Can Africa replicate Asia's green revolution in rice ?

Asia's green revolution in rice was transformational and improved the lives of millions of poor households. Rice has become an increasingly important part of African diets and imports of rice have grown. Agronomists point out that large areas in Africa are well suited for rice and are encouraged by the field tests of new rice varieties. So is Africa poised for its own green revolution in rice? This study reviews the recent literature on rice technologies and their impact on productivity, incomes, and poverty, and compares current conditions in Africa with the conditions that prevailed in Asia as its rice revolution got under way. An important conclusion is that, to a degree, a rice revolution has already begun in Africa. Moreover, many of the same practices that have proved successful in Asia and in Africa can be applied where yields are currently low. At the same time, for many reasons, Africa's rice revolution has been, and will continue to be, characterized by a mosaic of successes, situated where the conditions are right for new technologies to take hold. This can have profound effects in some places. But because diets, markets, and geography are heterogeneous in Africa, the successful transformation of the Africa's rice sector must be matched by productivity gains in other crops to fully launch Africa's Green Revolution.Agricultural Research,Crops&Crop Management Systems,Climate Change and Agriculture,Food&Beverage Industry,Agricultural Knowledge&Information Systems

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

Pauvreté et distribution de revenus au Sénégal: une approche par la modélisation en équilibre général calculable micro-simulé

La nouvelle orientation de la politique économique au Sénégal vise à accroître les revenus des pauvres et à attaquer la pauvreté là où elle est principalement localisée. La stratégie de réduction de la pauvreté va être mise en oeuvre dans un contexte de libéralisation des échanges commerciaux internationaux notamment dans le secteur agricole. Dans ce contexte, nous avons développé un modèle d'équilibre général calculable micro-simulé multi-ménages du type Decaluwé et al. (1999) permettant d'évaluer l'impact que pourront avoir ces politiques agricoles à l'échelle des ménages et de faire le lien entre ces réformes économiques, la pauvreté et la distribution de revenu. Ce modèle offre beaucoup de flexibilité en permettant notamment de modifier la distribution des groupes cibles qui n'ont pas à être revenus avant l'exercice de simulation afin d'effectuer l'analyse de pauvreté et d'inégalité ex post à l'exercice de modélisation. Dans ce travail, nous avons également comparé les effets en terme d'analyse de pauvreté et d'inégalité entre une distribution paramétrique (Dagum, 3 paramètres) et une distribution non-paramétrique et montré que ce choix engendrait des différences significatives quant aux effets sur la pauvreté. Contrairement aux applications faite par Decaluwé et al. (1999) et Cockburn (2002) au Népal, les impacts sur la pauvreté sont assez importants, ce qui montre que cette approche offre un outil riche permettant d'évaluer l'impact de politiques économiques ou chocs externes sur la pauvreté et la distribution de revenu.Modèle d'équilibre général calculable, micro-simulation, analyse de pauvreté, distribution de revenu

Management of neuropathic pain in Senegal: Expertise of National Center of Orthopedic Equipment, Dakar

IntroductionNeuropathic pain is serious and its treatment difficult. Treatment is efficient, when quality of life is increased [1].ObjectiveTo determine the frequency of neuropathic pain at the National Centre of Orthopaedic Equipment, Dakar, Senegal and to study the difficulties of management of neuropathic pain according to international guidelines.MethodologyA prospective study was undergone in the National Centre of Orthopaedic Equipment in Dakar, Senegal. Study took place from October 2014 to January 2015. Patients with pain over one month answered the neuropathic pain questionnaire and those with over 4 points were enrolled. Pain intensity was evaluated with Visual Analogic Scale, motor function with Medical Research Council Test. Major function (prehension, work, daily activity, professional activity and sleep) were appreciated. We verified the conformity of complementary exams. Evaluation was done before treatment, three weeks and two months after. Treatment was based on international guidelines.ResultsForty-three patients suffered neuropathic pain. The sex-ratio was 0.96. The mean age was 52.22. The mean score of Visual Analogic Scale was 5.75. Working was difficult (33.96%), impossible (4 cases), and up and down stair climbing impossible (18.83%). Among the patients 18.86% could not walk more than 1000 meters and 13.20% of patients could not pick something up. Professional activity was stopped in 2 cases. Sleep disorders were noted in 33.96%. Complementary exams were done in 54.71% and 9.43% were not compliant with international guidelines. Most of the patients received Amitryptiline (54. 71%) and adverse effects were noted only in 3 cases. With a two months follow-up, dimensions of quality of life were improved in 94.53% of cases.Discussion and ConclusionTreatment of neuropathic pain improved quality of life. In African country, the choice of molecule must take into account its efficacy and its accessibility. Rehabilitation is important in management of neuropathic pain. It increases function and improves quality of life. The unnecessary complementary exams increase the cost, and general practitioners need a specific piece of information about the neuropathic pain and its treatment

The impact of credit constraints on the adoption of hybrid maize in Malawi

This paper investigates the impact of credit constraints on the adoption of hybrid maize among rural households in Malawi. To address the endogenous and binary nature of the household's credit constraints status, we employ a treatment-effects model to consistently estimate the effect of credit constraints. Results reveal that after effectively correcting for endogeneity, credit constraints have a negative and significant effect on the amount of land allocated to hybrid maize. Results also show that farmers with larger land holdings allocate more land to hybrid maize. Although less likely to report credit constraints, older farmers allocate less land to hybrid maize than younger farmers. These findings suggest that there is scope for increasing the cultivation of hybrid maize in Malawi if credit is targeted at younger farmers that are credit-constrained

Electrochemical properties and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy of polypyrrole-coated platinum electrodes

Polypyrrole (PPy) films of different thickness were characterized by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurements in acetonitrile and aqueous solutions, containing 0.1 M NaClO4 or sodium dodecylsulfate as the dopant. The PPy films were electrochemically deposited on Pt, and their electrochemical properties studied by cyclic voltammetry. Impedance spectra were obtained at potentials ranging from 0 to 0.8 V/SCE. The EIS data were fitted using two different equivalent electrical circuits (depending on the nature of the dopant). They involve a diffusive capacitance, which increased with the passing charge during electrosynthesis (i.e. film thickness) for ClO4--doped PPy, but was practically unaffected by the film thickness in the case of SDS-doped PPy. Also, a double-layer capacitance was found only in the circuit of ClO4--doped PPy. It increased with the film thickness, and showed a minimum near the open-circuit potential. Finally the charge-transfer resistance (Rct) obtained with SDS is nearly 200-fold higher than that obtained with ClO4- in the same solvent (H2O). With the same dopant (ClO4-), Rct is about five times higher in acetonitrile relative to water. All these EIS results of the different types of PPy suggest a relation with the wettability of the polymer.KEY WORDS: Conducting polymers, Polypyrrole, Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, Equivalent-electrical circuit, Micellar mediaBull. Chem. Soc. Ethiop. 2006, 20(2), 279-293