Production and Reproduction Performances of Livestock and their Implications on Livestock Water Productivity in Mixed Crop-Livestock Systems in the Highlands of Blue Nile basin: A case study from Fogera, Diga and Jeldu districts (Ethiopia)

Study about livestock production and reproduction performances and their implications on Livestock Water Productivity (LWP) in the rain-fed crop-livestock systems were conducted in the Blue Nile Basin (BNB). Seven farming systems (Rice-Pulse & Teff-Millet from Fogera), (Barley-Potato, Teff-Wheat & Sorghum farming systems from Jeldu) & (Teff-Millet & Sorghum farming systems from Diga districts) were selected & a total of 220 sample Household (HH) heads were involved. Lower milk yield & shorter lactation lengths, higher age at mating & calving, longer parturition intervals for female animals & higher age at first effective mating for breeding purposes by the bulls, jack & stallion were observed. Variability in performance within species observed between & among farming systems in this study are major indicators of potential to improve productivity & thereby LWP. Higher mortality & low off-take rates for different livestock species were observed. Mortality & morbidity affects LWP in two major ways: it reduces the efficiencies of the services & productivity of livestock. Secondly when animal dies water invested in feed for the animal will be lost. This is important in view of the increasingly scarce agricultural water. Values of LWP across the study systems were lower & the differences among systems were not as such apparent. More interesting is a huge gap between the minimum (0.001) & maximum values (0.627 USDm-3) of LWP. In view of this it can be concluded that there is huge potential to improve LWP in mixed crop livestock systems of the BNB. Although understanding the determinants of these variability are important future research policy options that increase farmers access to key livelihood resources is important. Future crop livestock integration must consider not only a short term economic return but long term environmental sustainability. Improving the production and reproduction potentials of local breeds through the different livestock management practices & reducing feed scarcity through food-feed integration adjoined with improved livestock & feed management, better veterinary access & improved extension service could be possible suggestions to lift up the current low livestock productivity and Livestock Water Productivity. Keywords: Livestock, Livestock water productivity (LWP), Reproduction, Production, Blue Nile Basin (BNB), Farming systems

Pre-Weaning Growth Performances and Survival Rate of Lambs’ in the highlands of Ethiopia

Data collected on 1388 Awassi x Menz 25-50% [1](AM 25-50%), 80 Awassi x Menz 75% (AM[2] 75%) cross breed and 3482 Menz (M[3]) lambs collected  from 1993 through 2004 were analyzed for survival and growth from birth to weaning (90 days) at Sheno Agricultural Research Center. AM 25-50% and AM cross breed lambs were significantly (p<0.0001) heavier at birth and weaning: they also grew faster than the local M lambs. Birth weight increased with increasing blood level of Awassi; AM 75% being the heaviest. Indigenous M breed lambs were 19 and 33% lighter at birth compared to the AM 25-50% and AM 75% lambs. Year and season of Birth had significant (p<0.0001) on lamb weight at birth and weaning and pre-weaning weaning weight. Ewe lambing in the main rainy season produced the heaviest birth weight while lambing of short rainy season hand both the highest weaning weight and pre-weaning weight gain (p<0.0001). Birth weight was lowest for parity one, and subsequently increased at parity two through five. Twin born lambs were significantly (p<0.0001) lighter than single born lambs at birth and weaning; 30 and 24% at birth and weaning, respectively. Lambs born from supplemented ewes were significantly (p<0.0001) heavier at birth and weaning and also a gain advantage of 36% was recorded. Lambs born from heavier (>=46 kg) ewes were significantly (p<0.0001) heaver at birth and weaning than lamb born from lighter ewes (<=25.50 kg). The overall mortality rate was 17.49%. However, a significantly higher proportion of lambs died within three days; 46.26% Vs 11.39% at 60-90 days of age. Lambs that were born under 2.5 kg had greater risk of dying (33%) while lambs that were born above 3.5 kg died only 6.63%. Almost similar proportion (17% for M, 19% for AM 25-50% and 14% for AM 75%) lambs died, respectively. Pre-weaning survival rate of lambs were 78, 84, 80 and 86% for main rain, cold dry, dry and short rainy seasons, respectively. Improving birth weight of lambs, cross breeding of Menz local sheep with improved Awassi breed and adjusting lambing in the short rainy season could enable to produce better lambs in terms of birth weight, pre-weaning growth and pre-weaning survival of lambs in the highlands of Ethiopia. Keywords: Sheep; Crossbreeding; Supplementation; Birth weight; Lamb mortality. [1] AM 25-50%= Awassi x Menz 25-50% [2] AM 75%= Awassi x Menz 75% [3] Menz = An indigenous Ethiopian sheep categorized under Short fat tailed breed (Gizaw, 2007

