Analysis of Demand for Fish in Urban Malawi

The purpose of this study was to find the drivers of demand for various fish species in urban Malawi. Previous demand studies on the fisheries sector in Malawi have, mainly, treated fish as a homogenous commodity thereby making information regarding households’ general consumption patterns for different fish species scanty. This study, therefore, concentrates on the disaggregated analysis of the demand for the major fish species caught and consumed in Malawi. It focuses on fish from both capture fishery and aquaculture sub-sectors namely; Engraulicypris sardella (usipa), Copadichromis spp (utaka), Lethrinops spp (kambuzi); Clarias gariepinus (mlamba); Rhamphochromis spp (mcheni); Barbus Paludinosus (matemba); and Lake Malawi tilapia (chambo).  It employs primary data collected from the households in Blantyre city using a multistage stratified random sampling method. Results show that the demand for usipa is influenced by a household’s location in a high-density area, and has low-income levels.  Utaka, on the other hand, is positively influenced by the age of the household head and the number of people employed in the household while chambo is positively influenced by the high education level of the household head, high-income levels, and the household’s location in the high-density areas. The study has also found that mcheni and mlamba are positively influenced by income levels while the demand for matemba is positively the household head’s state of being married but it is negatively influenced by the number of children in the household. Policy implications arising from this study are that in the course of carrying out market segmentation, the fish marketers in Malawi must concentrate on selling usipa to households in high-density areas and focus on households with low-income levels. The selling of utaka while chambo should mainly be sold to households whose heads have high education, have high-income levels, and are located in high-density areas

How Did Covid-19 Affect the Structural Relationship between Exchange Rates and Money Supply? Evidence from Malawi

For countries that participate in international trade, exchange rate management is crucial as the exchange rate affects the competitiveness of the country in international trade. This affects the country’s balance of payments (BOP) position and economic growth. This paper, therefore, set out to find out how Covid-19 containment measures have affected the Malawi Kwacha-US Dollar exchange rate, as well as money supply. Previous studies have assessed the short-term impacts of Covid-19 on the Malawian economy in general, without considering how they have affected the exchange rate and money supply. This study adds to the literature by analyzing how the Covid-19 containment measures have affected the exchange rate, and consequently, the money supply in Malawi. The study employs the dummy variables approach and the vector error correction (VEC) model to find out if there is a structural change in the exchange rate regression over time and whether that structural change in the exchange rates affects the money supply. Regression results indicate that there is a structural break in the regression over time and that the Malawi Kwacha appreciated following the breakout of the pandemic. Additionally, the results from the Error Correction Model have indicated that the appreciation of the Malawi Kwacha, positively, affected the money supply in Malawi. As a policy implication arising from this study, policymakers are encouraged to take advantage of the prevailing donor goodwill and ensure that the various donations received are put to good use so that the Malawi Kwacha should continue being relatively strong against the United States Dollar. If this is not done, the Malawi Kwacha could, greatly, depreciate, a thing that can make the economy experience inflation thereby making people experience a lot of hardships caused by the Covid-19 pandemic

Analysis of International Financial Reporting Standards Content of Accounting Degree Curricula in Malawi

The move to adopt International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) has gained momentum worldwide. The massive adoption of IFRS is attributed to globalisation of business and finance. The global adoption of IFRS is aimed at providing a common set of accounting standards. This single set of IFRS enhances the investor’s ability to make informed decisions about investment alternatives. The academic institutions offering accounting education need to incorporate IFRS in their curricula. This study was intended to establish the extent to which IFRS have been incorporated in the curricula of universities and colleges offering accounting degree programmes in Malawi. The study involved a review of curriculum documents for the accountancy undergraduate degree programmes of academic institutions in Malawi. The results indicate that IFRS have been incorporated into the accounting curricula of the five universities and colleges. The results also indicated that the coverage of the standards was at different ranges. It is recommended that colleges and universities in Malawi should be continuously and frequently reviewing their curriculum materials

WHAT FACTORS INFLUENCE HOUSEHOLDS’ EXPENDITURE ON FISH? EVIDENCE FROM URBAN MALAWI

The purpose of this study was to find the drivers of fish expenditure in urban Malawi using Blantyre as a case study. Previous demand studies on the fisheries sector in Malawi have concentrated on the determinants of consumer choices and demand for tilapia fish thereby making information regarding households’ general consumption pattern of fish scanty. Results show that statistically significant negative determinants of per capita fish expenditure include the price of vegetables, the price of rice, the number of adults in the household, and the household’s per capita food expenditure away from home, while, the price index of food, price of maize, the predicted value of food, and household’s income level are the statistically significant positive drivers of per capita fish expenditure. General policy implications arising from this study are that policymakers need to ensure that households have higher incomes and that food prices are kept low

Risk factors for early mortality on antiretroviral therapy in advanced HIV-infected adults.

