Opportunities and Challenges of Irrigated Crop Production in Dry Land Areas. Review

Irrigation development is very much needed in developing countries as it enhances land, water and labour productivity and improves use of agricultural inputs. Irrigated agriculture shows significant improvement over rainfed agriculture productivity it provides improved resilience against climate variability improves food security and enhances intensification. Also, with a depleting resource base and with stagnating productivity in irrigated areas, improving the productivity of dryland agriculture is necessary to maintain food security at the national scale.To improve the conditions for agricultural production, investments are needed in soil and water conservation to improve soil fertility, increase soil moisture and allow for supplemental irrigation in critical stages of growth.Generally, over 40 percent of the world area is categorized as dry-land developing countries where its accommodate 2.3 billion people mostly in Africa and Asia, and in these regions about one billion people rely on dry-land ecosystem services through rain-fed, irrigated farming and pastoralism. Dry-land areas are categorized by a scarcity of water, which has an impact on food production. Efficiency in irrigation system would help food production sustain especially in dry-land developing countries. Improvement in irrigation could be extended over an additional 110 million ha in dry-land developing countries, producing enough grain for millions of people where more than half of future increases in crop production are expected to come from irrigated land. There are two types of known irrigation systems, namely large-scale and small-scale irrigation. Most of the dryland developing countries are engaging in small-scale irrigation systems, as they are more affordable than those of large-scale systems, but are still capable of increasing food production. Water harvesting is one of the small-scale techniques of collecting runoff rain water for irrigation purposes and has significantly improved both the yield and reliability of agricultural production. The objective of this review is to examine the Opportunities and challenges of irrigated crop production in dry land developing countries. Ethiopia’s dryland agriculture is a high-risk, low-input enterprise for resource-poor farmers, who frequently use poor quality seed, inadequate and imbalanced fertilizers, and poor crop management practices. Consequently, crop yields are much below their demonstrated achievable potentials. Remedial measures for improving crop productivity include effective rainwater harvesting, land consolidation, improved credit facilities, better soil and water conservation, use of good quality seed, balanced nutrient management, and weed control. Keyword: crop Production, Land Irrigation and dry-land developing countries DOI: 10.7176/JAAS/71-02 Publication date: April 30th 202

Climate Analogue Mapping for Coffee Production in Ethiopia

Coffee farming provides livelihoods for around 15 million farmers in Ethiopia and generates a quarter of the country’s export earnings. Feedback from coffee farming communities, and observations on coffee production and coffee plant stress, indicate that climate change has already had a negative impact. Against a backdrop of rapidly increasing temperatures and decreasing rainfall, there is an urgent need to understand the influence of climate change on coffee production. Data Acquisition method obtained monthly surface minimum and maximum air temperature and the sum of rainfall output from in the CMIP archive, four scenarios (SSP1- 2.6, SSP2-4.5, SSP3-7.0 and SSP5-8.5) were used from 2001 to 2020 and for future outlook from 2021 to 2040 to assess the exposure of coffee farming to future climatic change. Results suggest that Ethiopia will likely experience increasing temperatures, but changes in rainfall are uncertain. The increasing temperatures will probably be accompanied by mild thermal stress for coffee during the dry seasons or drought. It could be concluded that coffee in the coming decades will probably experience mild thermal stress during the dry seasons, expressed by slight increases in physiological responses, but will probably remain within the normal margins. Timely, precise, science-based decision making is required now and over the coming decades, to ensure sustainability and resilience for the Ethiopian coffee sector. Keywords: Temperature; Rain fall; Coffee DOI: 10.7176/JAAS/74-03 Publication date:July 31st 202

A cross-sectional study on bovine trypanosomosis in Jawi district of Amhara Region, Northwest Ethiopia

A cross-sectional study was carried out from December 2008 to March 2009 in Jawi district of Amhara Regional State northwest Ethiopia to assess the prevalence of bovine trypanosomosis. Blood sample was collected randomly from a total of 300 cattle through piercing of the marginal ear vein to determine the prevalence and measure PCV values for the assessment of anemia. During sampling age, sex and body condition of the animals were recorded to infer risk factors for the occurrence of the disease. The buffy coat technique was em ployed for the detection of trypanosome and to measure PCV values. Thin blood smear was made from positive samples for species identification of the parasite. The prevalence of trypanosomosis was found to be 11.33% (95% CI: 0.08 - 0.15%) in Jawi district of which higher prevalence with species of trypanosome was detected to be for T. congolense (65%) than T. vivax (35%). The prevalence showed no significant difference in susceptibility between sex categories and in age groups. The infection rate between body condition score in parasitaemic and aparasitaemic animals was significantly different (P< 0.05) that poor body conditioned animals were more affected by trypanosomes than good conditioned animals. The mean PCV values in parasitaemic animals was 24.29% +5.58SD while in aparasitaemic animals 27.46% +5.67SD with a statistical significant difference (