Growth Performance of Dorper and its F1 Crossbreds at Debre-Birhan Agricultural Research Center

The current work was conducted at Debre-Birhan Agricultural Research Center to evaluate the growth performance of pure Dorper sheep and their F1 crosses from Menz and Afar indigenous sheep.  A total of 527 lambs (233 pure Dorper, 294 Dorper X Menz 50% and 30 Dorper X Afar 50%) were born at Debre-Birhan Research Center between 2011 and 2014. The overall birth weight in the current study was 3.04+0.04 kg ranging between 1.00 and 5.60 kg. In the present study pure Dorper lambs were heavier at birth than the F1 crosses (P<0.05) with Afar and Menz breeds with the mean birth weight of 3.39 vs 2.57 and 2.77 kg, respectively. Pure Dorper lambs were 32 and 22% heavier than the Afar x Dorper 50% and Menz x Dorper 50% lambs, respectively, at birth. Single born lambs were significantly (P<0.0001) heavier at birth compared to their twin counterparts; they had 29% more weight at birth than twins. Parity had also significant effect (P<0.0001) on the lambs birth weight. There was a trend of improvement in birth weight as parity advances. It was noticed that lambs born from the first parity were 16.77 % and 15.13% lighter in birth weight than lambs born from 2nd and 3rd parities, respectively. Lambs born in main rainy season and cold dry season had the higher birth weight compared to those born in the dry season and short rainy season. This tells us the difference in pasture availability in terms of quality and quantity among the different seasons of the year. Weaning weight at 90 days of age had significant (P<0.001) effect on most variables considered. Pure Dorper lambs were significantly (P<0.0001) heavier at 90 days compared to the Dorper x Afar 50% and Dorper x Menz 50% lambs. They were 71 and 31% heavier at this age compared to the F1 crosses of Dorper x Afar and Dorper x Menz lamb, respectively. Lambs born in the dry season were 33 and 31% inferior in weaning weight compared to those born in the main and short rainy season, respectively. Breed/ genotype, sex, birth type, year and season of birth of the lambs had significant (<0.05) effect on the body weight of lambs at 6- months of age. Pure Dorper and Dorper x Afar 50% and Dorper x Menz 50% lambs weighed 24.30, 13.18 and 17.25 kg, respectively. Male lambs weighed 17.53 while females 16.33 kg at 6-months of age. More than one kg difference was observed on average between male and female lambs; this may be due to the effects of male hormone as age advances. Lambs born in the main rainy and short rainy seasons demonstrated to have good 6 month weight compared to those born in the cold dry and dry seasons. The adjusted yearling weight for the lambs from the current study was 32.43+0.46 kg. Comparable yearling weight (34.43 vs 31.33 kg) was obtained from Dorper x Menz 50% lambs to pure Dorper lambs. However, Dorper x Afar 50% lambs were 27.5 lighter (24.96 vs 34.43 kg) than the pure Dorper lambs at yearling age. There was significantly (P<0.0001) better pre-weaning growth pattern for the pure Dorper compared to the Dorper x Afar 50% and Dorper x Menz 50% lambs (142.93 vs 73.19 and 106.24 g/h/d, respectively), that accounted 95% and 35% more weight from pure Dorper compared to Dorper x Afar and Dorper x Menz 50% lambs at weaning age. This may be the dam effect since pure Dorper lambs were raised by the pure Dorper dam while the Dorper x Afar and Menz 50% lambs were reared by indigenous ewes. From the present study it can be concluded that both the pure Dorper and its f1 crosses with the Menz sheep adapted very well and had higher body weight and better gain than indigenous sheep breeds. It is suggested to observe the performances of different blood levels of cross breeds with Dorper sheep and also investigate the finishing capacity of Dorper cross breeds at different age and feeding levels.      Key words: Dorper, Menz and Afar sheep, cross breeding, year of birth, season of birth, and birth typ

