AGRICULTURAL PRODUCE MARKETING AND GENDER EMPOWERMENT: A CASE OF WOMEN’S CROSS BORDER TRADE IN NORTHERN NIGERIA

The study examined agricultural produce marketing in relation to gender empowerment in cross border along Nigeria-Niger border with the aim of identifying the socio-economic characteristics of the respondents, identifying characteristics of respondents’ cross border trade and the constraints faced by the respondents. One hundred respondents were selected with the use of systematic random technique. Primary data were collected from the respondents with the aid of interview guide structured in form of questionnaire and focus group discussion with other stakeholders like custom officials, as well as agriculture quarantine officers was performed. Univariate analysis like percentages, tables and pie charts and 3 point Likert scale were used to achieve the stated objectives. The study revealed that the respondents averagely made between N10,000 to N40,000 on monthly basis which helped in meeting family needs. About 78% indicated that one of their constraints was absence of modern financial institutions, inadequate storage facilities and about 82% signified that their major constraint was poor transport system while all affirmed that they experienced inadequate security among others. The study recommended that adequate security, global mass media facilities and adequate storage facilities should be provided to promote cross border trade.Produce marketing, Gender empowerment, Cross border trader, northern Nigeria, Labor and Human Capital, Marketing,

Assessment of perceived effects of climate change on rice production among farmers in North-west zone, Nigeria

Rice farming is highly dependent on environmental factors such as rainfall and temperature. Rice yield is affected by changes in these climatic elements. Rice farmers’ perceptions of the changes in climate are important determinants of the management practices they use in reducing the effects on rice production. This study assessed the perceived effects of climate change on rice production among farmers. A multistage sampling procedure was used to obtain a sample of 522 farmers. Data were obtained with the aid of structured questionnaire. The data were analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. Findings revealed that majority (94%) of the respondents were males. They were married (88%) and had farming as a major occupation (89%). They perceived that climate change was posing risks to rice production (X = 2.16), would lower rice production (X = 2.07) and would continue to affect storage of rice (X = 2.01). The study determined a significant relationship (p<0.01) between farmers’ perceived effects of climate change and rice yield. It was concluded that positive perception can lead to high adoption of climate change adaptation practices. The climate change knowledge-base of the farmers needs to be improved through more sensitization on climate smart agriculture

Assessing the levels of Pb, Cd, Zn and Cu in biscuits and home-made snacks obtained from vendors in two tertiary institutions in Lagos, Nigeria

The modern day busy schedule of an average individual in Nigeria has made the consumption of snacks inevitable. This study assessed the concentrations of Zn, Cu, Pb and Cd in some common snacks sold in two tertiary institutions in Lagos, Nigeria, using Perkin AAS Elmer model 460. The mean levels of Zn, Cu, Pb and Cd found in plantain chips obtained from the University of Lagos main campus were 2.15 ± 0.13, 0.27 ± 0.03, 0.83 ± 0.04 and 0.10 ± 0.03 mg/kg respectively, while the mean levels of the same metals found in plantain chips obtained from Yaba College of Technology were 1.77 ± 0.57, 0.11 ± 0.04, 1.23 ± 0.61 and 0.08 ± 0.06 mg/kg respectively. Independent-samples t-test analysis revealed that the differences between the mean metal levels in snacks obtained from the two institutions were not significant (P > 0.05). Though the levels of most metals in snacks obtained from the two institutions were within the upper limits of the range specified by the World Health Organization, the consumption of snacks with such metal loads over a long period of time may result in metal accumulation in the body beyond tolerable limit. These findings may be a reflection of what obtains in other educational institutions in the country. The authorities of tertiary institutions and other levels of education in Nigeria are therefore called upon to strengthen and widen their internal control mechanisms to guarantee the quality and safety of snacks sold to students and other people on their campuses.Keywords: Contaminants, Contamination, FAO/WHO, food, snacks, campuse

Phytoremediation of Spent Oil and Palm Kernel Sludge Contaminated Soil Using Sunflower (Helianthus annuus) L

