Gender discrimination and its impact on income, productivity, and technical efficiency: evidence from Benin

This paper examines the occurrence and impact of gender discrimination in access to production resources on the income, productivity, and technical efficiency of farmers. Through an empirical investigation of farmers from Koussin-Le´le´, a semi-collective irrigated rice scheme in central Benin, we find that female rice farmers are particularly discriminated against with regard to scheme membership and access to land and equipment, resulting in significant negative impacts on their productivity and income. Although women have lower productivity, they are as technically efficient as men. The findings suggest that there is considerable scope for improving the productivity of women through increasing their access to production resources

Why NERICA is a successful innovation for African farmers

This paper responds to ‘Funding international agricultural research and the need to be noticed: a case study of NERICA rice’ by Stuart Orr, James Sumberg, Olaf Erenstein and Andreas Oswald, published in this issue of Outlook on Agriculture. In summary, the article by Orr et al, based on an internal WARDA document written in November 2003 and augmented with results from Internet searches, is outdated and does not seem to be fair, objective or useful. We invite the authors to visit WARDA or any of its partners in Sub-Saharan Africa for evidence of the impact of NERICA varieties or the other improved varieties and technologies that have been developed and disseminated by WARDA in recent years

Food insecurity increases Risk of Depression and Anxiety Among Women in Senegal Living With Diabetes and/or Hypertension

Food insecurity affects close to half the population of Senegal, West Africa, a country simultaneously affected by the ongoing global diabetes pandemic. Diabetes and food insecurity are associated with adverse mental health, yet research exploring the relationship between chronic physical illness, food insecurity, and mental illness in Senegal is currently lacking. The objective of this study was to investigate the association between food insecurity and depression and anxiety, separately, in Senegalese women living with diabetes and hypertension. Food insecurity was measured using the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale. Occurrence of depression and anxiety symptoms was assessed using the Modified Hopkins Symptoms Checklist Survey (HSCL-25). A sensitivity analysis examining the relationship between food insecurity and depression and anxiety was performed by comparing two previously validated cutoff values (1.75 and 2.25) on the HSCL-25. Most participants (83%) had some level of food insecurity. More than 80% of the sample were depressed or anxious using 1.75 as the cutoff, while 42 and 60% were depressed or anxious, respectively, using 2.25 as the cutoff. Food insecurity increased relative risk for depression (RRR: 1.40, 95% CI: 1.05-1.31, 1.75 as cutoff; RRR: 1.06, 95% CI: 0.99-1.14, 2.25 as cutoff) and anxiety (RRR: 1.17, 95% CI: 1.05-1.31, 1.75 as cutoff; RRR: 1.11, 95% CI: 1.04-1.19, 2.25 as cutoff). These findings demonstrate that among populations suffering from diabetes and hypertension, food insecurity is a modifiable risk factor for depression and anxiety and a potential intervention target in this setting

L’albuminurie acéto- soluble dans la péripneumonie expérimentale et naturelle est- elle une forme habituelle de l’albuminurie chez les bovins

Mornet Paul, Auffret Ch., Orue J., Diagne Lamine. L’albuminurie acéto-soluble dans la péripneumonie expérimentale et naturelle est-elle une forme habituelle de l’albuminurie chez les bovins. In: Bulletin de l'Académie Vétérinaire de France tome 101 n°4, 1948. pp. 165-168

Economic costs of invasive alien ants worldwide

Invasive ants are amongst the most destructive and widespread invaders across the globe; they can strongly alter invaded ecosystems and are responsible for the loss of native ant species. Several studies have reported that invasive ants can also lead to substantial economic costs. In this study, we search, describe and analyse 1342 reported costs of invasive ants compiled in the InvaCost database. Economic costs, reported since 1930 for 12 ant species in 27 countries, totalled US$51.93 billion, from which US$ 10.95 billion were incurred, and US$40.98 billion were potential costs (i.e., expected or predicted costs). More than 80$ 1.79 billion), with much lower amounts dedicated to prevention (US$ 235.63 million). Besides the taxonomic bias, cost information was lacking for an average of 78% of the invaded countries. Moreover, even in countries where costs were reported, such information was available for only 56% of the invaded locations. Our synthesis suggests that the global costs of invasive ants are massive but largely biased towards developed economies, with a huge proportion of underreported costs, and thus most likely grossly underestimated. We advocate for more and improved cost reporting of invasive ants through better collaborations between managers, practitioners and researchers, a crucial basis for adequately informing future budgets and improving proactive management actions of invasive ants

Monitoring the millennium development goals: the potential role of the INDEPTH Network

The Millennium Declaration, adopted by the United Nations (UN) in 2000, set a series of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as priorities for UN member countries, committing governments to realising eight major MDGs and 18 associated targets by 2015. Progress towards these goals is being assessed by tracking a series of 48 technical indicators that have since been unanimously adopted by experts. This concept paper outlines the role member Health and Demographic Surveillance Systems (HDSSs) of the INDEPTH Network could play in monitoring progress towards achieving the MDGs. The unique qualities of the data generated by HDSSs lie in the fact that they provide an opportunity to measure or evaluate interventions longitudinally, through the long-term follow-up of defined populations

Food insecurity increases risk of depression and anxiety among women in Senegal living with diabetes and/or hypertension

Food insecurity affects close to half the population of Senegal, West Africa, a country simultaneously affected by the ongoing global diabetes pandemic. Diabetes and food insecurity are associated with adverse mental health, yet research exploring the relationship between chronic physical illness, food insecurity, and mental illness in Senegal is currently lacking. The objective of this study was to investigate the association between food insecurity and depression and anxiety, separately, in Senegalese women living with diabetes and hypertension. Food insecurity was measured using the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale. Occurrence of depression and anxiety symptoms was assessed using the Modified Hopkins Symptoms Checklist Survey (HSCL‑25). A sensitivity analysis examining the relationship between food insecurity and depression and anxiety was performed by comparing two previously validated cutoff values (1.75 and 2.25) on the HSCL‑25. Most participants (83%) had some level of food insecurity. More than 80% of the sample were depressed or anxious using 1.75 as the cutoff, while 42 and 60% were depressed or anxious, respectively, using 2.25 as the cutoff. Food insecurity increased relative risk for depression (RRR: 1.40, 95% CI: 1.05‑1.31, 1.75 as cutoff; RRR: 1.06, 95% CI: 0.99‑1.14, 2.25 as cutoff) and anxiety (RRR: 1.17, 95% CI: 1.05‑1.31, 1.75 as cutoff; RRR: 1.11, 95% CI: 1.04‑1.19, 2.25 as cutoff). These findings demonstrate that among populations suffering from diabetes and hypertension, food insecurity is a modifiable risk factor for depression and anxiety and a potential intervention target in this setting