Benthic Macro-Invertebrates as Indicators of Water Quality in Ogunpa River, South-Western Nigeria

This study assessed the water quality of Ogunpa River using benthic macro-invertebrates. Three sampling stations were purposively selected and replicated trice. Benthic samples were collected fortnightly using Van Veen 0.5 m bottom grab for a period of twelve months (January – December, 2018). Water samples were collected from the stations and determined using standard methods. The mean water parameters recorded were; Temperature (26 oC ± 0.12), Dissolved Oxygen (5.05 mg/L ± 0.47), Chemical Oxygen Demand (29.53 mg/L ± 0.51), Nitrate (4.40 mg/L ± 0.20) and pH (7.82 ± 0.18). Temperature and pH were not significantly different (P>0.05), COD and nitrate were significantly different (P<0.05) while DO for stations A and B were significantly different (P<0.05) from station C. Seven (7) benthic macro-invertebrates namely Lymnaea truncatula, Lymnaea glabra, Chironomus sp., Gyrius sp., Anisoptera, Hirudo sp. and Tubifex sp. belonging to five (5) families were recorded. Overall, a total of 9,989 macro-invertebrates were recorded from all the stations with the highest relative abundance in station C (35.3%). Family Lymnaeidae had the highest abundance (53.1%) while the lowest was Odonata (6.9 %). The abundance of pollution tolerant benthic macro-invertebrate L. truncatula (36.5%) indicated that the river is under pollution stress. There is an urgent need for proper management measures to be put in place in order to maintain good water quality for the sustenance of aquatic life and meeting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 6 (clean water and sanitation)

Sub-Saharan Africa’s Financial Market Development Gap: A Human Capital Deficiency? (Decomposition of Banking, Financial Sector Intermediation and Stock Market Failures)

This study evaluates the influence of human capital on development of three elements of a financial market, namely: banks, financial sector intermediation to the private sector and stock markets, in Sub-Saharan Africa. The developed model is relatively innovative as it explicitly models financial market failures, includes a nonlinear variable and is underpinned by adaptive expectations. Tertiary education was found to be critical for banking, financial sector intermediation and stock market development. The study finds that, for the banking industry, past failures narrow current gaps. However, increased public expenditure on education is important for only financial sector intermediation and stock market development. Keywords: Financial markets, Human capital, Sub-Saharan Africa. JEL Classification: G10, O16, O55

Assessment of the suitability of different cassava varieties for gari and fufu flour production in Liberia

Open Access Article; Published online: 15 Feb 2020Different cassava varieties are available in Liberia, but there is little knowledge of their product suitability. Hence, the need to assess the potentials of these varieties to produce gari and fufu flour. The two products from ten improved and two local cassava varieties were characterized based on their yield and chemical, pasting and functional properties using standard methods. The results showed that TMS 96/0097 (gari 27.54%) and Butter cassava (fufu flour 27.35%) have the highest percentage yields. The starch content was higher in gari produced from TMS98/0505 (92.00%) and lower from TMS95/0289 (82.62%); the fufu flour starch content was higher in TMS98/0505 (90.59%) and lower in Bassa girl (84.75%). Gari and fufu flour produced from TMS96/0097 (507.38 RUV) and TMS00/0357 (506.04 RVU) had the highest final viscosity, and the products from TMS95/0289 (338.46 RVU and 336.80 RVU) had the least. The highest swelling power was found in gari (12.74%) and fufu flour (13.55%) produced from TMS92/0057 and the lowest in TMS91/0416 gari (8.23%) and TMS01/1235 fufu flour (8.31%). All the samples may form a paste below the boiling point of water (100°C) at < 7 min. However, cassava varieties and the interactions between varieties and locations had a significant (P < 0.05) effect on the properties of the products: Chemical (except ash content), pasting (except pasting temperature) and functional. Therefore, all the varieties may be suitable for gari and fufu flour production based on the quality preferred by the consumers

Acceptability of chicken powder in home prepared complementary foods for children in Ghana

The persistent problem of childhood malnutrition and growth faltering in sub-Saharan African countries such as Ghana despite food aid intervention programs, suggests rethinking of the content and mode of delivery of such food programs. While several food programs and formulations exist for the treatment and management of childhood malnutrition, most are neither culturally appropriate nor easily accessible to families at the household level. There is, therefore, a need for a food product that can be tailored to a particular culture and local food produce which provides the necessary macronutrients and micronutrients in adequate amount and is easy to use at the household level to prevent malnutrition. The aim of this study was to evaluate the acceptability of incorporating chicken powder into the  Ghanaian child’s everyday meal. Participants in the study included mothers and their pre-school age children. The chicken powder was incorporated into a breakfast meal (“Tom Brown”) and lunch/supper meal (rice and gravy) on weight basis according to predetermined proportions of the raw  ingredients. Each meal consisted of a control sample (not containing chicken powder) and 3 test samples containing different amounts of chicken powder (15%, 20% and 25% by weight). Overall, both mothers and children rated both control samples highest compared to their respective test sample for preference. Interestingly, mothers were able to tell the differences in the test samples, but the children could not tell the  difference between the test samples by the content of the chicken powder according to the results of the test for homogeneity. The results from the acceptability test as well as individual observation by the research team suggest that chicken powder can be used as animal source protein in the treatment and management of malnutrition by incorporating it into  common staple foods. According to findings of this study, parents are more likely to incorporate the chicken powder (an animal source quality protein) in their children’s diet, if not for the entire family. The incorporation of chicken powder into complementary foods will improve the nutritional value, especially the protein and micronutrient content.Key words: Chicken, Acceptability, Ghana, Malnutrition, Feedin

