Improvement of Rice Production under Drought Conditions in West Africa: Application of QTLs in Breeding for Drought Resistance

Rice plays a paramount role in food and nutrition security in many West African countries. Despite the doubling of production during the last decade, rice consumption has grown faster, creating a deficit between the demand and supply. Although the West African sub-region remains the main rice-producing centre on the continent, production is severely hampered by biotic and abiotic stresses. Drought is one of the factors that most severely reduce grain yields of rice. Systems of production need to be established in order to mitigate yield loss as a result of drought. This review discusses the effects of drought on rice production in West Africa and its mitigation with an emphasis on the improvement of tolerance to drought stress. Yield stability can be achieved by developing drought-tolerant varieties through several processes encompassing profiling of known QTLs and identification of new ones, marker-assisted selection, genomic selection, and extensive multi-locational yield trials. We suggest a comprehensive strategy for breeding drought-tolerant rice varieties in West Africa

PLoS Med

Background In 2014, the government of Togo implemented a pilot unconditional cash transfer (UCT) program in rural villages that aimed at improving children’s nutrition, health, and protection. It combined monthly UCTs (approximately US$8.40 /month) with a package of community activities (including behavior change communication [BCC] sessions, home visits, and integrated community case management of childhood illnesses and acute malnutrition [ICCM-Nut]) delivered to mother–child pairs during the first “1,000 days” of life. We primarily investigated program impact at population level on children’s height-for-age z-scores (HAZs) and secondarily on stunting (HAZ < −2) and intermediary outcomes including household’s food insecurity, mother–child pairs’ diet and health, delivery in a health facility and low birth weight (LBW), women’s knowledge, and physical intimate partner violence (IPV). Methods and findings We implemented a parallel-cluster–randomized controlled trial, in which 162 villages were randomized into either an intervention arm (UCTs + package of community activities, n = 82) or a control arm (package of community activities only, n = 80). Two different representative samples of children aged 6–29 months and their mothers were surveyed in each arm, one before the intervention in 2014 (control: n = 1,301, intervention: n = 1,357), the other 2 years afterwards in 2016 (control: n = 996, intervention: n = 1,035). Difference-in-differences (DD) estimates of impact were calculated, adjusting for clustering. Children’s average age was 17.4 (± 0.24 SE) months in the control arm and 17.6 (± 0.19 SE) months in the intervention arm at baseline. UCTs had a protective effect on HAZ (DD = +0.25 z-scores, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.01–0.50, p = 0.039), which deteriorated in the control arm while remaining stable in the intervention arm, but had no impact on stunting (DD = −6.2 percentage points [pp], relative odds ratio [ROR]: 0.74, 95% CI: 0.51–1.06, p = 0.097). UCTs positively impacted both mothers’ and children’s (18–23 months) consumption of animal source foods (ASFs) (respectively, DD = +4.5 pp, ROR: 2.24, 95% CI: 1.09–4.61, p = 0.029 and DD = +9.1 pp, ROR: 2.65, 95% CI: 1.01–6.98, p = 0.048) and household food insecurity (DD = −10.7 pp, ROR: 0.63, 95% CI: 0.43–0.91, p = 0.016). UCTs did not impact on reported child morbidity 2 week’s prior to report (DD = −3.5 pp, ROR: 0.80, 95% CI: 0.56–1.14, p = 0.214) but reduced the financial barrier to seeking healthcare for sick children (DD = −26.4 pp, ROR: 0.23, 95% CI: 0.08–0.66, p = 0.006). Women who received cash had higher odds of delivering in a health facility (DD = +10.6 pp, ROR: 1.53, 95% CI: 1.10–2.13, p = 0.012) and lower odds of giving birth to babies with birth weights (BWs) <2,500 g (DD = −11.8, ROR: 0.29, 95% CI: 0.10–0.82, p = 0.020). Positive effects were also found on women’s knowledge (DD = +14.8, ROR: 1.86, 95% CI: 1.32–2.62, p < 0.001) and physical IPV (DD = −7.9 pp, ROR: 0.60, 95% CI: 0.36–0.99, p = 0.048). Study limitations included the short evaluation period (24 months) and the low coverage of UCTs, which might have reduced the program’s impact. Conclusions UCTs targeting the first “1,000 days” had a protective effect on child’s linear growth in rural areas of Togo. Their simultaneous positive effects on various immediate, underlying, and basic causes of malnutrition certainly contributed to this ultimate impact. The positive impacts observed on pregnancy- and birth-related outcomes call for further attention to the conception period in nutrition-sensitive programs

Matern Child Nutr

Adequate complementary feeding (CF) practices are essential for achieving optimal growth but challenging to measure comprehensively. This paper describes CF practices in 2034 children aged 6-23 months, and investigates their relationships with length-for-age z-score (LAZ) and stunting, using cross-sectional data collected from May to July 2014 in rural northern Togo. The WHO Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) indicators were computed, along with ancillary indicators on feeding style and timing of introduction of complementary foods. The associations between those indicators and children's LAZ and stunting were assessed using linear and logistic regressions, after stratification by age group and adjustment for children, maternal and household characteristics. CF practices were suboptimal and their associations with child's growth varied across indicators and age groups. In children aged 6-11 months, reaching the Minimum Dietary Diversity and the Minimum Acceptable Diet was associated with higher LAZ (p<0.05). In 18-23 month-old children, only the consumption of iron-rich food was associated with both LAZ (p=0.02) and stunting (p=0.05). The late introduction of family foods was associated with higher odds of being stunted and lower LAZ in children aged 12-17 months (p<0.001). The untimely introduction of porridge was associated with higher odds of stunting in children aged 9-23 months (p<0.05). Unexpectedly, helping the child to eat was negatively associated with linear growth in all age groups. These findings nurture the ongoing process of review of the WHO IYCF indicators showing that, in their current version, they hardly capture the links between CF and child's growth at different ages

Towards precision irrigation management: A review of GIS, remote sensing and emerging technologies

Irrigation is the artificial application of water to crops to supply moisture. With rising drought indices and rapid population expansion, the need for irrigation water for food production is growing. Nonetheless, irrigated agriculture is battling several issues that have resulted in poor performance, inefficient water usage, and low crop water production. Improving water use efficiency in irrigated agriculture necessitates using technology that decreases water losses, matches available supplies to demand, and tracks performance. Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and Remote Sensing (RS) allow for effectively managing water and land resources for irrigation. Current GIS and RS uses in irrigation systems are covered in this study, covering land suitability for irrigation, crop water needs, irrigation scheduling, performance evaluation, and other related applications. The future potential of GIS and RS applications for sustainable irrigation water management are highlighted. This paper offers relevant information for researchers, irrigators, and policymakers on using GIS and RS in irrigation water management and how technological improvements will change irrigation water management to enhance water usage efficiency