Prevalence of abomasal nematodes in sheep and goats slaughtered at Haramaya municipal abattoir, eastern Hararghe, Ethiopia

The study was conducted from November 2009 to March 2010 in Haramaya district, eastern Hararghe zone of Oromiya region, Ethiopia. The objective of the study was to determine the prevalence of abomasal nematodes of small ruminants slaughtered at Haramaya municipal abattoir. During the study period a total of 384 abomasums of small ruminants (181 sheep and 203 goats) were examined.  Three genera of nematodes were identified in both sheep and goats abomasa with overall prevalence of 95.8%.   The prevalence in sheep and goats were 94.5% and 97% respectively. The prevalence in both animal species was 85.7% Haemonchus contortus, 82.3% Trichostrongylus axei and 79.9% Teladorsagia. The specific prevalence observed were 90% for Haemonchus contortus, 75.7 % for Trichostrongylus axei, and 80.7 % for Teladorsagia spp. in sheep and 81.8 % for Haemonchus contortus, 88.2 % for Trichostrongylus axei and 79.3 % for Teladorsagia spp. in goats. Statistically significant differences (P<0.05) in nematode species except Teladorsagia species was observed. There was no statistically significant differences (P>0.05) among the risk factors of age and sex considered in relation to the prevalence of abomasal nematodes. Generally, a high infection rate of small ruminants with abomasal nematodes was observed during the study period. Keywords: Small ruminants, Abomasal nematodes, Prevalence, Haramaya, Abattoi

Essays in rural energy, forest dependency and covariates of fuel saving technologies in Ethiopia

This thesis contains empirical findings on rural energy, forest resource use and fuel saving technologies in Ethiopia. Using a household survey data conducted in different parts of the country, efforts were made to contribute to the limited empirical evidences in Africa in general and Ethiopia in particular. The thesis has four empirical chapters and the first and the last chapters of the thesis are the introduction and summary, respectively. The main findings and policy implications are highlighted below. The second chapter examines the coping mechanisms of rural households to fuel wood scarcity. Using randomly selected households, the results of the empirical analysis show that rural households residing in forest degraded areas respond to fuel wood shortages by increasing their labor input to fuel wood collection. The study also finds that there is no evidence for the substitution between fuel wood and dung or fuel wood and crop residues. Supply side strategies alone may not be effective in addressing the problem of forest degradation and biodiversity losses. Any policy on natural resource management in general and rural energy problems in particular should make a distinction between regions of different forest degradation level. The third chapter examines the relationship between property rights and household demand for fuel wood, as measured by the source from which fuel wood is collected. Results from the discrete choice model indicate that active local-level institutions reduce the dependency on community forests, but, otherwise, increase household dependency on open access forests. However, land tenure security and local level institutions do not increase demand for fuel wood collected from private forests. The results suggest that there is a need to bring more open access forests under the management of the community and increase the quality of community forestry management in order to realize improvements in forest conservation. The fourth chapter of this thesis deals with finding empirical evidence on the role of local level institutions and property right regimes on forest dependency using data from a random sample of rural households in Ethiopia. We find that forest dependency is negatively correlated to the wealth status of the household. Our estimation results suggest that local level institutions are not significant factors in determining use of non wood forest products unlike major forest products such as timber or woody materials in general. We also find that there is a need to expand the current practice of participatory forest management to other open access forest areas. We conclude that generalization on the forest-poverty link depends on the type of forest management and the specific characteristics that prevail in the area. The last chapter of the thesis deals with finding empirical evidence on the determinants of adoption of different types of fuel saving technologies in urban Ethiopia. The duration analysis suggests that adoption rates have been increasing over time, that income and wealth are important contributors to adoption, and that substitute technologies tend to hinder adoption of Lakech charcoal stove. However, it was not possible to consider prices or perceptions related to either the technologies or biomass availability in the duration models, and, therefore, further research is needed in order to further inform policy with respect to household technology adoption decisions.Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2012.Economicsunrestricte

Removal of Physicochemical and Microbial Impurities of Water Using Modified Homemade Filter