Administrative, Infrastructural and Finance Related Factors Affecting Private Investment in Ethiopia: Evidence from East Gojjam Zone of Amhara Regional State

The aim of this paper is to identify the main factors related to administrative, infrastructure and market related issues affecting private investment activities in East Gojjam zone with the intention of providing valuable information about the investment environment of the zone to potential investors. Descriptive type of research design has been used in this study by giving more emphasis on qualitative data analysis method. On the other hand, quantitative research analysis has been used to provide numerical measurement and analysis of the magnitude and extent of the problem and trend of private investment in the Zone. The study used both primary and secondary data. Pre-designed self-administered questionnaire has been used to collect primary data. The outcome of this study revealed that, the major bottlenecks of investment in East Gojjam related to administrative and policy related factors include policy distortions and rent seeking, direct government involvement in some investment areas, corruption and dysfunction of the judiciary system, malpractices in granting licenses of investment activities, favoritism in tax revenue collection, arbitrary and inappropriate enforcement of business regulations, bureaucracy and policy implementation delay. Whereas, infrastructural factors affecting private investment include inadequate electric energy, poor water supply and transportation and communication problems. Shortage of foreign currency, fluctuations of exchange rates, access to credit in formal financial institutions, inadequate amount of loan, high interest rates, and bureaucracy of lending institutions to give loan are finance related factors affecting private investment in the study area. Keywords: Private Investment, East Gojjam DOI: 10.7176/EJBM/12-34-05 Publication date: December 31st 202

APPLICATION OF WATER EVALUATION AND ALLOCATION PLANNING (WEAP) MODEL TO ASSESS FUTURE WATER DEMANDS AND WATER BALANCE OF THE CALEDON RIVER BASIN

Published ThesisThe Caledon catchment is one of the 19 catchments in South Africa and three catchments in Lesotho. It covers part of the south eastern Free State in South Africa and northern part of Lesotho. It is important to evaluate the water resources of the catchment to satisfy the projected water demands and in order to plan for the future and make wise decisions. The objective of this study was to apply the Water Evaluation and Planning System version 21 (WEAP21) as a Decision Support System (DSS) tool for the allocation and development of water resources in the Caledon catchment. The model was structured according to three scenarios with a current account (2014) and reference period (2015-2050) to predict their possible impacts on the water balance and allocation of the region due to varied water demands. The scenarios are as follows: scenario 1: increase in population growth rates; scenario 2: irrigation activities in Lesotho; and scenario 3: implementation of environmental flow requirement (EFR) on Caledon River at a site referred to as C6. The first two scenarios are consumptive scenarios whereas the third is a non-consumptive scenario. Scenario analysis answers “what if” questions for the future. Population growth has contributed to water scarcity problem in many parts of the world. In this context, scenario 1 deals with the impact of an increase in population growth on the water balance after 2020 by analysing the unmet demands that will be incurred over the reference period. Scenario 2 also analyses the unmet demands if irrigation activities in Lesotho are increased after 2020. Scenario 3 evaluates the impact of the implementation of an EFR site at C6 – which is situated downstream of all demand sites of the catchment – on upstream demands. Projected water demands and unmet demands were evaluated for four water use sectors, namely, domestic, industry, irrigation and livestock. The catchment comprised of 46 demand sites which were categorised into four use sectors: 20 domestic demand sites, 11 irrigation sites, 10 livestock sites and five industrial sites in both rural and urban areas. The modelling results show that high population growth increases the water shortage to all water use sectors in the catchment. Under a high population growth scenario, the unmet demand occurred between May and October. However, under reference, EFR and irrigation scenarios, the unmet demand occurred only from June to September. The annual unmet demand will increase substantially after 2020 in a high population growth scenario and when the population growth rates are altered. The demand from the irrigation sector is covered or no unmet demands are registered in all years. This is because active irrigation activities happen from December to May when enough water is available from the rivers. The years 2025 and 2050 were chosen to evaluate the water balance situations in terms of supply and demand in the middle and at the end of the reference period under two water use scenarios (high population growth and irrigation added). The result shows that the river flows meet the projected demand in 2025. However, most rivers, including the main river (Caledon River), will not be able to meet the required demands in 2050

