Malting improves complementary porridges energy density

United States Agency for International Developmen

Etude de l’effet de la date de semis et de l’age des plantules au repiquage sur le rendement de trois varietes de riz adoptees dans les perimetres irrigues villageois des regions de Tombouctou et de Gao

Les périmètres irrigués villageois (PIV) sont utilisés pour atténuer les effets néfastes des changements climatiques. Les variétés cultivées dans les PIV sont d’origine asiatique et souffrent des conditions agro climatiques des régions nord du Mali. Les expérimentations ont été conduites en milieu paysan dans les PIV de Tombouctou et de Gao afin de sélectionner des variétés ayant les caractéristiques désirables des producteurs. Sept paysans ont été sélectionnés par site pour la conduite des tests. Trois variétés de riz WARDA Sahel (WAS) et la variété Nionoka (témoin) ont été testées. Le dispositif expérimental utilisé était le factoriel en blocs dispersés avec comme facteur principal variétés et facteurs secondaires date de semis et l’âge des plantules au repiquage. La collecte des données a porté sur la variable rendement. Le logiciel GENSTAT version 4.0 a été utilisé pour l’analyse des données. Le test de Student-Newman-Keuls au seuil de 5% a été utilisé pour la séparation des moyennes à l’aide du logiciel SPSS version 17.0. Sur l’ensemble des sites, la variété SUTURA a enregistré le bon rendement. La période propice de semis des pépinières des trois variétés est la première quinzaine du mois de juillet. L’âge limite de repiquage des plantules est de 30 jours.Mots clés : Périmètre Irrigué Villageois (PIV), Variétés de riz, Rendement, Date de semis et Age des plantules au repiquag

Valuation of rice postharvest losses in Sub-Saharan Africa and its mitigation strategies

Data on rice harvest and postharvest loss in Sub-Sahara Africa (SSA) is scanty making it difficult for stakeholders to appreciate the loss and set priority areas for loss reduction along the value chain. To address this problem, a protocol was developed and validated for postharvest loss (PHL) quantification in SSA. Quantitative losses at each segment were determined by field measurements. Interactive effect of origin of rice (domestic versus imported) and type of processing (white versus parboiled milled) on rice price in 33 markets in Africa was used to estimate qualitative loss for both white and parboiled milled rice. Total PHL for rice in SSA in 2018 is estimated at about US$ 10.24 billion, representing 47.63% of the expected total production. The highest loss recorded was quantitative loss before and during harvesting, followed by qualitative loss along the entire value chain, quantitative loss during milling, parboiling, threshing in that order, with the lowest being quantitative loss during drying. Priority areas to be targeted for PHL reduction in SSA and some loss mitigation tools and technologies piloted or suitable for SSA are proposed

Determinants de ladoption des technologies de transformation de ligname: cas de la transformation en cossettes et en farine au nord de la Cote Divoire

Cet Journal Article propose une analyse empirique de l’adoption des technologies de transformation de l’igname. L’étude, qui est l’une des rares analyse dans le domaine de l’igname à s’intéresser à l’adoption des procédés de transformation, explore les liens entre les caractéristiques sociales, culturelles et professionnelles des paysans et l’adoption des technologies de transformation. Son objectif principal est d’identifier les déterminants de l’adoption de la technologie de transformation de l’igname en cossettes et en farine dans la zone nord de la Côte d’Ivoire. De façon spécifique, l’étude a concerné les ménages de la zone couverte par le projet «Valorisation de l’Igname: Système Cossette» exécuté de 1998 à 2001. L’identification des déterminants a été faite à partir d’une analyse par régression logistique. Les facteurs d’influence de la décision d’adoption sont l’encadrement des paysans, l’âge et l’appartenance à la caste des cultivateurs. L’encadrement offert aux producteurs d’igname influence positivement et de façon significative la probabilité d’adoption. De même l’âge et la caste sont significatifs et améliorent la probabilité d’adoption.Yam processing technology adoption: the case of yam chip flour production in northern of Côte d’Ivoire. This Journal Article provides an empirical analysis of yam processing technology adoption. The study, one of the few in the field of yams which analyses the processing technology adoption, explores the links between social, cultural, and professional farmers and adoption of processing technologies. Its main objective is to identify factors that influence yam chip and flour production and the processing technology adoption in the north of Cote d’Ivoire. More specifically, the study involved households in the area covered by the project “Enhancement of yam: yam chip system” executed from 1998 to 2001. A Logit regression model was used to identify the adoption’s reasons. Factors influencing the decision to adopt are extension service, age and belonging to the caste of farmers. The guidance offered to producers of yam influences significantly and positively the likelihood of adoption. In the same case, age and caste are significant and improve the likelihood of adoption

Essais métriques pour évaluer la performance d'un géosynthétique de renforcement au dessus d'une cavité

International audienceThis report presents a new large-scale test apparatus (LSTA) developed to assess the efficiency of a geosynthetic reinforcement for the limitation of deformations of a geosynthetic lining system (GLS) over a 0.5 m wide cavity. Two experiments were conducted. The first one involved a geosynthetic clay liner, a nonwoven needle-punched geotextile and a high-density polyethylene geomembrane. For the second experiment, a 50 kN/m polyvinyl alcohol geogrid was embedded within the sand layer below the geosynthetic clay liner to provide reinforcement above the cavity. An overburden pressure varying from 10 to 100 kPa was applied to the top of the GLS. Strain gauges were used to measure the strain within the geogrid and the geomembrane. The results proved that the 50 kN/m geogrid reinforcement beneath the geomembrane reduced the maximum strain within the geomembrane, compared to the case where the geomembrane was unreinforced, by 25% on average. The results showed that the overall strain within the geomembrane was 31% to 42% less than that of the geogrid above the cavity. Finally, the results showed that the spatial distribution of the strain within the geomembrane and that of the geogrid differed because of a conical shape of the collapsed zone

The ASOS Surgical Risk Calculator: development and validation of a tool for identifying African surgical patients at risk of severe postoperative complications

Background: The African Surgical Outcomes Study (ASOS) showed that surgical patients in Africa have a mortality twice the global average. Existing risk assessment tools are not valid for use in this population because the pattern of risk for poor outcomes differs from high-income countries. The objective of this study was to derive and validate a simple, preoperative risk stratification tool to identify African surgical patients at risk for in-hospital postoperative mortality and severe complications. Methods: ASOS was a 7-day prospective cohort study of adult patients undergoing surgery in Africa. The ASOS Surgical Risk Calculator was constructed with a multivariable logistic regression model for the outcome of in-hospital mortality and severe postoperative complications. The following preoperative risk factors were entered into the model; age, sex, smoking status, ASA physical status, preoperative chronic comorbid conditions, indication for surgery, urgency, severity, and type of surgery. Results: The model was derived from 8799 patients from 168 African hospitals. The composite outcome of severe postoperative complications and death occurred in 423/8799 (4.8%) patients. The ASOS Surgical Risk Calculator includes the following risk factors: age, ASA physical status, indication for surgery, urgency, severity, and type of surgery. The model showed good discrimination with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.805 and good calibration with c-statistic corrected for optimism of 0.784. Conclusions: This simple preoperative risk calculator could be used to identify high-risk surgical patients in African hospitals and facilitate increased postoperative surveillance. © 2018 British Journal of Anaesthesia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Medical Research Council of South Africa gran