Background: There are many different methods, which are used to purify water. Some are conventional and expensive, while others are traditional and small scale, still having interesting results in killing pathogenic organisms and reducing the concentration of some chemicals and other impurities, especially for rural communities of developing countries who are suffering from water borne diseases. But because conventional water treatment methods are not affordable in rural communities of developing countries, other small-scale methods are needed. An experimental study was conducted to test the effect of modified homemade filter in reduction of turbidity, fecal coliform, fluoride and its effect on pH and temperature. Method And Materials: Representative water samples were taken from’ kochi’ stream and laboratory analysis was done both for the raw water samples and the filtrates in school of environmental health laboratory, Jimma University. Filter tanks fitted with half-inch pipe were constructed and filled with stone (10 cm), gravel (9 cm), sand (40 cm) and crushed brick (10 cm) for fluoride test and local charcoal (10 cm), instead of the crushed brick for physical and biological test. Filter tanks without crushed brick, and without local charcoal were used as control. For the determination of fecal coliform, pH and temperature, turbidity and fluoride, MPN technique, pH meter, turbidimeter and Alizarin spectrophotometry method were used, respectively. Results: With a flow rate adjusted initially to 0.35 L/min the test resulted an average concentration of fluoride 1.42 mg/l (71.6%) from 5mg/l after filtered in a Modified Homemade Filter (MHMF1) with crushed brick. After a month operation the MHMF2 (with local charcoal) reduced the faecal coliform to 1 /100ml (99.95%) and turbidity to 0.13 FTU (99.83%), which was improved as the time of filter run increased and the flow rate decreased. CONCLUSION: The study showed that filtration of raw, fluoridated water with the study media could remove physical, chemical and biological impurities up to significant values for developing countries. The filter unit is very light in weight for easy transportation and costs 210 Ethiopian Birras of March 2004. Communities who have no access for treated water supplies can have this method as alternative, appropriate and cost effective technology with careful handling and timely cleaning.Ethiop J Helath Sci. Vol. 16, No.2 July 200

Combining Ability Analysis of Maize Inbred Lines in Ethiopia

The study was initiated to estimate combining ability of maize inbred lines and crosses using line by tester analysis. Fifty entries consists 48 F1 single crosses developed from 24 inbred lines and 2 testers using line x tester design and two commercial check hybrids used in the study. The experiment was conducted using alpha lattice design with two replications. Analysis of variance revealed existence of significant genetic variation among genotypes for all studied traits except for plant aspect (PA). Location x entry interaction for most of the traits was not significant which suggests hybrid performance was consistent across tested locations. Line x tester analysis of variance showed that mean squares due to GCA of lines were significant (p< 0.01 or p< 0.05) for all studied traits. Mean squares of tester GCA and SCA were significant for most of studied traits. This indicates that both additive and non-additive gene effects had contributed for the variation of the crosses. However, higher proportional contribution of additive gene action for all studied traits was obtained. Several lines and crosses were identified as good general and specific combiners for yield and yield related traits. Lines L23, L11, L15 and crosses L2xT1, L3xT1, L8xT1, L11xT1, L23xT1 and L13xT2 were found to be good general and specific combiners, respectively. In conclusion, the stated inbred lines with desirable gca effects and cross combinations with desirable sca effects for grain yield and yield related traits could be used as useful genetic material

Assessment of Clarias gariepinus as a biological control agent against mosquito larvae

Background The emergence and spread of insecticide resistant mosquitoes renewed interest in investigating the use of larvivorous fish as a biological control agent. The potential of Clarias gariepinus fish in controlling Anopheles arabiensis and culicine larvae was assessed under laboratory and semi-field conditions. Results Small size (15?20æcm) C. gariepinus fish consumed greater number of mosquito larvae than the large size fish (25?40æcm) in the multivariate regression model (?æ=æ13.36, 95æ% CIæ=æ4.57, 22.15). The Anopheles larvae consumed was greater in number than the culicines larvae consumed by the fish (?æ=æ12.10, 95æ% CIæ=æ3.31, 20.89). The number of larvae consumed was greater during the night hours than during the light hours (?æ=æ30.06, 95æ% CIæ=æ21.27, 38.85). Amount of supplementary fish food did not cause significant differences in the number of mosquito larvae consumed by the fish among different groups. C. gariepinus was observed to feed on mosquito larvae under laboratory and semi-field conditions. Conclusion C. gariepinus fed on the larvae of An. arabiensis and culicines readily. Hence, it can be used as an alternative mosquito control agent in Ethiopia where the breeding habitats are small and localized

