Determinants of manual control of water hyacinth expansion over the Lake Tana, Ethiopia

Water hyacinth is an exotic freshwater weed damaging wetland resources over the Lake Tana basin, Ethiopia. Different measures, including manual labour and harvesting machinery are in use to reduce its damage and expansion. Yet, the invasion of the weed appears expanding its scope across the wetlands of the Lake. This paper presented the study made to identify determinant factors affecting manual control of water hyacinth expansion over the Lake wetlands. It tried to analyse the expansion trend of the water hyacinth and community efforts to control its extension. Data were gathered from questionnaire surveys, group discussions, interviews and field observations. Descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression were used for data analysis. The study revealed that the water hyacinth cover in the Lake’s wetland increased from ≤10, 000 ha in 2011 to over 50, 000 ha in 2017. Wetland terrain, water depth, food availability, farming time, employment and government support were found significantly influencing the manual control practices of households. Hence, government support must increase to motivate people involvement in manual weed removal campaigns. Micro-relief maps and floating boats need be readily available to help participants easily identify risky terrains and expand the physical weed removal into the deeper waters.Key Words: Water hyacinth, Invasive weeds, Manual control, Wetlands, Lake Tana, Ethiopi

Rate and predictors of neonatal jaundice in northwest Ethiopia : prospective cohort study

Background: Neonatal jaundice is one of the most common clinical disorders occurred worldwide. About 1.1 million neonates develop jaundice per year globally and the vast majority of them found in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. There is a paucity of evidence on the incidence rate and predictors of neonatal jaundice in Ethiopia. Therefore, this study was aimed at determining the rate and predictors of neonatal jaundice in the northwest, Ethiopia. Methods: A prospective cohort study design was conducted at Debre Markos comprehensive, specialized Hospitals using 334 neonates from October 1, 2019, to June 30, 2020. Using a systematic random sampling technique, the study subjects were drawn. Data were entered into the Epi-DataTM Version 4.2 and analyzed using STATATM Version 14.0. The Kaplan-Meier survival curve was used to estimate the survival time. A generalized Log rank test was used to compare the survival curves of different categorical variables. Finally, both bi-variable and multivariable Cox-proportional hazards regression models were used to identify the predictors of neonatal jaundice. The Results: The overall incidence rate of jaundice among neonates was 4.5 per 100 person-hours. Long duration of labor [ARR = 3.5; 95% confidence interval (CI), (2.8– 8.7)], being male neonates [ARR= 5.2; 95% CI (3.5–7.3)], “O” blood group mothers [ARR = 4.5; 95% CI (3.4–10.3)], and having neonatal sepsis 3.4 [ARR=3.4; 95% CI: (2.5–6.1)] were predictors. Conclusion: The incidence rate of jaundice was higher in this study than the finding of the previous one. Being male, prolonged duration of labor, “O” blood group mothers and sepsis were the significant predictors. Hence, an effort has to be made to decrease the incidence rate of neonatal jaundice through improving newborn care and timely intervention for neonates with sepsis and delivered at a long duration of time as well as the neonates born from “o” blood type mothers are our recommendation

Factors affecting institutional delivery in Ethiopia: A multi-level analysis

Background: Childbirth is a complex process that requires the safest care to prevent maternal and neonatal complications. The proportion of births occurring at health institutions in Ethiopia is still below expected (26%), which significantly contribute to a large number of maternal deaths. Hence, identifying factors affecting institutional delivery is crucial. Objectives: The main objective of this study was to assess factors affecting institutional delivery among women who had a live birth in Ethiopia within five years preceding Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey 2016. Method: The 2016 Ethiopian demographic and health survey data were used to identify factors associated with institutional delivery. As the data has nested structure, a multilevel logistic regression model was used for analysis by taking a nationally representative sample of 7193 women nested within 645 clusters. Result: A significant heterogeneity was observed between clusters for institutional delivery which explains about 53.5% of the total variation. Individual-level variables: higher-level women education (AOR = 5.74; 95% CI 2.7–9.73), parity 5, and more (AOR = 0.39; 95% CI 0.32–0.49) and the number of ANC visit four and greater visit (AOR = 6.74; 95% CI 4.11–11.04) were significantly associated with institutional delivery. Community-level variables, Community media exposure (AOR = 1.80; 95% CI 1.31–2.4) and community antenatal coverage (AOR = 1.97; 95% CI 1.18–3.30) had a significant effect on institutional delivery. Conclusion: The effort to promote institutional delivery should pay special attention to multiparous and less educated women

An assessment in the use of agricultural inputs with particular reference to Mecha Wereda: West Gojjam

The general objective of the study was assessing the currently running extension package program for  agricultural development and to identify the multifaceted problems facing the use of agricultural inputs in the Wereda. The analysis and presentation of the study were madcr using primary and secondary data. The primary data was collected from 100 sampled holiseholds living in four peasant associations in the Wereda. The secondary data was obtained from different literatures and from various offices in the Amhara Regional State. S_ome non-parametric tests were computed to find out the relationships between the variables and the use of agricultural inputs. According to the analysis, education, farm size, number of oxen and price of output were found to be important variables affecting the use of inputs positively and significantly. Therefore, it is suggested that increasing the number of extension agents to increase contact between farmers and extension agents, expanding the use of complementary inputs, improving transport facilities to be efficient in input distribution and assisting relatively poor farmers to have pair of oxen to increase the agricultural production for sustainable development

Determining Food Security Indicators at Household Level in Drought Prone Areas of the Amhara Region of Ethiopia: The Case of Lay Gaint District, Amhara Regional State.

