The Role of the Property Tax in Urban Land Speculation

This article reports the results of an extensive survey of owners of undeveloped land in and outside the Shashemene City. After identifying several distinct owner types, the authors demonstrate that changes in ownership, as well as in the character and use of land, begin more than twenty years before the rural countryside is actually converted to urban use. These findings have important implications for the design and implementation of policies attempting to control or direct urban growth. In particular, a simple dynamic model that explains the optimum length of time to hold a parcel of land from a market was developed and its properties were analyzed both qualitatively and numerically. One finding is that the speculator will hold the land for the marginal period only if the difference between present net rates of return exceeds the difference between discounted expected per cent returns. On the other hand, if land speculators held land for one year, property tax increased by 0.000079 birr per year, which is inappropriate methods to control land speculation . Keywords:  Land speculation; Model; Property tax; Speculators; Sprawling. DOI: 10.7176/JEES/9-1-0

On-farm evaluation of drip irrigation system on coffee production in Western Oromia, Ethiopia

Ethiopian coffee production is greatly hampered by frequent droughts.This study aimed to evaluate the performance of a drip irrigation system for coffee production on a farm. Additionally, it estimated the amount of water required for coffee crops. An experiment was conducted on a 5-year-old coffee plant with 2m spacing between lines and 2m between plants. Catch cans were used to evaluate the system performance of the installed drip irrigation system. Based on these, the average hydraulic characteristics of the installed drip irrigation system, distribution uniformity was 93.55%, Christiansen uniformity coefficient was 95.40%, flow variation was 18.52%, and coefficient of variation was 5.59%. Coffee plants grew and produced more when irrigation was used. A fresh cherry yield of 6785 kg ha-1 was obtained under irrigated coffee and 2346 kg ha-1 under non-irrigated coffee. Compared to non-irrigated coffee, irrigated coffee had the highest crop water use efficiency of 2.5 kg ha-1 mm-1, and the lowest was obtained 1.7 kg ha-1 mm-1, under non-irrigated coffee. Similarly, irrigated coffee had the highest irrigation water use efficiency (3.6 kg m-3), whereas non-irrigated coffee had the lowest (1.4 kg m-3). These findings show that drip irrigation, compared to non-irrigated coffee plants, enhances yield and water use efficiency by 65% and 60%, respectively. In order to boost production, yield, yield components, and irrigation water use efficiency, drip irrigation is a helpful irrigation technique in locations with limited water resources and extended drought spells. Int. J. Agril. Res. Innov. Tech. 13(1): 42-47, June 202

Epidemiology of camel contagious ecthyma and molecular detection of the pathogen in Arero district, Ethiopia

Even though camels (Camelus dromedarius) were traditionally believed to be resistant to most livestock diseases, research has demonstrated that they are susceptible to a large number of infectious agents. Based on the clinical appearance of typical lesions, camel contagious ecthyma (CCE), caused by a Parapoxvirus (PPV), is thought to be one of the most common viral diseases of camels in Ethiopia. A cross-sectional study was conducted from November 2013 to April 2014 in the Arero district of Borena Zone, Oromia Regional State of Ethiopia to investigate the epidemiological aspect of CCE and molecularly identify the causative agent. A polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based on B2L gene-specific primers of PPV was used for the confirmatory diagnosis of the CCE virus from the skin lesion of camels showing suspected clinical signs of CCE infection. Eighty-seven percent (87.0%) of camel owners reported the occurrence of CCE outbreaks in their herds in the past year (a year preceding the start of the study). The overall morbidity and mortality rates attributed to CCE were 20% (95% CI: 11– 36%) and 6.3% (95 % CI: 5.2 –7.6%), respectively. Younger camels had higher odds of becoming affected by CCE than adults [OR=3.44 (95 % CI: 2.29 –4.09)] and the difference was statistically significant. Confirmatory diagnosis of the suspected cases using conventional PCR generated the expected amplification product size of 1200bp for one of the samples. Therefore, the study confirms the presence and importance of CCE in Ethiopia and establishes the basis for further investigation

Factors Affecting Parent-Adolescent Discussion on Reproductive Health Issues in Harar, Eastern Ethiopia: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background. Open family discussion on reproductive health (RH) issues often leads to increased awareness on RH matters and reduces risky behaviors among adolescents. This study was conducted to assess factors affecting parent-adolescent discussion on RH issues in Harar, Ethiopia. Methods. A cross-sectional survey using face to face interview supplemented with focus group discussion (FGD) was conducted on 751 randomly selected parents of 10–19-year-old adolescents. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 15. Results. More than one-fourth (28.76%) of parents reported discussing RH issues with their adolescents during the last six months. In the logistic regression, parents who have demonstrated good RH knowledge and positive attitude towards RH were almost six times and seventy percent (AOR 5.69, 95% CI: 3.67–8.82; AOR 1.70, 95% CI: 1.08–2.68) higher in discussing RH with their adolescents than their counterparts, respectively. Conclusion. Parent-adolescent discussion about RH issues rarely occurs and is bounded by lack of knowledge, sociocultural norms, and parental concern that discussion would encourage premarital sex. Reproductive health programs should target on improving awareness of parents and addressing sociocultural norms surrounding reproductive health issues