Important Medicinal Plants in Ethiopia: A Review in Years 2015–2020

Many studies on medicinal plants have been taking place in different parts of Ethiopia and the people use them for the preparation of traditional herbal medicine. The purpose of the current study is to review the assessment of the medicinal plants used in Ethiopia, to compile the components used, the method of preparation, the medical uses, and the compilation of the number of medicinal plants in 2015–2020. This review paper took place in the years 2015 to 2020 from the published papers. Various databases, such as Science Direct, PubMed, and Google Scholar, have been searched. The data were analyzed using frequency, percentages, charts, and numbers using the Microsoft Excel spreadsheet 2010. In Ethiopia, a total of 4,007 medicinal plants were identified from different areas by different authors in the years 2015–2020. But, from this total number of identified medicinal plants, there was a similarity between types of plant species. Therefore, this total result has present similarities in plant species and types found in different areas. In 2015, a total of 1,062 medicinal plants were identified from different areas by different authors. Similarly, 315, 613, 944, 341, 732 medicinal plants were identified by different authors in different study areas in the years 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020 respectively. The years 2015 and 2018 were the years many plants of medicinal value were documented. The growth forms of medicinal plants were analyzed from 2015 to 2020 in the different study areas with different authors but with the same year and valued for each year and put the average one. To calculate the 2015 growth form of medicinal plants for example to calculate herbs, add all herbs identified by different authors in the same year, and take the average one. This method applied to all growth forms of medicinal plants each year. In all years (2015–2020) the dominant growth forms were herbs. The highest average of growth form was herb in the year 2020 which is 44.2%. In all years the least growth form was a climber. In all growth forms, the parts used for medicine were identified. Add each medicinal plant’s parts in the same year and then take the average for all years. In 2020 year, the traditional healers mostly used leaves (56.3%) for the preparation of remedy. In general, in all year leaves was dominant for the preparation of remedy. Oral and dermal ways of the route of administration were the most important in medicinal plants to treat directly different ailments. The route of administration was varying in percentage from year to year and also, a place to place according to the potential of traditional healers and type of diseases. But, different study areas and years showed that oral administration was the dominant one. In 2019, most of the prepared remedy was taken orally. Crushing was the most important and more cited in the preparation of remedy in the year 2015–2020. Also, powdering, boiling, chewing, concoction, grinding, direct and immediate, chopping, squeezing, decoction, boiling/unprocessed use, liquid form, Homogenizing in water, heating, cooking, smoking, and fumigation are common methods of preparation of remedy. In general, this review highlights the situation of Ethiopian traditional medicinal plants associated with their knowledge from years to years. In addition, this review paper plays an important role in the extraction of potential medicinal plants to discover new drugs through detailed researches in the future

Impact of housing condition on indoor-biting and indoor-resting Anopheles arabiensis density in a highland area, central Ethiopia

Background: Exposure of individuals to malaria infection may depend on their housing conditions as houses serve as biting and resting places of vectors. This study describes the association of housing conditions with densities of indoor-biting and indoor-resting Anopheles arabiensis in Hobe, Dirama and Wurib villages of a highland area in central Ethiopia. Methods: Data on housing conditions, including presence of house apertures, number of occupants and number and the type of domestic animal tethered inside, were collected. Indoor-biting mosquitoes were sampled using Centers for Disease Control (CDC) light traps and indoor-resting mosquitoes sampled with pyrethrum spray catches (PSCs) monthly for two years (July 2008 to June 2010). Female anophelines were identified to species and processed. Univariate and general linear estimating equation allowing for repeated measures were used to assess the contribution of housing conditions for indoor-biting and indoor-resting An. arabiensis. Results: About 96% (4,597/4,788) of anophelines were caught inside residential houses. Nine anopheline species were identified, among which An. arabiensis was most prevalent (2,489; 52%). Vectors entering houses were higher in those situated at low (β = 4.475; 95% CI = 3.475-5.476; p <0.001; β = strength of the association) and medium (β = 2.850; 95% CI = 1.975-3.724; p <0.001) altitudes compared to high altitude, and where houses have no windows (β = -0.570; 95% CI = -1.047-0.094; p = 0.019) compared with those that have. Numbers of indoorresting vectors were higher in those situated at low (β = 6.100; 95% CI = 4.571-7.629; p <0.001) and medium (β = 4.411; 95% CI = 2.284-6.537; p <0.001) altitudes compared to high altitudes, and where houses had open eaves (β =1.201; 95% CI = 0.704-1.698; p <0.001) compared with those that had closed eaves. Conclusion: Housing conditions such as presence of open eaves, absence of window, location at low and mid altitudes, were strong predictors of indoor exposure to An. arabiensis bite in a highland area of south-central Ethiopia.publishedVersio

