A Synthesis of Risks in Dairy Value Chains in Southern Africa: Cases of South Africa and Zimbabwe

An increase in frequency and intensity of slow- and fast-onset disasters in Southern Africa has crippled milk producers’ value chain with catastrophic effects to consumers. Milk production is vulnerable to disruptions from natural disasters, poor transport and infrastructure. The chapter considers the cases of South Africa and Zimbabwe, two countries that have organized dairy production. Against this bleak backdrop, this chapter explores the contribution of the milk industry to the economy and the benefits to consumers of milk and dairy products. The chapter also identifies the key players in the dairy supply chain in Southern Africa. It explores different types of disaster risks prevalent in Southern Africa and how they affect the production of raw and processed milk along dairy supply chains. It further interrogates risk management strategies employed by the key players to mitigate these risks to make dairy supply chains sustainable. This chapter reviewed literature and analyzed governments, nongovernmental organizations, and industries’ documents with the aim to present value chain resilience strategies. This chapter also presents an insight into the policymakers and milk industries on the risk reduction strategies that are employed to mitigate the effects of risks on the milk and dairy products’ value chain

Algal Nanoparticles: Synthesis and Biotechnological Potentials

A nanoparticle can be defined as a small object that behaves as a whole unit in terms of its transport and properties. Nanoparticles are sized between 1 and 100 nm in diameter. Nanoparticles can act against the microbes in multiple ways, and the microbes are less likely to develop resistance against nanoparticles because it requires multiple gene mutations. The large surface-to-volume ratio of nanoparticles, their ability to easily interact with other particles, and several other features make them attractive tools in various fields. Nanoparticles are widely used various fields such as electronics, cosmetics, biomedical, and biotechnology. Nanoparticles can be synthesized by physical methods such as attrition, pyrolysis, and using some wet chemical methods. The physical and chemical methods have various drawbacks such as high cost of production, require high energy input and generation of toxic by-products. To overcome this, several biological methods are employed in the synthesis of nanoparticles. The biological methods are generally cost effective, nontoxic, and ecofriendly. This chapter focuses on the methods involved in algal-synthesized nanoparticles and its applications

Artisanal mining versus sustainability of agricultural food supply chains: effects of the conflicts in Southern Zimbabwe

This article seeks to establish the social and environmental consequences of artisanal mining on economic sustainability of agricultural food supply chains in Zimbabwe. Following a descriptive research design, interviews were conducted with 36 farmers. Interviewees were purposively sampled from potential respondents in Southern Zimbabwe. Interview results were triangulated with data from published reports and newspaper articles. Data was analysed using NVivo application version 12 and presented in vignettes. The results of this study are useful to artisanal miners, farmers, and government. Recommendations for further studies are given. KEYWORDS: Artisanal mining farmers food supply chains Zimbabwe sustainabilit

The effects of supply chain cooperation on humanitarian relief operations: A case of Cyclone Idai in Zimbabwe

Background: The increased frequency of occurrence and complexity of disasters, the world over, have called for increased cooperation amongst stakeholders to deliver humanitarian aid. Objectives: This study came as a result of the growing interest focussed on creating and implementing cooperation to facilitate management of supply chain-related activities in the humanitarian sector. This study therefore sought to gain a better understanding of the effectiveness of supply chain cooperation in aid delivery performance variables, specifically in the context of Cyclone Idai humanitarian relief operations in Zimbabwe. Method: A pragmatic research paradigm was adopted, where the researchers took a mixed approach informed by both quantitative and qualitative research tools. Results: Findings of this study show a significant and positive impact of humanitarian supply chain (HSC) cooperation in achieving output, resource and flexibility performance in the delivery of aid. These findings will change the shape of humanitarian response to have more cooperation amongst organisations rather than responding as single entities. Conclusion: This study will therefore contribute to how humanitarian organisations improve their approach to future disasters through cooperation in their supply chain activities. Theoretically, the study will show how supply chain cooperation is key to humanitarian responses, thus improving effectiveness of HSC when put into practice. Policymakers can use these findings to develop a standard framework of how humanitarian organisations should collectively respond to disasters. Keywords: cyclone; humanitarian logistics; relief operations; supply chain; supply chain cooperation

Essence of religion, culture and indigenous language in a unified sexuality education system