Evaluation of teff (Eragrostis tef [Zucc.] Trotter) lines for agronomic traits in Australia

Teff (Eragrostis tef [Zucc.] Trotter) is a native cereal crop widely grown in Ethiopia as the main grain for local consumption. With the increasing challenge by climate change, there is a need for alternative cereal crops in Australia. However, despite its early introduction in the 1800's, there is limited information on teff production in the country. The purpose of this study was to evaluate 20 teff lines using the seed supplied by The Australian Tropical Germplasm Centre at Biloela Research Station (Queensland). A replicated glass house pot trial was carried out to test performance of agronomic traits related to yield. The teff lines were propagated in the glasshouse and data was collected over one growing season and analysed for days to flowering, days to maturity, plant height, peduncle length, internode length, leaf width and number of tillers. In addition, plant biomass, grain yield and 100 seed weight were determined. Results of this study displayed variability in teff traits demonstrating the potential for a future breeding program. Lines that exhibited promising outcomes were identified for further screening under field conditions. Teff lines 302136, 302135, 302131, 302126, 302127 and 302129 demonstrated higher performance in grain yield, tillering, panicle length and vegetative biomass signalling increased opportunity for better yield. Higher grain yield was associated with medium and late maturing lines. Regression analysis showed that vegetative biomass was positively correlated with higher grain yield. Further field evaluation and improvement of teff is required before the crop can be considered as an alternative for growers and provide a source of gluten free product for people with coeliac disease

The distribution of ixodid ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) in central Ethiopia

Ixodid ticks were collected from domestic animals, mainly cattle, in 11 administrative zones covering 84 districts in central Ethiopia over a period of 2 years (July 1996 to June 1998). Nineteen tick species were identified. Four of these belonged to the genus Amblyomma, one to Boophilus, two to Haemaphysalis, three to Hyalomma and nine to Rhipicephalus. Amblyomma variegatum and Rhipicephalus evertsi evertsi were present in all 11 administrative zones and, with the exception of Afar, Boophilus decoloratus was present in nearly every district where collections were made. These three species constituted more than 50% of all ticks collected. Amblyomma cohaerens and Rhipicephalus bergeoni were common in the west of the survey region, and Rhipicephalus pulchellus in the east. Except for B. decoloratus, of which more females than males were collected, the numbers of male ticks recovered were equal to or exceeded those of females. Mortality in crossbred dairy cattle caused by heartwater ( Cowdria ruminantium infection) was reported during the survey period. An integrated approach to tick control is suggested.The articles have been scanned in colour with a HP Scanjet 5590; 600dpi. Adobe Acrobat v.9 was used to OCR the text and also for the merging and conversion to the final presentation PDF-format.Ethiopian Agricultural Research Organization (EARO).mn201

Geographic variation in the utilisation of specialist healthcare for patients with severe mental illness in Norway: a population‑based registry study

Purpose - The aim of this study is to measure geographic variations in mental healthcare service utilisation among patients with severe mental illness in Norway. Method - We analysed data from the Norwegian patient registry for 2014–2018 for patients with severe mental illness. The outcomes measured in this study were: outpatient contact, admission, bed days and total contact rates. Total contacts were calculated as the sum of observed outpatient contacts plus four times the hospital bed days for each hospital catchment area based on the Norwegian health director’s report on clinical activity and patient treatment cost. Geographic variations were measured using extreme quotient (EQ), coefficient of variation (CV) and systematic component of variation (SCV). Maps, figures, and tables were used to visualise geographic variation. Results - The geographic variations saw a six-fold increase in the outpatient contact rate and a three-fold increase in the admission rate between the areas with lowest rate and areas with the highest rate. However, there was low geographic variation in calculated total contact rates (Eqs. 5 − 95 =1.77). The low-level geographic variation in the total calculated contact rate was also confirmed with an SCV of less than three. Conclusion - The levels of geographic variations in the utilisation of outpatient and inpatient mental healthcare services among patients with severe mental illness are high. However, the geographic variation in total services provided by hospital catchment areas calculating the two service modalities together using their treatment cost ratio, is low. This may reflect the relatively equal performance of hospital catchment areas in terms of resource utilisation regardless which service modality they prioritise. Factors contributing to high geographic variation in individual service modalities need further investigation