Identification of QTLs controlling resistance/tolerance to Striga hermonthica in an extra-early maturing yellow maize population

Open Access JournalStriga hermonthica parasitism is a major constraint to maize production in sub-Saharan Africa with yield losses reaching 100% under severe infestation. The application of marker-assisted selection is highly promising for accelerating breeding for Striga resistance/tolerance in maize but requires the identification of quantitative trait loci (QTLs) linked to Striga resistance/tolerance traits. In the present study, 194 F2:3 families of TZEEI 79 × TZdEEI 11 were screened at two Striga-endemic locations in Nigeria, to identify QTLs associated with S. hermonthica resistance/tolerance and underlying putative candidate genes. A genetic map was constructed using 1139 filtered DArTseq markers distributed across the 10 maize chromosomes, covering 2016 cM, with mean genetic distance of 1.70 cM. Twelve minor and major QTLs were identified for four Striga resistance/tolerance adaptive traits, explaining 19.4%, 34.9%, 14.2% and 3.2% of observed phenotypic variation for grain yield, ears per plant, Striga damage and emerged Striga plants, respectively. The QTLs were found to be linked to candidate genes which may be associated with plant defense mechanisms in S. hermonthica infested environments. The results of this study provide insights into the genetic architecture of S. hermonthica resistance/tolerance indicator traits which could be employed for marker-assisted selection to accelerate efficient transfer host plant resistance genes to susceptible genotypes

Characterization of yam-growing households in the project areas of Ghana

The Yam Improvement for Income and Food Security in West Africa (YIIFSWA) project was initiated to assess and understand yam-based systems in order to identify the opportunities of interventions that could potentially help to increase productivity in the region. The project consists of two phases: the inception and impact study phase. During the inception phase, a baseline study was conducted in different yam-growing communities aggregated on agroecological zoning into southern Guinea savanna (SGS), derived savanna (DS), and humid forest (HF). A complementary baseline survey was commissioned in addition to the substantive data collected within the same yam belt of Ghana aiming at measuring directly yam yield from farmers’ fields in order to get more accurate crop yield estimates. The baseline studies aimed at understanding farmers’ livelihoods in yam growing areas to increase agricultural productivity in Ghana, and serve also as benchmarks to assess changes brought about by the YIIFSWA project in future. The goal of the baseline surveys was to measure the key economic and social indicators before the major components of the project implementation. Data was collected by means of structured questionnaire and a set of qualitative interview questions for focus group discussions to capture household and community specific information. The intent of the survey was to sample households within the yam belt. The survey design was based on a multistage random sampling procedure, drawing on households from yam-growing areas of Ghana; thus 600 households were selected using a sampling frame developed by extension agents in collaboration with community heads as a source list

Characterization of yam-growing households in the project areas of Nigeria

The Yam Improvement for Income and Food Security in West Africa (YIIFSWA) project was initiated to assess and understand the yam-based systems in order to identify the opportunities of interventions that could potentially help to increase productivity in the region. The project consists of two phases: the inception phase and impact study phase. During the inception phase, a baseline study was conducted in different yam-growing communities aggregated on agroecological zoning into the southern Guinea savanna (SGS), the derived savanna (DF), and the humid forest (HF). A complementary baseline survey was commissioned in addition to the substantive data collected within the same yam belt of Nigeria aiming at measuring directly yam yield from farmers’ fields in order to get more accurate crop yield estimates. The baseline studies aimed at understanding farmers’ livelihoods in yam-growing areas to increase agricultural productivity in Nigeria and also to serve as benchmarks to assess changes brought about by the YIIFSWA project in future. The goal of the baseline surveys was to measure the key economic and social indicators before implementing the major components of the project.Data was collected by means of structured questionnaire and a set of qualitative interview questions for focus group discussions to capture household and community specific information. The main survey design was based on a multistage, random sampling procedure, drawing on the universe of households from yam growing areas of Nigeria. A random sampling procedure was used to select 800 households within the yam belt

Seed yam production from whole tubers versus minisetts

Open Access Article; Published online: 22 June 2020Yam (Dioscorea rotundata Poir.) is a major staple and cash crop for millions of households in West Africa, where about 93% of the world crop is produced. The tuber serves as food and seed. Depending on the size, seed tubers are often cut into setts, minisetts, or planted whole. An experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of using whole tubers versus minisetts to produce seed yams. Six treatments constituted combinations of whole tubers and minisetts, and three tuber-size classes, viz., 30–59 g, 60–89 g, and 90–120 g (averaged and referred to as 45 g, 75 g, and 105 g, respectively). The experiment was conducted as a randomized complete block design with three replications. Results showed that plants from whole tubers emerged from the soil faster and yielded 48% more than those from minisetts. The mean yield of 105 g minisetts (18.3 t/ha) was statistically similar to that of 45 g whole seed (17.9 t/ha). Using 45 g whole seed would save about 2 t/ha of the harvested crop for use as food instead of seed. So, planting small whole tubers is more profitable than minisetts and is recommended to yam growers