Resistance of maize varieties to the maize weevil Sitophilus zeamais (Motsch.) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)

This study aimed at evaluating commonly used maize varieties, collected from Melkasa and Bako Agricultural Research Centers and Haramaya University, Ethiopia, against the maize weevil Sitophilus zeamais Motsch., one of the most important cosmopolitan stored product pests in maize. A total of 13 improved maize varieties were screened for their relative susceptibility to S. zeamais. The Dobie index of susceptibility was used to group the varieties. The variety, ‘BHQP-542’, had the least index ofsusceptibility and was regarded as resistant. The varieties, ‘Katumani’, ‘Melkasa-I’, ‘Melkasa-II’, ‘Melkasa-III’, ‘Coree’, ‘BH-541’, ‘BH-660’, ‘BH-540’, ‘Rare-I’, ‘Awasa-511’, ‘ACV3’ and ‘ACV6’, were moderately resistant. Weevils fed with the resistant variety produced low numbers of F1 progeny, had a high median developmental time and a low percentage of seed damage and seed weight loss. Maize varieties with a high F1 progeny tended to have a short median developmental time. An increasingnumber of F1 progeny resulted in an increasing seed damage and seed weight loss. We found an inverse relationship between the susceptibility index and percent mortality and median developmental time; however, the numbers of F1 progeny, percent seed damage and seed weight loss were positively related with the susceptibility index. The use of resistant varieties should be promoted in managing S.zeamais in stored maize under subsistence farming conditions in Africa

Clean fuel-saving technology adoption in urban Ethiopia

The heavy dependence and inefficient utilization of biomass resources have contributed to the depletion of forest resources in Ethiopia, while the use of traditional cooking technology has also been linked to indoor air pollution and poor health. In response, the government and other institutions have pushed for the adoption of new cooking technologies, with limited success. This research examines the reasons underpinning the lack of widespread adoption, via duration analysis, correlating the speed of adoption of Mirte and Lakech cook stoves – two examples of new cooking technologies – in urban Ethiopia to socioeconomic factors. According to the duration analysis, adoption rates have steadily increased over time, while economic factors, such as product price, household income and household wealth, are, for the most part, important determinants of adoption behavior. There is also evidence that the availability of substitute technologies tends to hinder adoption, and that there are large regional differences in adoption rates, suggesting the need for a more detailed regional analysis of adoption decisions.http://www.elsevier.com/locate/enecohb201

Property rights, institutions and choice of fuelwood source in rural Ethiopia

This study examines the relationship between property rights, defined by land tenure security and the strength of local-level institutions, and household's preferences for fuelwood source. A multinomial regression model applied to survey data collected in rural Ethiopia underpins the analysis. Results from the discrete choice model indicate that active local-level institutions increase household dependency on open access forests, while land security reduces open access forest dependence. However, local level institutions are found to reduce the role of private fuelwood, while tenure security has not, at least yet, had any impact on private fuelwood collection activities. The results suggest that there is a need to bring more open access forests under the management of the community and increase the quality of community forestry management in order to realize improvements in forest conservation.Economic Research Southern Africahttp://www.elsevier.com/locate/forpolhb201

Mega-Environment Targeting of Maize Varieties using Ammi and GGE Bi-Plot Analysis in Ethiopia

