RICE HUSK GENERATION AND UTILIZATION AMONG HOUSEHOLDS IN EBONYI STATE, NIGERIA.

ABSTRACT

This  study  focused  on  rice  husk  generation  and  utilization  among  households  in  Ebonyi  State, Nigeria. The specific objectives were to: describe the socio-economic characteristics of households in Ebonyi  State;   evaluate  the perception  of respondents  on the effects  of rice  husk generation  and utilization on the environment;  estimate willingness to pay (WTP) for the removal of rice husk from the environment;  determine  the socio-economic  factors  influencing  the respondents  WTP  for  the removal  of  rice  husk  from  the  environment;  determine  the  extent  of  rice  husk  generation  and utilization in the study area; and identify the constraints to rice husk utilization among households in Ebonyi   State.   Hypothesis:   Socio-economic   characteristics   of  households   do  not  significantly determine their willingness to pay for the removal of rice husk from the farmland. Purposive sampling technique  was  used to select  rice  production and rice milling areas while random sampling technique  was  used  to  select the  respondents.  Data  were  collected  by  the  use  of  structured questionnaire. Data collected were analysed using mean score, contingency valuation method (CVM)

– (tobit regression) and F-test. The result of the analysis showed that rice husk is generated in large quantities in the study area while rice husk utilization is still at rudimentary stage. Annual income, years  of education,  farm size,  age and  farming  experience  were  positively  related  to  households willingness  to pay for the removal  of rice husk from the farmland  at 5%  probability  level  while household size and distances of homes/farms from rice milling centers (RMCs) were inversely related

to WTP with the pseudo R2  value of 77%. The mean WTP for the removal  of rice husk from the

environment  was N960.  The result  from mean score  used to identify the constraints  to rice  husk utilization indicated four major constraints to include: lack of awareness; cost of transportation; lack of   environmental   concern   and   insufficient   information   about   proper   use.   Recommendation: Government  should  commercialize  rice  husk  utilization  since  the  findings  showed  that  it  was generated in high quantity in the study area to offer employment to people and at the same time solve the environmental  problems created by uncoordinated disposal of rice husk that causes land air and water pollution and conserve the nation’s finite reserve of petroleum.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1      Background of the Study

Nigeria is West Africa’s largest producer of rice, producing currently an average  of

3.1 million metric tonnes of paddy rice annually (International Rice Research Institute, 2015). Rice cultivation is widespread within Nigeria extending from the northern to  the southern zones with most rice grown in the eastern and middle belt of the country (Fakayode, 2009). The demand for rice has increased at a much faster rate in Nigeria than in other West African countries.  For  example,  during  the  1960’s,  Nigeria  had  the   lowest  per-capita  annual consumption of rice in the sub-region, averaging 3kg (Oselebe, Ogah, Odo, & Ogbu, 2013). Per-capita consumption levels grew significantly at 7.3% per annum, averaging 18kg in the

1980’s and 22kg in 1995-1999 (Oselebe et al., 2013). By 2008 it rose to 32kg, with per capita consumption  in the urban areas averaging 47kg (Adejumo-Ayibiowu  &  Bamidele,  2010). Rice production  rose gradually  over  the  years with area expansion  driven  by population growth and urbanization, to surpass other major rice producing countries (Daramola, 2005).

Rice  is  an important  staple  food  for  approximately  half  of  the  world  population (Slayton & Timmer, 2008).   More than 70 countries produce rice though China, India and Indonesia are the major producers (FAOSTAT, 2012). To produce rice, co-product such as rice husk is generated in the rice milling process. This husk accounts for approximately 20-

23% of total paddy rice weight (rice crop weight) (IRRI, 2008). Rice husk is one of the most widely available agricultural wastes in many rice producing countries of the world (Kumar, Sangwan, Dhankhar, Mor, & Bidra, 2013). Husks also known as hulls are the hard protecting coverings of grains of rice to protect the seed during the growing season. It is one of the potential biomass sources, but light and bulky. The husk is formed from hard materials. The husk is mostly indigestible to humans. It is removed from rice seed as a by-product during the milling process, and forms 20-23% by weight of the paddy processed. The quantity of rice

milling by-products generated in Nigeria annually was estimated at about 1,032,993.6 metric tonnes (National agricultural extension and research liaison services & Projects coordinating unit,  2004).   Rice  husk is used  as a value added  raw material  for  different  purposes.  It possesses various properties that make them suitable for bioethanol production (Sudiyani & Muryanto,   2012).  Rice  husk  biomass  is  made   up  of  three  polymers  like  cellulose, hemicelluloses and lignin. Rice husk like other lignocellulosic biomass feedstock has been explored as the cheapest feedstock for bio-ethanol production. It is essentially free as waste product from agricultural sector and forest residues. Utilization of these wastes could solve the disposal problem and reduce the cost of waste treatment (Sudiyani & Muryanto, 2012). When rice husk is  incinerated,  ash is obtained  which is called rice husk ash (Megawati, Wahyudi, Sediawan, Hary, Sulistyo & Muslikhin, 2010).

The  rice  milling  process  involves  cleaning,  hulling  and  post-hulling  processes (whitening, polishing and grading), which combined will produce several rice by-products. The percentage of rice by-products is dependent upon several factors, such as the milling rate and variety of rice. An ideal milling process will yield 20-23% husk, 8-12% bran depending on the milling degree and 68-72% milled rice or white rice, depending on the variety (IRRI,

2009). During the milling processes,  the husks are removed  from the raw grain to  reveal whole brown rice, which may then sometimes be milled further to remove the  bran layer, resulting in white rice. Rice husk is a common agricultural residue (IRRI, 2009). The  Federal  Government  of  Nigeria  has  focused  on  agriculture  as  a  means  of diversifying  the current  crude oil dependent  economy and rice is one of the  agricultural products that have been earmarked for scaling up. Rice husk is produced in large quantity in the three agricultural zones of Ebonyi State of Nigeria namely; Ebonyi North, Ebonyi Central and Ebonyi South. Rice husk dumps are increasing in alarming proportions in these regions especially in Abakaliki where Abakaliki rice mill industry

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