CAPRISA, 2017.Abstract available in pdf

The effect of seasonal variation on anthrax epidemiology in the upper Zambezi floodplain of western Zambia

Anthrax has become endemic throughout the upper Zambezi floodplain located in the Western Province of Zambia over the recent years. To date, no comprehensive study has been carried out to determine whether recurrence of anthrax outbreaks may be linked to differences in precipitation and human activities. Retrospective data for the period 1999 to 2007 showed that a total of 1,216 bovine cases of anthrax were reported. During the same period, 1,790 human anthrax cases and a corresponding case fatality rate of 4.63% (83/1,790) was documented in the upper Zambezi floodplain. Occurrence of human cases was highly correlated with cattle outbreaks (r = 0.94, p < 0.001). Differences in precipitation were significantly associated with the occurrence of anthrax outbreaks (χ2 = 4.75, p < 0.03), indicating that the likelihood of outbreaks occurring was higher during the dry months when human occupancy of the floodplain was greater compared to the flooding months when people and livestock moved out of this region. Human dependency on the floodplain was shown to significantly influence the epidemiology of anthrax in the upper Zambezi floodplain of western Zambia. Methods for mitigating anthrax outbreaks by disrupting the cycle of transmission are herein highlighted.publishedVersio

Nitrogen movement in coarse-textured soils and its availability to maize (Zea mays L.) plant

6pNitrogen (N) is the most important determinant nutrient for plant growth and crop yield. Plants lacking N show stunted growth and yellowish leaves. Plant growth and crop yield usually in- crease when N is added. However, too much N leads to weak stems in grain crops (lodging) which result into low yield. The aim of the study was to delineate changes of N concentration, its direction of movement and its pattern of dispo- sition in the soil as influenced by amount of ap- plied water and nitrogen so as to reduce N losses and maximise its absorption by maize roots.The study was conducted during irrigation seasons of 2011 and 2012 at Nkango Irrigation Scheme, Malawi. The trials consisted of factorial arrangement in a Randomised Complete Block Design (RCBD). The factors were water and N and both were at four levels. The Triscan Sensor was used to measure total N concentration at different vertical and lateral points. The study inferred that changes of N concentration, its di- rection of movement and its pattern of disposi- tion in the soil are influenced by water flux and absorption rate of plants roots due to gradient created by absorption. The study noted that when N is in low supply, its movement towards maize roots is greatly influenced by diffusion. The study concluded that to maximise N absorp- tion by maize roots, the point of N application should be at 5 cm away from the planting station to minimise N losses through drifting away from the maize rooting zone

Nitrogen movement in coarse-textured soils and its availability to maize (Zea mays L.) plant

6pNitrogen (N) is the most important determinant nutrient for plant growth and crop yield. Plants lacking N show stunted growth and yellowish leaves. Plant growth and crop yield usually in- crease when N is added. However, too much N leads to weak stems in grain crops (lodging) which result into low yield. The aim of the study was to delineate changes of N concentration, its direction of movement and its pattern of dispo- sition in the soil as influenced by amount of ap- plied water and nitrogen so as to reduce N losses and maximise its absorption by maize roots.The study was conducted during irrigation seasons of 2011 and 2012 at Nkango Irrigation Scheme, Malawi. The trials consisted of factorial arrangement in a Randomised Complete Block Design (RCBD). The factors were water and N and both were at four levels. The Triscan Sensor was used to measure total N concentration at different vertical and lateral points. The study inferred that changes of N concentration, its di- rection of movement and its pattern of disposi- tion in the soil are influenced by water flux and absorption rate of plants roots due to gradient created by absorption. The study noted that when N is in low supply, its movement towards maize roots is greatly influenced by diffusion. The study concluded that to maximise N absorp- tion by maize roots, the point of N application should be at 5 cm away from the planting station to minimise N losses through drifting away from the maize rooting zone

The effect of seasonal variation on anthrax epidemiology in the upper Zambezi floodplain of western Zambia

Anthrax has become endemic throughout the upper Zambezi floodplain located in the Western Province of Zambia over the recent years. To date, no comprehensive study has been carried out to determine whether recurrence of anthrax outbreaks may be linked to differences in precipitation and human activities. Retrospective data for the period 1999 to 2007 showed that a total of 1,216 bovine cases of anthrax were reported. During the same period, 1,790 human anthrax cases and a corresponding case fatality rate of 4.63% (83/1,790) was documented in the upper Zambezi floodplain. Occurrence of human cases was highly correlated with cattle outbreaks (r = 0.94, p < 0.001). Differences in precipitation were significantly associated with the occurrence of anthrax outbreaks (χ2 = 4.75, p < 0.03), indicating that the likelihood of outbreaks occurring was higher during the dry months when human occupancy of the floodplain was greater compared to the flooding months when people and livestock moved out of this region. Human dependency on the floodplain was shown to significantly influence the epidemiology of anthrax in the upper Zambezi floodplain of western Zambia. Methods for mitigating anthrax outbreaks by disrupting the cycle of transmission are herein highlighted

The effect of seasonal variation on anthrax epidemiology in the upper Zambezi floodplain of western Zambia

Anthrax has become endemic throughout the upper Zambezi floodplain located in the Western Province of Zambia over the recent years. To date, no comprehensive study has been carried out to determine whether recurrence of anthrax outbreaks may be linked to differences in precipitation and human activities. Retrospective data for the period 1999 to 2007 showed that a total of 1,216 bovine cases of anthrax were reported. During the same period, 1,790 human anthrax cases and a corresponding case fatality rate of 4.63% (83/1,790) was documented in the upper Zambezi floodplain. Occurrence of human cases was highly correlated with cattle outbreaks (r = 0.94, p < 0.001). Differences in precipitation were significantly associated with the occurrence of anthrax outbreaks (χ2 = 4.75, p < 0.03), indicating that the likelihood of outbreaks occurring was higher during the dry months when human occupancy of the floodplain was greater compared to the flooding months when people and livestock moved out of this region. Human dependency on the floodplain was shown to significantly influence the epidemiology of anthrax in the upper Zambezi floodplain of western Zambia. Methods for mitigating anthrax outbreaks by disrupting the cycle of transmission are herein highlighted