Trend, Challenges and Opportunities of Illegal Wildlife Trafficking and Trade Activities within and through Ethiopia

Having improved knowledge on global, regional and/or national trends in illegal wildlife trade is required to develop effective combating strategies. In this paper, nine years (2011–2019) data on illegal wildlife trade and trafficking (iwt) seizure records were used to explore trends in iwt activities in Ethiopia and to identify countries involved most in the iwt. Trends of iwt activities were assessed in two indicators: as relative transaction index (ti), and as relative weight index (for ivory [wi]) or as relative number of items for ivory and other wildlife products [ni]. To account for potential yearly variations in seizure rates, proxy variables to law enforcement efforts and effectiveness were used and predictive models that produced bias-adjusted estimates of relative trends in iwt activities were built. To explore the underlying reasons for the trend observed, relevant national officers were also interviewed to assess how well has been wildlife law enforcement working in combatting iwt in the country. Linear or polynomial regressions, where appropriate, were fitted to the seizure data to establish trends in transaction index over the nine years. A total of 842 incidences of iwt seizure instance reports, involving 18 animal species, were recorded in the country during the nine years period. However, the highest seizure (94%) rate was ivory and ivory products. Our results generally showed declining trends in both ti and wi or ni. The observed trend was also supported by the experts’ opinions and likely reflects the positive impacts of the country’s implementation of its wildlife laws. Other interesting findings of this study were that China represented the single most important destination country and Chinese nationalities were the most traffickers. In conclusion, the results provide detailed evidence to inform national and international decision making on key species implicated in the illegal trade. Similar periodic assessment of the situation of iwt within the country is needed to evaluate effectiveness of the country’s past and present measures and to revise its future combatting policies and strategies

Assessment of Village Chicken Production Systems in Kambata Tambaro and Wolaita Zones, SNNPR, Ethiopia

The study was conducted in four woredas (Damot Gale,Of a, Angacha and Hadero Tunto) the first two of them found in Wolaita zone and two of them in Kambata Tambaro Zone of SNNPR, Ethiopia respectively. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in the study areas to assess village chicken production systems, productive and reproductive performance of village chicken and identifying constraints to village chicken production. Stratified random sampling technique was used to select 240 farming households and administer a pre-tested and structured questionnaire. The results showed that the mean age of interviewed farmers was 37.8±9.3 years; average family size & chicken owned per household were 6.8±2.4 persons and 8.6±1.7 heads, respectively. There was no significant differences (p≥0.05) found among the four woredas in all the above traits. The average number of clutch and eggs per hen per year of local chicken in the study areas were 4±0.87 and 12.9±3.47 respectively

A Report on Climate Smart Feed and Forages Training Bale Zone, Oromia

Livestock production and productivity are very low in Ethiopia. Poor quality and inadequate quantity of feeds are major constraints in the Ethiopian highlands. The farming system in Bale zone, where AICCRA project has been operating, is dominated by production of wheat as a major food and cash crop. Most grazing lands changed to cultivated lands due to increasing human population. Wheat straw has been the major livestock feed in the area, which is low in palatability and nutritional value. As a result, livestock production and productivity have been declining from time to time. Therefore, the introduction of climate smart feed and forage innovations into the area becomes crucial. It will have an added value to supplement the available feed and forage and, in the long run, transform livestock production and productivity. To overcome the livestock feed and associated problems, the government seeks active engagements from NGOs, government lead projects, national and international research institutions, higher education institutions, and private sectors. To achieve this objective, capacitating experts, development agents and farmers is crucial. In line with this objective, AICCRA and TAAT projects have been jointly working and providing training on climate smart feed and forage innovations, organizing experience sharing visits and practicing a forage seed supply scheme in a revolving seed system approach. More than 400 households (>36% female), 18 DAs and 8 experts engaged in the recently organized theoretical and practical training program. The training was delivered from 10-22 July 2023 at each kebele level in two districts (Sinana and Goba). Representative farmers from eight kebeles managed to attend the training. This report covers the trainings delivered at kebele level, objectives of the training, mode of training delivery and the number of beneficiaries

Demonstration and Evaluation of Dual Purpose Chicken “Potchefstroom Koekoek” Packages at Areka areas, SNNPR, Ethiopia

The demonstration was conducted in Wolaita zone, Boloso Sore district at Areka and around Areka areas. Participants (farmers) were selected purposively on the basis of willingness to construct poultry house; to cover all the associated package costs and record the required was selected. Survival of chicks during the first 8 weeks of brooding using hay-box at the farmers management condition was 79.8% (359 were survived out 450). On average about 93.1% of the chicken were survived to the laying age while mortality reduced from 20.2% to 6.9%. The average age at first egg-laying recorded at each farmers was 142 days and average weight of eggs at first laying was 40.2g. The average weight of male and female chicken at 20 weeks of age was 1.5kg and 1.1kg respectively. Field day was arranged when they were at the age of 20 weeks and 135 (120 male and 15 female) farmers and 65 (60 male and 5 female) researchers, experts and government officials from regional to woredas levels were participated on field day and awareness creation was created as a result all participants got a conviction to consider the technology as a viable agricultural venture

Can I afford to publish? : a dilemma for African scholars

With open-access publishing authors often pay an article processing charge and subsequently their article is freely available online. These charges are beyond the reach of most African academics. Thus, the trend towards open-access publishing will shift the business model from a pay-wall model, where access to literature is limited, to a pay-to-publish one, where African scholars cannot afford to publish. We explore the costs of publishing and the ability of African scholars to afford to publish via open access in top journals. Three-quarters of the 40 top ecology journals required payment for open-access publishing (average cost $3150). Paying such fees is a hardship for African scholars as grant funding is not available and it is not feasible to pay the fees themselves as salaries are low. We encourage funders and publishers to facilitate an equitable publishing model that allows African scholars to make their research available through open-access publishing