Irrigated and Rain-Fed Lowland Rice Breeding in Uganda: A Review

Since introduction of rice into Uganda in 1904, improvement of the irrigated and rain-fed lowland types was undertaken to address a number of production and quality constraints in three consecutive and overlapping phases. The initial phase was achieved through evaluation of introduction, selection of promising lines and subsequent release of the selected lines for production by the farmers. In the second phase, genetic potential of traits and characteristics of interest were analyzed and used to guide selection of suitable parents for hybridization and the third phase employed genotyping approach in screening and selection of the parental lines and the segregating populations to enhance the breeding efficiency for the traits of importance. Simultaneously, the key production constraints addressed included resistance to rice yellow mottle virus (RYMV), rice blast, bacterial leaf blight and narrow leaf spot diseases as well as submergence tolerance and cold tolerance. The quality traits considered for the improvement alongside the grain yield parameters were the grain aroma, amylose content, shape and size. These interventions have resulted into release and wide adoption of seven rice varieties in Uganda besides several breeding lines which have informally diffused into different major rice production agro-ecology. Subsequently, it can be concluded that a substantially strong and functional breeding platform for rice in Uganda has been established

Ethiopia Social Accounting Matrix 2015/16

A Social Accounting Matrix (SAM) is a comprehensive and economy-wide database recording data on all transactions between economic agents in a certain economy during a certain period of time; its interest is twofold. First a SAM is a standard database for most whole economy modellers as it provides comprehensive data for economic modelling (multi-sectorial linear models or more complex CGE models). Second a SAM shows a complete and intuitive snapshot of the economy at hand. This report presents the Social Accounting Matrix of Ethiopia for the year 2015/16, describing its specific structure and the basis for its estimation. In this sense, it is necessary to highlight the special structure of this SAM to reflect the Home Production for Home Consumption (HPHC) issue and a high disaggregation of agricultural and food sectors, both aspects so relevant in developing countries. Finally, a complete on-line application is presented, both for the download of the SAM, and for the visualization of some indicators derived directly from it.JRC.D.4-Economics of Agricultur

Whole-Genome Resequencing Reveals Selection Signatures of Abigar Cattle for Local Adaptation

Over time, indigenous cattle breeds have developed disease resistance, heat tolerance, and adaptability to harsh environments. Deciphering the genetic mechanisms underlying adaptive traits is crucial for their improvement and sustainable utilization. For the first time, we performed whole-genome sequencing to unveil the genomic diversity, population structure, and selection signatures of Abigar cattle living in a tropical environment. The population structure analysis revealed that Abigar cattle exhibit high nucleotide diversity and heterozygosity, with low runs of homozygosity and linkage disequilibrium, suggesting a genetic landscape less constrained by inbreeding and enriched by diversity. Using nucleotide diversity (Pi) and population differentiation (FST) selection scan methods, we identified 83 shared genes that are likely associated with tropical adaption. The functional annotation analysis revealed that some of these genes are potentially linked to heat tolerance (HOXC13, DNAJC18, and RXFP2), immune response (IRAK3, MZB1, and STING1), and oxidative stress response (SLC23A1). Given the wider spreading impacts of climate change on cattle production, understanding the genetic mechanisms of adaptation of local breeds becomes crucial to better respond to climate and environmental changes. In this context, our finding establishes a foundation for further research into the mechanisms underpinning cattle adaptation to tropical environments.</p

Spatial, temporal, and demographic patterns in prevalence of smoking tobacco use and attributable disease burden in 204 countries and territories, 1990-2019 : a systematic analysis from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Background Ending the global tobacco epidemic is a defining challenge in global health. Timely and comprehensive estimates of the prevalence of smoking tobacco use and attributable disease burden are needed to guide tobacco control efforts nationally and globally. Methods We estimated the prevalence of smoking tobacco use and attributable disease burden for 204 countries and territories, by age and sex, from 1990 to 2019 as part of the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study. We modelled multiple smoking-related indicators from 3625 nationally representative surveys. We completed systematic reviews and did Bayesian meta-regressions for 36 causally linked health outcomes to estimate non-linear dose-response risk curves for current and former smokers. We used a direct estimation approach to estimate attributable burden, providing more comprehensive estimates of the health effects of smoking than previously available. Findings Globally in 2019, 1.14 billion (95% uncertainty interval 1.13-1.16) individuals were current smokers, who consumed 7.41 trillion (7.11-7.74) cigarette-equivalents of tobacco in 2019. Although prevalence of smoking had decreased significantly since 1990 among both males (27.5% [26. 5-28.5] reduction) and females (37.7% [35.4-39.9] reduction) aged 15 years and older, population growth has led to a significant increase in the total number of smokers from 0.99 billion (0.98-1.00) in 1990. Globally in 2019, smoking tobacco use accounted for 7.69 million (7.16-8.20) deaths and 200 million (185-214) disability-adjusted life-years, and was the leading risk factor for death among males (20.2% [19.3-21.1] of male deaths). 6.68 million [86.9%] of 7.69 million deaths attributable to smoking tobacco use were among current smokers. Interpretation In the absence of intervention, the annual toll of 7.69 million deaths and 200 million disability-adjusted life-years attributable to smoking will increase over the coming decades. Substantial progress in reducing the prevalence of smoking tobacco use has been observed in countries from all regions and at all stages of development, but a large implementation gap remains for tobacco control. Countries have a dear and urgent opportunity to pass strong, evidence-based policies to accelerate reductions in the prevalence of smoking and reap massive health benefits for their citizens. Copyright (C) 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.Peer reviewe

Mapping local patterns of childhood overweight and wasting in low- and middle-income countries between 2000 and 2017

A double burden of malnutrition occurs when individuals, household members or communities experience both undernutrition and overweight. Here, we show geospatial estimates of overweight and wasting prevalence among children under 5 years of age in 105 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) from 2000 to 2017 and aggregate these to policy-relevant administrative units. Wasting decreased overall across LMICs between 2000 and 2017, from 8.4% (62.3 (55.1–70.8) million) to 6.4% (58.3 (47.6–70.7) million), but is predicted to remain above the World Health Organization’s Global Nutrition Target of <5% in over half of LMICs by 2025. Prevalence of overweight increased from 5.2% (30 (22.8–38.5) million) in 2000 to 6.0% (55.5 (44.8–67.9) million) children aged under 5 years in 2017. Areas most affected by double burden of malnutrition were located in Indonesia, Thailand, southeastern China, Botswana, Cameroon and central Nigeria. Our estimates provide a new perspective to researchers, policy makers and public health agencies in their efforts to address this global childhood syndemic

Yield effects of rust-resistant wheat varieties in Ethiopia

Breeding crops for disease resistance is a sustainable approach to reduce yield losses. While significant research on the adoption and impacts of improved crop varieties exists, most studies have analyzed yield effects in general, without distinguishing between different varietal traits and characteristics. Here, panel data from wheat farmers in Ethiopia are used to compare improved varieties that are resistant to stripe rust (caused by Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici) with improved susceptible and traditional susceptible varieties. Production function estimates suggest that improved resistant varieties raise effective yields by 8% in comparison to local susceptible varieties. The yield difference between improved resistant and improved susceptible varieties is positive but small, because rust levels were not very high in the years under study. However, under drought and other abiotic stresses, improved varieties – with and without resistance to stripe rust – perform notably worse than local varieties. The worse performance under abiotic stress may also explain why many farmers recently switched back to growing traditional varieties. Sustainable adoption needs a combination of various traits in the same varieties, including high yield potential, grain quality, disease resistance, and tolerance to drought and other production stresses