TRANSMISSION OF SCHISTOSOMA MANSONI IN THREE ECOLOGICAL SETTINGS IN ETHIOPIA

ABSTRACT: The epidemiological indices of Schistosome mansoni for three communities in Ethiopia; Jigga (northwest), Metahara sugar estate (southeast) and Lake Zway (central), each representing the three major transmission ecologies in the country, the stream, irrigation scheme and lake, respectively were studied and compared. A totals of 2897 people (913, 1614 and 370 from the stream, irrigation scheme and lake, respectively) was examined for S. mansoni ova by the Kato's smear method. The highest human prevalence (58% ) and intensity of infection (geometric mean of 450 EPG) were recorded for the lake ecology, whereas the irrigation scheme and stream showed moderate (218 EPG) and light (172 EPG) intensities of infection, despite fairly high disease prevalences of 20% and 41% respectively. Age-specific analysis of prevalence, intensity of infection and relative index of potential contamination (RIPC) indicated that children in their second decade of life to be most responsible. Nevertheless, the decline of all indices with increasing age was less obvious in the lake area than others. The disparity between prevalence and intensity of infection in the stream ecology, inter- ecological differences in the indices of infection and their implication in disease control tactics are discussed. [Ethiop. J. Health Dev. 1993;7(2):63-69

Praziquantel in the control of Schistosoma mansoni infection in Jiga, Northwestern Ethiopia

Abstract: The curative efficacy and side effects of praziquantel were observed in patients with intestinal schistosomiasis in Jiga town, Northwestern Ethiopia. A total survey of the inhabitants (4861) was done and all those positive for S. man.soni and with no serious contraindications (1248) were treated with praziquantel, single oral dose of 40 mg per kg body weight. The drug has a cure rate of 89% , with a significant reduction in prevalence (P &lt;0.001, OR: 3.58, CI:2. 77, 4.64) and a marked decrease in average intensity of infection (from 187 to 111 EPG). The most frequent (64.4% )' side effects were headache and dizziness, directly related to intensity of infection, and most often did not last more than 48 hours. Therefore, it is concluded that praziquantel is a safe and effective therapy for schistosomiasis and can be used as a key component in the control of the disease. [Ethiop. I. Health Dev. 1996;10(2):105-110

Seroepidemiology of measles in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: implications for control through vaccination.

We undertook a representative survey of measles antibodies in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 1994, to characterize immunity and transmission. Specific-antibody levels (IU/l) were determined by ELISA for 4654 sera from individuals aged 0-49 years (1805 < 15 years) collected by stratified household-cluster sampling. The proportion seronegative (< 100 IU/l) was 20% (95% CI: 16-25) in children 9-59 months old, declining to 9% (7-12) in 5-9 year olds, 5% (4-7) in 10-14 year olds, and < 1% in adults. The proportion of children (< 15 years old) with low-level antibody (100-255 IU/l) was 8% (7-10). Vaccination and an absence of a history of measles illness were strongly associated with low-level antibody. History of measles vaccination in 9 months to 14-year-old children was approximately 80%. We estimate a primary vaccine failure rate of 21% (12-34) and continued high measles incidence of 22 per 100 susceptibles (19-24) per annum. Our data support the introduction of campaign vaccination in the city in 1998, although higher routine vaccine coverage is required to sustain the impact. The implications of a high prevalence of low-level antibody are discussed