Valuation of Grazing Resources in Zimbabwe's communal areas

A valuation of grazing lands in Zimbabwe's rural areas.the other three communal areas; Mhondoro-Ngezi, Chiduku and Buhera. Households in natural region II have the highest mean MWTP for grazing compared to those households n natural regions III and IV. Households under the traditional regime have the highest mean MWTP for grazing compared to tho?e households under grazing scheme management and under the open access regime. Medium-rich households have the highest mean MWTP for grazing compared to poor and rich households. Defacto female-headed households have the highest mean MWTP for grazing compared to male headed and widow headed households. Households which do not own cattle have a higher mean MWTP for grazing than households which own cattle. Chiduku communal area has the highest percentage of households willing to pay for grazing compared to tl e other three communal areas. Natural region II has the highest percentage of households willing to pay for grazing compared to natural regions III and IV. The open access regime has the highest percentage of households willing to pay for grazing compared to the traditional and grazing scheme regimes. Male headt d households form the highest percentage of hoseholds willing to pay for grazing compared to defeacto fema e headed and widow headed households. Poor households form the highest percentage of households willing to pay for grazing compared to medium-rich and rich households. Households which do not own cattle are more willing to pay for grazing than those households which own cattle. The probability that widow headed households are willing to pay for grazing is significantly higher than th it of defacto female headed households. The probability of willing to pay for grazing is not significantly different between widow headed and male headed households. Households in Svosve and Chiduku communal areas have a lower probability of willingness to pay for grazir g than households in Buhera Communal area. The probability of willingness to pay for grazing is much lower for the households in Chiduku communal area. Households in Mhondoro-Ngezi have a higher probability of willingness to pay for grazing than households in Buhera. Households in natural region II and natural region III have a significantly lower probability to pay for grazing than households in natural region IV. The probability that households under the traditional regime are willir-g to pay for grazing is significantly lower than that of households under the open access regime. The probability that households under grazing scheme management are willing to pay for grazing is significantly higher than that of households under the open access regime. Households which received $300 as the willingness to pay starting point are willing to pay less than those households which received$600 as the willingness lo pay starting point

Results Based Management (RBM) as a Tool for Good Governance

Governments and other public institutions worldwide are facing increasing demands for good governance and the achievement of sustainable socioeconomic development. They are thus seized with searching for the appropriate strategies albeit with considerable difficulties. Literature shows that several nations that adopted and effectively institutionalized the Results Based Management approach have managed to meet the demands with relative ease. This study sought to investigate the linkage between the institutionalization of RBM and the improvement in good governance as well as the delivery of development results. The findings are aimed at contributing to literature on good governance, RBM and development program management in general. Premised upon a qualitative approach, data for this study were gathered through the review of print and electronic documentation on good governance and RBM, primarily relating to Malaysia Rwanda, nations that have registered marked improvements in good governance, implementation of RBM as well as the delivery of development results. Analysis of data showed that RBM is an effective for good governance that can lead to the successful delivery of development results. The effective implementation of the approach is therefore highly recommended as is further research on the relationship of the two notions

Will the appointment of Tedros Ghebreyesus mark a turning point for WHO?

Dorcas Gwata and Tarik Endale analyse the top priorities for Dr Tedros Gebreyesus as he takes over the leadership of the World Health Organisation

Genetic Variability for Resistance to Leaf Blight and Diversity among Selected Maize Inbred Lines

Maize (Zea mays L.) is an important staple food crop in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The productivity of the crop is limited partly by the leaf blight disease caused by Exserohilum turcicum. In breeding for resistance to leaf blight, the germplasm needs to be well-characterized in order to design efficient breeding programs. This study evaluated the (i) genetic variability among maize inbred lines and (ii) diversity of selected medium to late maturity tropical maize inbred lines for hybrid breeding. Plants of 50 maize inbred lines were artificially inoculated in the field during 2011 and 2012. Disease severity and incidence as well as grain yield were measured. A subset of 20 elite maize inbred lines was genotyped using 20 SSR markers. The germplasm showed significant differences in reaction to leaf blight and were classified as either resistant or intermediate or susceptible. Mean disease severity varied from 2.04 to 3.25. Seven inbred lines were identified as potential sources of resistance to leaf blight for the genetic improvement of maize. The genotyping detected 108 alleles and grouped the inbred lines into five clusters consistent with their pedigrees. The genetic grouping in the source population will be useful in the exploitation of tropical maize breeding programs