Risky driving behaviors for road traffic accident among drivers in Mekele city, Northern Ethiopia

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Due to its perception as a disease of development, road traffic accident and related injuries tend to be under recognized as a major health problem in developing countries. However, majority of the world's fatalities on the roads occur in low income and middle income countries. Since the main cause of road traffic accident is attributed to human risky behaviors, it is important to identify significant factors for risky behaviors of drivers.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A quantitative cross-sectional study with a sample size of 350 drivers was conducted in April 2011. The study was conducted among Taxi, Bajaj (three tire vehicles) and private owned car drivers. After proportion to size allocation for Taxi (75), Baja (103) and private owned car (172) drivers, we used systematic random sampling method to identify illegible study subjects. Data was collected with face to face interview using a pretested questioner. Univariate, bivariate and multivariate analysis was done using SPSS version 16.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The mean age of the respondents was 28.7 (SD 9.9). Majority were 339 (96.9%) males. Significant number of the study subjects 233 (66.6%) had risky driving behaviors. More than a quarter 100 (28.6%) had less knowledge about basic traffic signs. Majority of drivers 181 (51.7%) had negative attitude towards risky driving behaviors. Significant percent of them 148 (42.3%) had a habit of using mobile phone while driving vehicle and 28 (9.7%) had experience of driving after drinking alcohol. All the Bajaj, 97(62.6%) house car and 58(37.4%) taxi unfasten their seat belt while driving. Majority 303 (86.6%) followed the recommended speed limit of driving. About 66 (18.9%) of them had experience of punishment or warning by traffic polices in the previous 1 year and 77 (22%) ever had car accident while driving.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Drivers of secondary education and with high average monthly income were more likely to have risky driving behavior. Having supportive attitude towards risky driving behaviors and not getting advice about risky driving from significant others increases the likelihood of developing risky driving behavior. Interventions targeted at developing negative attitude towards risky driving behaviors on drivers and significant others should be implemented to bring positive behavior change. The interventions need to be segmented with educational status and income.</p

Bibliography of Aquatic Sciences, Fisheries and Aquaculture in Ethiopia

This Bibliography of Aquatic Sciences, Fisheries and Aquaculture is prepared with the intention of providing the opportunity for different users to easily search for references that concentrate on Aquatic Sciences, Fisheries, and Aquaculture&nbsp;&nbsp; (ASFA).&nbsp; It is a collection of both grey literatures and scientific articles published in scientific journals. The grey pieces of literature include papers presented in conferences, symposia, and workshops, Ph.D. dissertations and MSc theses of various national and international universities submitted as an academic requirement for graduation. It should be noted that there are many more monographs of these types that could be found mainly in different universities in Ethiopia. The scientific papers published in Journals and included in this bibliography should be checked for reputability. As the bibliography contains grey literatures and published papers it can serve as a source of relevant information and data useful for metaanalysis on key topics/issues of ASFA.&nbsp; It will also help the scientific community to enhance their teaching, research and extension activities. Moreover, the long list of references included in the bibliography shows the immense contribution of prominent researchers that promoted, not only their carrier but their profession in the aforementioned three specialized fields. Since the Bibliography is a collection of research reports taken from different sources, there may be a lack of consistency while writing the references. For instance, Ethiopian authors include full father name while writing most of the references, however, abbreviated father name is included whenever the original paper does not have full father name. Finally, it should be noted that this bibliography on ASFA is brought out for the first time in Ethiopia, and we are confident that it will be updated in due course through contributions and feedback from researchers in the field

Validation of an HIV-related stigma scale among health care providers in a resource-poor Ethiopian setting