This study was carried out to investigate the phytotoxicity of spent engine oil and palm kernel sludge on seed germination, seedling early growth and survival of sunflower (Helianthus annuus L) and its phytoremediating potential. 8.0 kg topsoil mixed with 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10% (w/v) of spent engine oil and palm kernel sludge, while the control was not mixed with spent oil and sludge (0%). The seeds were sown on these soils and monitored daily. Parameters taken were; plant height, leaf number and stem girth. The result showed that spent engine oil treated plants adversely affected growth compared to palm kernel sludge plants and control which performed better. For plant height, the mean stem girth for control at 2nd week was 0.40±0.05 mm, spent engine oil was 5.96±0.97 palm kernel oil effluent was 14.73±1.16 and at 12th week, control was 1.30±0.05 while for SEO the plant had withered and 124.6±9.02 for POE. Number of leaves at the 12th week was 26.00±2.08 in the control, 8.66±0.66, for spent engine oil at 4%, while for palm oil effluent it was 27.66±0.66, at 4%, concentration respectively. Stem girth at 2 weeks for spent engine oil was 0.19±0.05 at 2%, 0.43±0.03 for palm kernel oil effluent and at the 12th week of planting at 10% concentration was 1.63±0.08 for palm kernel oil effluent, and all plants had withered off for spent engine oil at same concentration at the 12th week. Also, spent engine oil at all concentrations delayed the germination of Helianthus annuus by 2days compared to control. Comparison analysis test showed that growth in untreated plants were significantly higher (p>0.05) than spent oil and palm kernel sludge treated plants. Similar result was observed for leaf number and stem girth which had higher mean value in palm kernel sludge and control compared to spent oil. Sunflower grown in 8% and 10% palm kernel sludge contaminated soil also flowered eight days earlier than control plants, while spent oil treated plant did not. The result shows that sunflower cannot tolerate high (4%, 6%, 8% and 10%) concentrations of spent engine oil in soil compared to palm oil effluent. Therefore, spent engine oil should be properly disposed because of its adverse effect on the growth and yield of sunflower

Health and Ecological Risks Associated with Heavy Metal Contamination in Surface Soils from Lagos Lagoon Wetlands, Lagos, Nigeria

Wetlands quality and spatial distribution are being threatened by anthropogenic drivers in addition to the emerging threats of climate change. In this study, selected heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn) in soils from Lagos lagoon wetlands were investigated to assess spatial distribution, ecological and health risks. The data obtained were subjected to statistical analysis using GraphPad 7.0 and SPSS 22.0. Spatial distribution mapping of heavy metals was performed using ArcGIS10.0 (ESRI, Redlands, CA, USA) with Kriging interpolation. Results showed that heavy metals in the soil varied significantly (p<0.05). The contamination factors (CF) were generally low with the values for Cr, Ni, Cu, and Zn very low (<1). The CF values for some of the sampling points showed that the soils are generally moderately contaminated by Pb, Cd and Cu. The modified degree of contamination of Pb (2.35) indicates a moderate degree of contamination while that of Cd (12.60) indicates a high degree of contamination of these wetland soils. The potential ecological risk index (RI) of Pb, Cd, Cr, Ni, Cu and Zn were 70.40, 2264.40, 0.68, 1.55, 13.65, and 2.29, respectively. The RI for Pb, Cr, Ni, Cu and Zn were less than 100, hence, low, while the RI value of Cd was a very high risk (RI ≥ 400). Soils from this wetland’s areas show serious significant potential ecological risk due to Cd. Additionally, children were more susceptible to the potential health risk irrespective of the carcinogenic or non – carcinogenic risk. There were no significant carcinogenic and non – carcinogenic risks for adults and children. This wetland assessment provided important information for policymaking to reduce the potential effects of soil contamination on humans and the eco-environment

Air quality management in Botswana

This paper examines air pollution situation and the history of air quality management in Botswana. The current air quality management in Botswana is still largely underpinned by the Atmospheric Pollution Prevention Act of 1971, supplemented by the more recently enacted legislations such as the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Act of 2010 and the Ambient Air Quality - Limits for Common Pollutants of 2012 published by the Botswana Bureau of Standards. Though commendable efforts have been made towardlegislating against air and other forms of pollution, these have not yielded expected results in view of the prevailing levels of air pollutants like sulphur dioxide and fine particulate matters in the country’s atmospheric environment. Legislation as a sole measure may not be effective in tackling this challenge. Rather, government should also address some root-causes of the problem by making policies and programmes that will reduce unemployment and increase the earning capacity of citizenry. This will, among other things, effectively check poverty-induced biomass burning in the country. The paper looks at some other challenges of air pollution management and suggestions are made to tackle the identified problems

Evaluation of the Cytogenotoxic Effects of Emulsifiable Concentrate form of Amitraz Pesticide on Allium cepa L

