Inventory, logistics, and transportation
Ibrahim Madugu Abdulrahman; Umar Ali Umar; Ayodeji Nathaniel Oyedeji
Abstract
Despite being the 16th-largest tomato producer in the world with the potential to dominate tomato exports, Nigeria still faces challenges, including a lack of crucial production inputs, low yields, outdated technology, significant postharvest losses (PHL), and a lack of infrastructure for processing ...
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Despite being the 16th-largest tomato producer in the world with the potential to dominate tomato exports, Nigeria still faces challenges, including a lack of crucial production inputs, low yields, outdated technology, significant postharvest losses (PHL), and a lack of infrastructure for processing and promotion. Although the PHL in tomato production and promotion are well understood worldwide, Nigeria still has a sizable knowledge gap in postharvest handling and management. So, to evaluate the perspectives of the key players (farmers, traders/middlemen, transporters/logistics, and processors) in this value chain, this study constructed a zone-specific production system, postharvest handling, and losses model for tomatoes. Three hundred fifty samples from the four districts comprised the value chain actors' survey, comprising 200 farmers, 115 traders/middlemen, 25 transporters/logistics, and 10 processors. A standardised questionnaire was used to perform the one-on-one quantitative interview. The study's findings indicated that most transporters had at least two losses, and at least one dealer had lost money. The main players in the supply chain cited problems such as the lack of market avenues, storage technologies, processing factories, close markets, and inefficient transportation methods. Furthermore, loading and unloading, breakage, rot, and accidents account for most tomato PHL losses. Therefore, it is advised that Nigeria's rich tomato market be exploited by establishing suitable processing facilities, appropriate sponsorship for farmers, and developing suitable transportation routes.
Engineering Optimization
Ayodeji Nathaniel Oyedeji; Ibrahim Iliyasu; James Bitrus Bello; Kazeem Adeniyi Salami; Musa Nicholas Dibal; Danjuma S Yawas
Abstract
This study considered the consequence of the length and weight composition percentage of Deleb palm fruit fiber on the physio-mechanical characteristics of an epoxy-based composite through the Taguchi grey relational optimization technique. Considering fiber reinforcement of 30 wt% to 40 wt% and fiber ...
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This study considered the consequence of the length and weight composition percentage of Deleb palm fruit fiber on the physio-mechanical characteristics of an epoxy-based composite through the Taguchi grey relational optimization technique. Considering fiber reinforcement of 30 wt% to 40 wt% and fiber Reinforcement Length (RL) of 1-5 mm, the physical and mechanical properties were determined based on standards. The findings demonstrated that the Deleb palm fruit fiber's characteristics tend to differ from those of other types of fiber reinforcement in that they significantly impact the physio-mechanical characteristics of the resulting epoxy-based reinforced Deleb palm fruit fiber composite. The Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) result showed that, at a confidence interval of 5%, the effects of the fiber characteristics on the physio-mechanical properties of the composites were particularly notable for tensile strength and a decrease in water absorption.
