.

The programme exposed us to field experience on various aspect of forestry and has helped one

to reconcile real situations with what one has been reading in books. It exposed us to the

rudiments of forest operations, empowered entrepreneurs especially in the area of raising

seedlings.

It has also given us the knowledge on how to be business oriented especially in the area of

forestry.

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SIWES has enabled us to cope in adverse situation especially due to the nature of forestry, and it

has enhanced my educational horizon and improved my human social relations. It has also

trained us on how to be good managers of our natural resources and how to maximize our forest

resources, thereby making us good managers even beyond the scope of forestry.

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APPENDIX

Automatic rain guage A cage where snails are reared

A drum of oil palm seeds Heating of the oil palm seeds

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Digester or lister grinder Extractor machine

Planting of ornamentals. Tractor driving

Planting of pineapples on the field Boom sprayer

44

wood cement board Kenya-top bar hive

45