An area exposed to drought and food insecurity and where many people are suffering to get the minimum daily consumption, identifying the population sub-groups or households frequently affected by chronic and/or transitory food security have paramount importance for policy trust. The general objective of the study was to identify food secure and insecure households and map the food insecure agro-ecological zones using indicators in drought prone areas of the Amhara region by using Lay Gaint district as a case study site. Questionnaire survey, in-depth interview and focus group discussions were the major data collection techniques and both quantitative and qualitative methods of analysis were employed. The major variables used for the study includes income, expenditure, dietary diversity, coping strategy and dietary energy. The results of the study showed that sampled households in the study area were prone to food insecurity. The per capita kcal result confirms that around 80% of the sampled households were food insecure. HDDS showed that sample households were severely constrained in dietary diversity and were highly dependent on only two food groups (cereals and pulses). The results of kcal intake, DDS and food gap analysis showed that Woina-Dega and Kolla agro-ecological zones were the most food insecure zones in the study district. The result evidenced that food availability is a serious problem in the study area that needs enhancing crop production through the application of agricultural inputs. Moreover non-farm activities that supplement the agricultural income have to be given top priority to minimize severe cash constraints of the study households.Keywords: Income, expenditure, dietary diversity, coping strategy, dietary energy, Ethiopi

Analysis of Vulnerability to Food Insecurity in Drought-prone Areas of the Amhara Region of Ethiopia: Case Study in Lay Gaint Woreda

Vulnerability to food insecurity is a major social and economic problem in drought-prone areas of Ethiopia. A range of factors from physical environmental circumstances to policy and institutions-related issues determine food security outcomes and vulnerability to food insecurity at the household level. The general objective of this study was to identify factors that determine households’ vulnerability to food insecurity in drought prone areas of the Amhara Region of Ethiopia by using Lay Gaint woreda (district) as a case study site. Data were collected using questionnaire, in-depth interview and focus group discussions and both quantitative and qualitative methods of analysis were employed. The results showed that the majority of households sampled (79.6 per cent) experienced food insecurity. The situation was worse among femaleheaded households that 86 per cent of them were food insecure. It was also found that 39 per cent of the female-headed households did not have farmland. The majority of sampled households employed ex-post coping strategies to reduce seasonal food shortages, such as reducing quantity of meals (69 per cent), borrowing from relatives and friends (68 per cent), selling small ruminants (64 per cent) and consuming less preferred foods (62 per cent). The main adaptive strategies employed by the majority of sampled households included diversifying livestock kept (68 per cent), planting trees (66 per cent) and livestock fattening (58 per cent). Binary logistic regression results showed that location or agroclimatic zone, number of livestock owned, education of household heads and availability of working labour were significant predictors of household vulnerability to food insecurity. This suggests that building household assets and geographically differentiated development interventions will improve household food security in the study area, and in other similar environments in the country.Keywords: Livelihood assets, food insecurity, vulnerability, coping strategies, Ethiopi

Integrating Airborne LiDAR and Terrestrial Laser Scanner forest parameters for accurate above-ground biomass/carbon estimation in Ayer Hitam tropical forest, Malaysia

Parameters of individual trees can be measured from LiDAR data provided that the laser points are dense enough to distinguish tree crowns. Retrieving tree parameters for above-ground biomass (AGB) valuation of the complex biophysical tropical forests using LiDAR technology is a major undertaking, and yet needs vital effort. Integration of Airborne LiDAR Scanner (ALS) and Terrestrial Laser Scanner (TLS) data for estimation of tree AGB at a single-tree level has been investigated in part of the tropical forest of Malaysia. According to the complete tree-crown detection potential of ALS and TLS, the forest canopy was cross-sectioned into upper and lower canopy layers. In a first step, multiresolution segmentation of the ALS canopy height model (CHM) was deployed to delineate upper canopy tree crowns. Results showed a 73% segmentation accuracy and permissible to detect 57% of field-measured trees. Two-way tree height validations were executed, viz. ALS-based upper and TLS-based lower canopy tree heights. The root mean square error (RMSE) for upper canopy trees height was 3.24 m (20.18%), and the bias was –1.20 m (–7.45%). For lower canopy trees height, RMSE of 1.45 m (14.77%) and bias of 0.42 m (4.29%) were obtained. In a second step, diameter at breast height (DBH) of individual tree stems detected from TLS data was measured. The RMSE obtained was 1.30 cm (6.52%), which was as nearly accurate as manually measured-DBH. In a third step, ALS-detected trees were co-registered and linked with the corresponding tree stems detected by TLS for DBH use. Lastly, an empirical regression model was developed for AGB estimated from a field-based method using an independent variable derived from ALS and TLS data. The result suggests that traditional field-methods underestimate AGB or carbon with the bias –0.289 (–3.53%) Mg, according for approximately 11%. Conversely, integrative use of ALS and TLS can enhance the capability of estimating more accurately AGB or carbon stock of the tropical forests