አህፅሮት በቆሎ በኢትዮጵያ  ከሚመረቱ የምግብ ሰብሎች መካከል በምርትና ምርታማነቱ ግንባር ቀደም ስፍራን የያዘ ሰብል ነው፡፡  የሰብሉን ምርታማነት ከሚደግፉ የተለያዩ መንስዔዎች  ውስጥ በዋናነት ከፍተኛውን  ቦታ  የሚይዙት ከጥናትና ምርምር  የተገኙ የተሻሻሉ ዝርያዎች ቢሆኑም ሁሉም ዝርያዎች   በበቆሎ አብቃይ ስነ-ምህዳሮች  ላይ ተዘርተው  በምርታማነታቸው ወጥነት የማያሳዩ መሆናቸው ይታወቃል፡፡ እንደየአካባቢው የአይር ፀባይ፤ የአፈር ዓይነትና የዝናብ መጠን እንዲሁም የመሬት ከባህር ወለል ከፍታ ልዩነት የተነሳ በምርታማነታቸው ለየአካባቢው ተመራጭና ተመራጭ ያልሆኑ ዝርያዎችን መለየት ይቻላል፡፡ በዚህ ምክንያት ለተለያዩ ዝርያዎች ምርታማነት ተስማሚና ወካይ የሆኑ ስፍራዎችን  ለይቶ በማወቅ የትኛው ዝርያ በየትኛው ስፍራ ላይ ቢዘራ  ሁለንተናዊ የአካባቢ ባህሪያትን  ተላብሶ ከፍተኛ ምርት ሊሰጥ ይችላል?  እንዲሁም የትኛቹ ስፍራዎች በአየር ንብረት ተቀራራቢነት በጥቅል ተደምረው አንድ ዝርያ በወጥነት  በሁሉም ስፍራ ተዘርቶ ምርታማ የሚያደርጋቸውን አካባቢዎች ለይቶ ለማወቅ ጥናቱ ተደረገ፡፡ ጥናቱ ለምርት በምርምር የተለቀቁ  19 ዲቃላ የበቆሎ ዝርያዎችን በማካተት  ወይናደጋማና ደጋማ ስፍራዎች ላይ ተዘርተው የተለያዩ መረጃዎችን  በማሰባሰብ እንዲጠናቀር ከተደረገ በኋላ ለጥናቱ ስኬት   ከፍተኛ ትኩረት ተሰጥቶት  ለውሳኔ  እንዲያመች ከየአካባቢው የተሰበሰቡ የዝርያዎቹ ምርት አግባብ ባላቸው ሳይንሳዊ ዘዴዎች እንዲሰሉ ተደረገ፡፡ በስሌቱ መሰረት ከዝርያዎቹ በአማካይ በሔክታር 4.47 ( BH545)  እስከ 7.49  ( BH546) ቶን  ምርት ተመዘገበ፡፡ እንዲሁም በተደረገው ስሌት G14  እና  G1  ተብለው የተለዩ ዝርያዎች ለአብዛኞቹ የጥናቱ ስፍራዎች ተስማሚ  እንደሆኑ  ቢታወቅም  BH546  በሚባል ስያሜ የሚለየው ዝርያ በከፍተኛ ደረጃ ተመራጭ እንደሆነ ለማረጋገጥ ተችለሏል፡፡ በሌላ በኩል E9  በተባለ ምህፃረ-ቃል የሚለይ ስፍራ በአብዛኛው ዝርያዎች  ተመራጭ እንደሆነ ስሌቱ ሲያሳይ ፤ E1  የተባለው ግን ተመራጭ እንዳልሆነ ታውቋል፡፡ ሆኖም ግን 11 የጥናት ስፍራዎች በሶስት ዋና ዋና ፤ እያንዳንዳቸው በዝርዎቹ ምርታማነት የጎላ ልዩነት በሚታይባቸው ወጥ ክፍሎች እንደተከፈሉ የስሌቱ ውጤት ለይቶ አሳይቷል፡፡ በዚህ መሰረት E9 በሚል ስያሜ የሚለየው ስፍራ በብቸኝንት እንደ አንድ ዋና ክፍል የተከፈለ ሲሆን በሁለተኛ  ክፍል ውስጥ  በጥቅል  ዘጠኝ  አካባቦዎች  E1, E2, E3, E5, E6, E7, E8  እና E11  በአንድነት ተደመሩ፤ እንዲሁም  E4 እና  E10 በሶስተኛው ክፍል ውስጥ ተመደቡ፡፡ E3, E5 and, E7 በተባሉ ምህፃረ-ቃል የተለዩ ስፍራዎች ለዝርዎቹ ምርታማነት ወካይና ተመራጭ መሆናቸውን ጥናቱ አሳየ፡፡  ነገር ግን E4, E9 and E10  የተባሉ አካባቢዎች በውስን ስፍራዎች ውስጥ  ምርታማ የሚሆኑ  ዝርያዎችን መለየት የሚችሉ መሆናቸውን ጥናቱ ያረጋግጣል፡፡  በሌላ በኩል E8 and E11 የተባሉ ስፍራዎች የዝርያዎችን ምርታማነትና ተመራጭነት  በጉልህ ለማሳየት ምንም አስተዋፅዖ ያላበረከቱ መሆናቸውን ጥናቱ አሳይቷል፡፡ በመጨረሻም የዚህ ጥናት ውጤት ወጥነት ያላቸው ሶስት ዋና ዋና ስነ-ምህዳራትን ለይቷል፤  ዝርይዎች በምርታማነታቸው   ተመራጭነት  የሚኖራቸውንና  የማይኖራቸውነ  ለይተው የሚያሳዩ ስፍራዎችን  ጠቁሟል እንዲሁም በምርታማነቱና ለአብዛኛው አካባቢዎች  በወጥነት ተስማሚነቱን የሜያሳይ ዝርያ ለይቶ አሳይቷል፡፡ Abstract In multi-location experimental trials, test locations must be selected to properly discriminate between varieties and to be representative of the target regions. The objective of this study were to evaluate test locations in terms of discrimination ability, representativeness, and desirability, and to investigate the presence of mega-environments using AMMI and GGE models and to suggest representative environments for breeding and variety testing purposes.  Among 19 maize varieties tested across 11 environments, mean grain yield ranged between 4.47 t/ha (BH545) to 7.49 t/ha (BH546). Both AMMI and GGE  models identified   G14 and G1 as  desirable hybrids for cultivation   because they combined stability and higher average yield. Nonetheless, as confirmed by GGE analysis BH546 was most closest to the ideal genotype hence, considered as best hybrid.  Environment wise, E9 and E4 were the most stable and unstable test environments, respectively. The 11 test environments fell into three apparent mega-environments.  E9 formed one group by its own, E1, E2, E3, E5, E6, E7, E8 and E11 formed the second group and E4 and E10 formed the third group.  E3, E5 and, E7 were both discriminating and representative therefore are favorable environments for selecting generally adapted genotypes. E4, E9 and E10 were discriminating but non-representative test environments thus are useful for selecting specifically adapted genotypes. E8 and E11 were non-discriminating test environments hence little information about the genotypes. The results of this study helped to identify mega-environments, also representativeness and discriminating power of test environments better visualized with the GGE bi-plot model

