Farmers' Post-Harvest Grain Management Choices under Liquidity Constraints and Impending Risks: Implications for Achieving Food Security Objectives in Ethiopia

The purpose of this paper is to explore into the relationships between farmers' post-harvest grain management practices/capacities on the one hand, and liquidity constraints and impending risks on the other, in the context of achieving food security objective at household and national levels. The findings are primarily based on a household survey data from 300 randomly selected major food grain producing peasant households in three rural districts of Ethiopia. Results indicate that farmers perceived post-harvest grain loss as an imminent risk, and that instant sales of grains after harvest are triggered by temporary but immediate liquidity preferences to meet various obligations in the absence of or limited sources of cash other than crops sales, and by an impending risk of post-harvest grain loss and the limited capacity to prevent it. While specific considerations are essential, the general policy implication is that post-harvest grain management needs to be taken on board as a matter of strategic policy concern, not just from the perspective of reducing losses but also from the view point of considering it as a viable and dynamic economic activity in terms of generation of employment, value addition and income linkages.post-harvest, liquidity, risk, grain loss, grain sales, price fluctuations, Crop Production/Industries, Food Security and Poverty, Q12, Q13, Q18,

A cross-sectional study on bovine trypanosomosis in Jawi district of Amhara Region, Northwest Ethiopia

A cross-sectional study was carried out from December 2008 to March 2009 in Jawi district of Amhara Regional State northwest Ethiopia to assess the prevalence of bovine trypanosomosis. Blood sample was collected randomly from a total of 300 cattle through piercing of the marginal ear vein to determine the prevalence and measure PCV values for the assessment of anemia. During sampling age, sex and body condition of the animals were recorded to infer risk factors for the occurrence of the disease. The buffy coat technique was em ployed for the detection of trypanosome and to measure PCV values. Thin blood smear was made from positive samples for species identification of the parasite. The prevalence of trypanosomosis was found to be 11.33% (95% CI: 0.08 - 0.15%) in Jawi district of which higher prevalence with species of trypanosome was detected to be for T. congolense (65%) than T. vivax (35%). The prevalence showed no significant difference in susceptibility between sex categories and in age groups. The infection rate between body condition score in parasitaemic and aparasitaemic animals was significantly different (P< 0.05) that poor body conditioned animals were more affected by trypanosomes than good conditioned animals. The mean PCV values in parasitaemic animals was 24.29% +5.58SD while in aparasitaemic animals 27.46% +5.67SD with a statistical significant difference (

Psychological distress and its predictors in AIDS orphan adolescents in Addis Ababa city: A comparative survey

Back ground: In developing countries the number of children orphaned by AIDS is growing rapidly. Consequently, the psychological well-being of these children has become a serious concern.Objectives: To assess the psychological distress of AIDS orphans as compared to non-AIDS orphan adolescents and factors related to it, in Addis Ababa.Methods: Comparative cross-sectional design combining both quantitative and qualitative methods was used. An equal number of 438 subjects were included in this study with each group of AIDS and non-AIDS orphan adolescents between 11-18 age groups. Structured interviewer administered questionnaire and scales including HAD, Rosenberg&rsquo;s and MPSS scales were used to measure the orphans&rsquo; level of depression, anxiety, self-esteem and their perceived social support.Result: Among the study participants, 279 (34.7%) orphan adolescents where 157 (39.1%) of AIDS and 122 (30.3 %) of non-AIDS orphan adolescents were depressed in the week before the survey. Moreover, 301(37.4%) orphan adolescents where 164 (40.8%) of AIDS and 137 (34.1%) of non-AID once were anxious. However, the difference observed in depression and anxiety [OR (95% CI) =1.164(0.733, 1.754) &amp; 0.88(0.57, 1.33)] was not statistically significant. The main predicator variables of depression and anxiety in both study groups were their perceived social support and self-esteem. Factors such as discrimination, school enrollment, physical abuse, child labor were also identified as predicators.Conclusion : A large proportion of orphan adolescents are having psychological problems that can affect their present and future life. Thus, a more focused and concerted effort is needed to improve their mental health. [Ethiop. J. Health Dev. 2011;25(2):135-142