Background: Stigma and discrimination (SAD) against people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are barriers affecting effective responses to HIV. Understanding the causes and extent of SAD requires the use of a psychometrically reliable and valid scale. The objective of this study was to validate an HIV-related stigma scale among health care providers in a resource-poor setting. Methods: A cross-sectional validation study was conducted in 18 health care institutions in southwest Ethiopia, from March 14, 2011 to April 14, 2011. A total of 255 health care providers responded to questionnaires asking about sociodemographic characteristics, HIV knowledge, perceived institutional support (PIS) and HIV-related SAD. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) with principal component extraction and varimax with Kaiser normalization rotation were employed to develop scales for SAD. Eigenvalues greater than 1 were used as a criterion of extraction. Items with item-factor loadings less than 0.4 and items loading onto more than one factor were dropped. The convergent validity of the scales was tested by assessing the association with HIV knowledge, PIS, training on topics related to SAD, educational status, HIV case load, presence of an antiretroviral therapy (ART) service in the health care facility, and perceived religiosity. Results: Seven factors emerged from the four dimensions of SAD during the EFA. The factor loadings of the items ranged from 0.58 to 0.93. Cronbach’s alphas of the scales ranged from 0.80 to 0.95. An in-depth knowledge of HIV, perceptions of institutional support, attendance of training on topics related to SAD, degree or higher education levels, high HIV case loads, the availability of ART in the health care facility and claiming oneself as nonreligious were all negatively associated with SAD as measured by the seven newly identified latent factors. Conclusion: The findings in this study demonstrate that the HIV-related stigma scale is valid and reliable when used in resource-poor settings. Considering the local situation, health care managers and researchers may use this scale to measure and characterize HIV-related SAD among health care providers. Tailoring for local regions may require further development of the tool.Garumma Tolu Feyissa, Lakew Abebe, Eshetu Girma, Mirkuzie Woldi

Cultivation of micro-algae for Production of Biodiesel: An optimized Process

Microalgae are considered as one of the potential source of biodiesel for the future. The search to obtain the potential strains from the algal diversity capable of producing oil is critical for sustainable production of biodiesel. In the present study, microalgae biomass with oil/lipid accumulation capability and their morphological features was isolated from Lake Abaya and Chamo. The algal biomass was cultivated in vitro and media optimization for maximum biomass was done using different basal media, BG-11 medium, and Chu -10. In addition the various carbon sources, nitrogen sources, pH and temperature were considered in this study for optimization. Green algae Oedogonium, Chlorella and Cladophora species were observed to be dominant species and the maximum oil per dry algal biomass was found to be from Oedogonium sp. Thus from the present study for the cultivation of the selected algae, BG-11 medium supplemented with tryptone (0.2%) sucrose (2%) and pH- 6 with incubation temperature of 300C was found to be suitable.  These results suggest that Oedogonium sp. has several desirable features that make it a potential candidate for biodiesel production

Mobility Load Balancing in Cellular System with Multicriteria Handoff Algorithm

Efficient traffic load balancing algorithm is very important to serve more mobile users in the cellular networks. This paper is based on mobility load balancing handoff algorithm using fuzzy logic. The rank of the serving and the neighboring Base Transceiver Stations (BTSs) are calculated every half second with the help of measurement report from the two-ray propagation model. This algorithm is able to balance load of the BTS by handing off some ongoing calls on BTS’s edge of highly loaded BTS to move to overlapping underloaded BTS, such that the coverage area of loaded BTS virtually shrunk towards BTS center of a loaded sector. In case of low load scenarios, the coverage area of a BTS is presumed to be virtually widened to cover up to the partial serving area of neighboring BTS. This helps a highly loaded neighboring BTS or failed BTS due to power or transmission. Simulation shows that new call blocking and handoff blocking using the proposed algorithm are enhanced notably

First Report of the Larger Grain Borer, Prostephanus truncatus (Horn) (Coleoptera: Bostrichidae) from Stored Maize in Ethiopia

In Ethiopia, over nine million farmers produce maize on about 14% of the total land area. It serves as food and feed. Various arthropod pests destroy maize in traditional storage. Larger grain borer (LGB), Prostephanus truncatus (Horn) is a devastating storage pest that constrain stored maize in Eastern Africa and beyond. This study was aimed at surveying whether the LGB has been infesting stored maize in southern Ethiopia or not. Community based cross sectional survey was conducted in four purposively selected kebeles in Baka Dawula Ari District in South Omo Zone of South Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Regional State. A total of three maize cobs were picked from each type of storage structure in three replications from every study Kebele. Then, the cobs were taken to the Laboratory of Entomology and Vertebrate Zoology of Arba Minch Plant Health Clinic and the pest species were identified by the use of binocular microscope. A total of 11 species of arthropod pests were identified from the stored maize. P. truncatus was found to be one of the most severely damaging of stored maize. This pest was recorded infesting maize grain in Ethiopia for the first time by this study. It is concluded that LGB has already entered into Ethiopia, it has already been established and it is devastating stored maize. Immediate integrated control of the LGB shall be implemented. A survey of countrywide geographical distribution of the LGB shall be held in order to design large-scale management practices of the pest.