DATA AVAILABILITY : Data for this study are available for any future verification or extension of the study from the corresponding author (L.S.) and are currently secured by the researchers.This research is part of the research project, ‘Biblical Theology and Hermeneutics’, directed by Prof. Dr Andries van Aarde, Post Retirement Professor and Senior Research Fellow in the Dean’s Office, Faculty of Theology and Religion, University of Pretoria.Special Collection: O3 Plus, sub-edited by Munatsi Shoko, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).Sexuality education is fundamental in higher and tertiary education institutions (HTEIs). Evidence suggests that its effective education is through translations into the first language of learners. However, in global and multilingual cultural communities such as HTEIs, the foundations for these translations are still a researchable area. Notably, in HTEIs adolescents, young adults and adults co-exist and therefore, any translations must be toned to balance across these groups. The aim of this study was to establish strategies that could enable sexuality educators to effectively transfer information that is steeped in indigenous language, religious and cultural meaning without precipitating stigma and taboo issues. The study setting was the National University of Science and Technology where a cross section of indigenous cultures, languages and religions co-existed with other global cultures. A University Community-based Participatory Research (CBPR) methodology was administered by the researchers using a Delphi research approach to students and staff. Multilingual, multilayered, multireligious, and multicultural nature of the setting presented serious challenges that compromised the prevention of stigma and taboo issues when dealing with sexuality education. We recommend that the strategy to present sexuality education in indigenous languages to the generality of HTEIs population should, in the first instance, involve systematic identification of appropriate interventions that are religious, cultural, and language-specific. CONTRIBUTION : This research reveals paramount ethical and religious violations that have a potential to precipitate opportunistic sexual relationships that may lead to impediments in capacity building for learners. This research can be utilised by academics on the field of Practical Theology, specifically youth ministry and pastoral care.http://www.hts.org.zaam2024Science of Religion and MissiologySDG-03:Good heatlh and well-beingSDG-04:Quality Educatio

Genetic Testing to Inform Epilepsy Treatment Management From an International Study of Clinical Practice

IMPORTANCE: It is currently unknown how often and in which ways a genetic diagnosis given to a patient with epilepsy is associated with clinical management and outcomes. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate how genetic diagnoses in patients with epilepsy are associated with clinical management and outcomes. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This was a retrospective cross-sectional study of patients referred for multigene panel testing between March 18, 2016, and August 3, 2020, with outcomes reported between May and November 2020. The study setting included a commercial genetic testing laboratory and multicenter clinical practices. Patients with epilepsy, regardless of sociodemographic features, who received a pathogenic/likely pathogenic (P/LP) variant were included in the study. Case report forms were completed by all health care professionals. EXPOSURES: Genetic test results. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Clinical management changes after a genetic diagnosis (ie, 1 P/LP variant in autosomal dominant and X-linked diseases; 2 P/LP variants in autosomal recessive diseases) and subsequent patient outcomes as reported by health care professionals on case report forms. RESULTS: Among 418 patients, median (IQR) age at the time of testing was 4 (1-10) years, with an age range of 0 to 52 years, and 53.8% (n = 225) were female individuals. The mean (SD) time from a genetic test order to case report form completion was 595 (368) days (range, 27-1673 days). A genetic diagnosis was associated with changes in clinical management for 208 patients (49.8%) and usually (81.7% of the time) within 3 months of receiving the result. The most common clinical management changes were the addition of a new medication (78 [21.7%]), the initiation of medication (51 [14.2%]), the referral of a patient to a specialist (48 [13.4%]), vigilance for subclinical or extraneurological disease features (46 [12.8%]), and the cessation of a medication (42 [11.7%]). Among 167 patients with follow-up clinical information available (mean [SD] time, 584 [365] days), 125 (74.9%) reported positive outcomes, 108 (64.7%) reported reduction or elimination of seizures, 37 (22.2%) had decreases in the severity of other clinical signs, and 11 (6.6%) had reduced medication adverse effects. A few patients reported worsening of outcomes, including a decline in their condition (20 [12.0%]), increased seizure frequency (6 [3.6%]), and adverse medication effects (3 [1.8%]). No clinical management changes were reported for 178 patients (42.6%). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Results of this cross-sectional study suggest that genetic testing of individuals with epilepsy may be materially associated with clinical decision-making and improved patient outcomes

An assessment of supplier development in the Zimbabwean cotton industry

AbstractSupplier development in the form of contract farming has become the main sourcing strategy in agro-processing industry. However, it is not yet clear from the extant literature how investments in contract farming contribute towards yield per yield. More specifically, this study sought to determine the effects of supplier development in contract farming investments on cotton yield in kilograms per hectare. It furthermore, seeks to unravel whether contract farming initiatives lead to the yield that exceeds 2000 kg/hectare as specified by the Zimbabwe regulatory authority’s target. The study uses secondary data obtained on average national cotton contact farming investments per hectare in monetary terms. The output yield per hectare is obtainable from several publications by the Agricultural Marketing Authority (AMA). The statistics cover the period between year 2011 and 2016. Statistical data analysis of the study is accessed through the Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS) using simple linear regression for the first hypothesis, and One-sample t-test for the second hypothesis. Supplier development initiatives’ impact on yield is found to be statistically significant indicating that for every one unit increase in dollar investments yield changes by 1.161 kg of harvested cotton seed. The results also show that the mean cotton yield in kg/hectare is by far below the national set target of two thousand (2000) kg/hactare. The study recommends that the levels of investments ought to be increased in order to impact positively on yield in order to attain the desired yield per hectare