Prevalence, risk factors and bacterial causes of bovine mastitis in southern Ethiopia

Mastitis is one of the most economically important diseases in dairy farms worldwide. It is particularly important in Ethiopia where no routine prevention and control practices are in place. This cross-sectional study was carried out between October 2017 and June 2018 to estimate the prevalence of mastitis, identify the associated risk factors and isolate bacterial causes in dairy farms located in southern Ethiopia using standard microbiological methods and questionnaire survey. A total of 686 lactating cows which were found in 122 selected dairy farms were investigated by physical examination and California mastitis test. The overall cow-level prevalence of mastitis was 54.2% (95% CI: 50.5 – 57.9%). Based on the study site, the prevalence was 55.7% in Hawassa, 54.3% in Arsi Negele, 52.6% each in Wondo Genet and Wolayta Soddo towns with no significant (p > 0.05) difference among the sites. The majority of mastitis cases were subclinical (48.1%) while the clinical mastitis was only 6.1%. Of the 122 herds tested, 109 (89.3%; 95% CI: 82.1 – 93.9%) had at least a cow positive for mastitis. The study showed that high parity number (OR = 1.6; p = 0.015), flat (OR = 4.5; p <0.001) and round (OR = 2; p <0.001) teat end shape, history of mastitis in preceding lactation (OR = 3.3; p <0.001), and slightly (OR = 3.5; p < 0.001), moderately (OR = 4.9; p < 0.001), and very dirty (OR = 9.2; p < 0.001) udder and legs were the major risk factors which are significantly associated with higher prevalence of mastitis. Based on the available media and reagents, the major bacteria isolated from subclinical mastitic milk samples were Staphylococcus spp. (57.3%), Streptococcus spp. (18.6%), E. coli (17.3%) and Bacillus spp. (7.5%) in order of their abundance. The present study revealed a high prevalence of mastitis, particularly the subclinical one, and the associated risk factors. Enhancing the awareness of dairy farmers, regular screening of cows for subclinical mastitis, proper treatment of the clinical cases, improving the hygienic condition of the cows, and culling of chronically infected cows are critically important to prevent and control bovine mastitis. Keywords: Mastitis, Prevalence, Risk factors, Southern Ethiopi