Solar Radiation Estimation Using Data Mining Techniques for Remote Areas-A Case Study in Ethiopia

High quality of solar radiation data is essential for solar resource assessment. For remote areas this is a challenge, as often only satellite data with low spatial resolution are available. This paper presents an interpolation method based on topographic data in digital elevation model format to improve the resolution of solar radiation maps. The refinement is performed with a data mining method based on first-order Sugeno type Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System. The training set contains topographic characteristics such as terrain aspect, slope and elevation which may influence the solar radiation distribution. An efficient sampling method is proposed to obtain representative training sets from digital elevation model data. The proposed geographic information system based approach makes this method reproducible and adaptable for any region. A case study is presented on the remote Amhara region in North Shewa, Ethiopia. Results are shown for interpolation of solar radiation data from 10 km x 10 km to a resolution of 1 km x 1 km and are validated with data from the PVGIS and SWERA projects

Ultrasound Prediction Model for % Intramuscular Fat in Beef Cattle

Real-time ultrasound technology offers producers an opportunity to measure compositional traits in beef cattle. A recent research project focused on the development of a prediction model for the Classic Scanner 200. The accuracy of this model has been previously reported and can be found in the Journal of Animal Science 2000, Volume 78, pages 11-18

Estimation of Heritability and Repeatability of Ultrasound Ribeye Area Measures Using Random Regression Models

The present study included 4,653 observations from 882 Angus bulls and heifers born during the spring of 1998 to 2001. Each year cattle were scanned four to eight times for ribeye area (UREA) and other ultrasound traits, starting at a minimum age of 27 weeks. The objective of the current study was to estimate variance components, heritability, and repeatability of UREA. Direct additive genetic variance increased from 7.11 to 19.4 cm4 as measurement age increased from 27 to 62 weeks. For the same time period direct permanent environmental variance increased from 14.7 to 26.6 cm4. When averaged by four weeks intervals, heritability of UREA ranged from 0.29 to 0.39. Mean repeatability values ranged from 0.80 to 0.86. Yearling heritability and repeatability were estimated at 0.39 and 0.80, respectively. For the range of ages considered, the present results showed an optimum heritability and repeatability of UREA measures around 52 weeks through at least 62 weeks of age

Constrained evolution of effective equation of state parameter in non-linear f(R,Lm)f(R, L_m) dark energy model: Insights from Bayesian analysis of cosmic chronometers and Pantheon samples

We conduct a Bayesian analysis of recent observational datasets, specifically the Cosmic Chronometers (CC) dataset and Pantheon samples, to investigate the evolution of the EoS parameter in dark energy models. Our study focused on the effective EoS parameter, which is described by the parametric form $\omega_{eff}=-\frac{1}{1+m(1+z)^n}$, where $m$ and $n$ are model parameters. This parametric form is applicable within the framework of $f(R,L_m)$ gravity, where $R$ represents the Ricci scalar and $L_m$ is the matter Lagrangian. Here, we examine a non-linear $f(R,L_m)$ model characterized by the functional form $f(R,L_m)=\frac{R}{2}+L_m^\alpha$, where $\alpha$ is the free parameter of the model. We examine the evolution of several cosmological parameters, including the effective EoS parameter $\omega_{eff}$, the deceleration parameter $q$, the density parameter $\rho$, the pressure $p$, and the statefinder parameters. Our analysis revealed that the constrained current value of the effective EoS parameter, $\omega_{eff}^{0}=-0.68\pm0.06$ for both the CC and Pantheon datasets, points towards a quintessence phase. Moreover, at redshift $z=0$, the deceleration parameter, $q_0 = -0.61^{+0.01}_{-0.01}$, indicates that the present Universe is undergoing accelerated expansion.Comment: The European Physical Journal Plus published versio