The cytogenotoxic effects of emulsifiable concentrate of amitraz pesticides was evaluated using Allium cepa L. test. The root meristems of A. cepa L. were treated with five concentrations (1%, 5%, 10%, 20% and 40%) of the chemical pesticide at 48 h for cytogenetic analyses and 96 h for root length inhibition. Pesticide doses affected root length significantly (P<0.05) at 5% to 40%; with 50% effective concentration (EC50) value of 18% while there was no significant difference between control and 1% (p>0.05). The mean root length of the treated A. cepa for Amitraz pesticides in all concentrations was lower compared to the control showing the obvious mitodepressive effects of amitraz pesticides. A dose dependent reduction in the total mitotic dividing cells and mitotic index was observed in A. cepa treated with the pesticides. The values of mitotic index obtained for amitraz pesticides at 5% (5.20), 10% (4.0), 20% (2.30) and 40% (0.80) were lower than half of the negative control (7.25), which reflect its cytotoxicity. All the concentrations of the pesticides used in the present study induced important abnormalities during mitotic division. These aberrations were: chromosome stickiness, disturbed spindle, anaphase and telophase bridges, chromosome fragments, laggard chromosomes, and c- Mitosis. The highest abnormality number was observed in the root tips of Allium cepa (5%) while the least was at 40%. Frequencies of chromosome abnormalities were low at 20% and 40% concentration because of damaged cell and lower cell divisions. The present study, showed the inhibition of growth and induction of chromosomal aberrations by amitraz, this suggest their capability in inducing cytotoxicity and genome instabilityKeywords: Allium cepa, chromosomes, amitraz pesticides, aberrations, mitotic inde

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. © 2020, The Author(s)

Global age-sex-specific fertility, mortality, healthy life expectancy (HALE), and population estimates in 204 countries and territories, 1950–2019: a comprehensive demographic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Background: Accurate and up-to-date assessment of demographic metrics is crucial for understanding a wide range of social, economic, and public health issues that affect populations worldwide. The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019 produced updated and comprehensive demographic assessments of the key indicators of fertility, mortality, migration, and population for 204 countries and territories and selected subnational locations from 1950 to 2019. Methods: 8078 country-years of vital registration and sample registration data, 938 surveys, 349 censuses, and 238 other sources were identified and used to estimate age-specific fertility. Spatiotemporal Gaussian process regression (ST-GPR) was used to generate age-specific fertility rates for 5-year age groups between ages 15 and 49 years. With extensions to age groups 10–14 and 50–54 years, the total fertility rate (TFR) was then aggregated using the estimated age-specific fertility between ages 10 and 54 years. 7417 sources were used for under-5 mortality estimation and 7355 for adult mortality. ST-GPR was used to synthesise data sources after correction for known biases. Adult mortality was measured as the probability of death between ages 15 and 60 years based on vital registration, sample registration, and sibling histories, and was also estimated using ST-GPR. HIV-free life tables were then estimated using estimates of under-5 and adult mortality rates using a relational model life table system created for GBD, which closely tracks observed age-specific mortality rates from complete vital registration when available. Independent estimates of HIV-specific mortality generated by an epidemiological analysis of HIV prevalence surveys and antenatal clinic serosurveillance and other sources were incorporated into the estimates in countries with large epidemics. Annual and single-year age estimates of net migration and population for each country and territory were generated using a Bayesian hierarchical cohort component model that analysed estimated age-specific fertility and mortality rates along with 1250 censuses and 747 population registry years. We classified location-years into seven categories on the basis of the natural rate of increase in population (calculated by subtracting the crude death rate from the crude birth rate) and the net migration rate. We computed healthy life expectancy (HALE) using years lived with disability (YLDs) per capita, life tables, and standard demographic methods. Uncertainty was propagated throughout the demographic estimation process, including fertility, mortality, and population, with 1000 draw-level estimates produced for each metric. Findings: The global TFR decreased from 2•72 (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 2•66–2•79) in 2000 to 2•31 (2•17–2•46) in 2019. Global annual livebirths increased from 134•5 million (131•5–137•8) in 2000 to a peak of 139•6 million (133•0–146•9) in 2016. Global livebirths then declined to 135•3 million (127•2–144•1) in 2019. Of the 204 countries and territories included in this study, in 2019, 102 had a TFR lower than 2•1, which is considered a good approximation of replacement-level fertility. All countries in sub-Saharan Africa had TFRs above replacement level in 2019 and accounted for 27•1% (95% UI 26•4–27•8) of global livebirths. Global life expectancy at birth increased from 67•2 years (95% UI 66•8–67•6) in 2000 to 73•5 years (72•8–74•3) in 2019. The total number of deaths increased from 50•7 million (49•5–51•9) in 2000 to 56•5 million (53•7–59•2) in 2019. Under-5 deaths declined from 9•6 million (9•1–10•3) in 2000 to 5•0 million (4•3–6•0) in 2019. Global population increased by 25•7%, from 6•2 billion (6•0–6•3) in 2000 to 7•7 billion (7•5–8•0) in 2019. In 2019, 34 countries had negative natural rates of increase; in 17 of these, the population declined because immigration was not sufficient to counteract the negative rate of decline. Globally, HALE increased from 58•6 years (56•1–60•8) in 2000 to 63•5 years (60•8–66•1) in 2019. HALE increased in 202 of 204 countries and territories between 2000 and 2019. Interpretation: Over the past 20 years, fertility rates have been dropping steadily and life expectancy has been increasing, with few exceptions. Much of this change follows historical patterns linking social and economic determinants, such as those captured by the GBD Socio-demographic Index, with demographic outcomes. More recently, several countries have experienced a combination of low fertility and stagnating improvement in mortality rates, pushing more populations into the late stages of the demographic transition. Tracking demographic change and the emergence of new patterns will be essential for global health monitoring. Funding: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. © 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY 4.0 licens