Analysis of Soil Profile Water Storage under Sunflower × Cowpea Intercrop in the Limpopo Province of South Africa

Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) is the most important oilseed crop in South Africa. Its production in semi-arid area is limited by low rainfall exacerbated by high temperatures that deplete soil moisture. Cowpea (Vigna unguiculta) intercropped in sunflower could reduce evaporation of soil moisture by increasing soil cover. A field study was carried out 2007/2008 and 2008/2009 seasons in the Limpopo Province (South Africa) to compare (i) the changes in soil profile water storage, (ii) water use efficiency, and (iii) productivity of the sunflower–cowpea cropping systems. Extraction patterns by layers showed no significant differences in all cropping systems in the 0–300, 300–600, and 600–900 mm during 2007/2008 and 2008/2009 seasons. Sole sunflower (SS) significantly extracted more soil water than sole cowpea and the intercrop from the 1200- to 1500-mm layer after 56 days after planting (DAP) during 2007/2008 season. There were no significant differences in soil water extraction by cropping systems in the whole profile during both cropping seasons. Intercropping of sunflower resulted in grain yield reduction of sunflower of up to 50 and 30% of cowpea during 2007/2008 and 2008/2009, respectively. Water use and water use efficiency by SS were significantly greater than other cropping systems during the second cropping season

Potential of Improving Agronomic Attributes in Tropical Legumes Using Two Mutation Breeding Techniques in Southern Africa

Tropical legumes such as cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) and tepary bean (Phaseolus acutifolius) are important in traditional smallholder cropping systems, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. Both legumes are adapted to harsh environments including extreme temperatures, drought and poor soil fertility. They provide affordable sources of protein for human consumption and are valuable for income generation. These crops contribute significantly to soil fertility improvement through biological nitrogen fixation. In many parts of Africa, the productivity of these legumes is generally low partly because farmers grow unimproved varieties that are often produced for subsistence purposes on poor soils in mixed cropping systems with limited production inputs. Therefore, this research was designed to evaluate the potential of two distinct mutation breeding approaches in creating useful genetic variation in the two legumes in order to improve the agronomic attributes of both crops. The variation was determined by measuring a range of agronomic traits at both the seedling and adult plant stages. The results showed significant genetic variation among cowpea mutants that were induced with various doses of gamma radiation as well as among tepary bean mutants that were induced with a chemical mutagenic agent, ethyl methanesulphonate (EMS). The optimum doses at LD50 for two cowpea genotypes (Nakare and Shindimba) were ≤200 Gy while the third genotype (Bira) tolerated a dose three-fold higher. In the EMS mutagenesis of tepary bean, the estimated LD50 was ≤2.4% EMS (v/v). In both approaches, percent seed germination decreased with increased dose and the coefficients of determination for the linear functions were high (>75%), suggesting that there were notable associations between the reduction in seed germination and the concentration of the mutagen. At the adult plant stage, tepary bean showed that the mutant generation significantly (P 10.0% increase in both seed size and grain yield potential of some mutant cowpea genotypes compared with the standard check. These findings provide reference doses for large-scale gamma irradiation of cowpea as well as chemical mutagenesis for tepary bean. In addition, the germplasm produced from these approaches has the potential for selection in a range of agro-ecological conditions across the region, thus creating alternative cropping systems for the smallholder growers

Developing a Computer Database for Registering and Monitoring Patients on Chronic Drug Therapy to Determine Drug Consumption: a Pilot Study.

A CAJM article on developing a computer based database to monitor drug consumption.Objectives: To develop a computerised database for monitoring actual drug consumption by a group of patients on chronic drug therapy and pilot the database to assess its effectiveness. Setting: Community based in Chitungwiza, Zimbabwe. Subjects: 434 patients with asthma, hypertension, epilepsy, Diabetes mellitus or multiple conditions whose medical information was entered into the database. Main Outcome Measure: Accessibility of information on the exact amount of drugs being utilised by patients. Results: It was possible to determine the amount of drugs being consumed by the patients on chronic drug therapy from the database. Additional information on patient demographic data as well as adverse drug reactions could be compiled from that basic data. The database could also be used to follow up patients and record any changes in their treatment regimens and other relevant clinical information. Conclusion: It is feasible to create a database for monitoring actual drug consumption by patients on chronic drug therapy as a way of forecasting drug requirements accurately. Such a database has more advantages over the current methods used to estimate drug requirements. It could also be very useful as an information resource centre for nation-wide use