Global burden of 87 risk factors in 204 countries and territories, 1990�2019: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Background: Rigorous analysis of levels and trends in exposure to leading risk factors and quantification of their effect on human health are important to identify where public health is making progress and in which cases current efforts are inadequate. The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019 provides a standardised and comprehensive assessment of the magnitude of risk factor exposure, relative risk, and attributable burden of disease. Methods: GBD 2019 estimated attributable mortality, years of life lost (YLLs), years of life lived with disability (YLDs), and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) for 87 risk factors and combinations of risk factors, at the global level, regionally, and for 204 countries and territories. GBD uses a hierarchical list of risk factors so that specific risk factors (eg, sodium intake), and related aggregates (eg, diet quality), are both evaluated. This method has six analytical steps. (1) We included 560 risk�outcome pairs that met criteria for convincing or probable evidence on the basis of research studies. 12 risk�outcome pairs included in GBD 2017 no longer met inclusion criteria and 47 risk�outcome pairs for risks already included in GBD 2017 were added based on new evidence. (2) Relative risks were estimated as a function of exposure based on published systematic reviews, 81 systematic reviews done for GBD 2019, and meta-regression. (3) Levels of exposure in each age-sex-location-year included in the study were estimated based on all available data sources using spatiotemporal Gaussian process regression, DisMod-MR 2.1, a Bayesian meta-regression method, or alternative methods. (4) We determined, from published trials or cohort studies, the level of exposure associated with minimum risk, called the theoretical minimum risk exposure level. (5) Attributable deaths, YLLs, YLDs, and DALYs were computed by multiplying population attributable fractions (PAFs) by the relevant outcome quantity for each age-sex-location-year. (6) PAFs and attributable burden for combinations of risk factors were estimated taking into account mediation of different risk factors through other risk factors. Across all six analytical steps, 30 652 distinct data sources were used in the analysis. Uncertainty in each step of the analysis was propagated into the final estimates of attributable burden. Exposure levels for dichotomous, polytomous, and continuous risk factors were summarised with use of the summary exposure value to facilitate comparisons over time, across location, and across risks. Because the entire time series from 1990 to 2019 has been re-estimated with use of consistent data and methods, these results supersede previously published GBD estimates of attributable burden. Findings: The largest declines in risk exposure from 2010 to 2019 were among a set of risks that are strongly linked to social and economic development, including household air pollution; unsafe water, sanitation, and handwashing; and child growth failure. Global declines also occurred for tobacco smoking and lead exposure. The largest increases in risk exposure were for ambient particulate matter pollution, drug use, high fasting plasma glucose, and high body-mass index. In 2019, the leading Level 2 risk factor globally for attributable deaths was high systolic blood pressure, which accounted for 10·8 million (95 uncertainty interval UI 9·51�12·1) deaths (19·2% 16·9�21·3 of all deaths in 2019), followed by tobacco (smoked, second-hand, and chewing), which accounted for 8·71 million (8·12�9·31) deaths (15·4% 14·6�16·2 of all deaths in 2019). The leading Level 2 risk factor for attributable DALYs globally in 2019 was child and maternal malnutrition, which largely affects health in the youngest age groups and accounted for 295 million (253�350) DALYs (11·6% 10·3�13·1 of all global DALYs that year). The risk factor burden varied considerably in 2019 between age groups and locations. Among children aged 0�9 years, the three leading detailed risk factors for attributable DALYs were all related to malnutrition. Iron deficiency was the leading risk factor for those aged 10�24 years, alcohol use for those aged 25�49 years, and high systolic blood pressure for those aged 50�74 years and 75 years and older. Interpretation: Overall, the record for reducing exposure to harmful risks over the past three decades is poor. Success with reducing smoking and lead exposure through regulatory policy might point the way for a stronger role for public policy on other risks in addition to continued efforts to provide information on risk factor harm to the general public. Funding: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. © 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY 4.0 licens