65 research outputs found
Economic analysis of animal disease control inputs at farm level: the case of trypanocide use in villages under risk of drug resistance in West Africa
This paper presents an economic analysis of the use of drugs (isometamidium and diminazene) in controlling African Animal Trypanosomosis (AAT), a serious disease of cattle and small ruminants in villages that exhibit resistance to isometamidium in Burkina Faso and Mali in West Africa. The study applies a production function framework integrating a damage control function to assess the short term productivity effect of trypanocide use under different epidemiological conditions. We found that the marginal value products of isometamidium in all epidemiological conditions, and the marginal value product of diminazene in high-prevalence-high-resistance conditions are positive and greater than one revealing an underuse of trypanocidal drugs in those conditions. The economical optimum level of isometamidium is far larger than the current use level. In a strict economic interpretation, this implies that in the short term cattle farmers could increase the profitability if they increase trypanocide input beyond current levels. On the other hand, if the use of trypanocide increases, cattle farmers will also be more likely to experience future losses from trypanocide resistance. In this paper we demonstrated the feasibility of applying the damage control framework for measuring the productivity of veterinary therapeutic drugs at farm level in poor African countries
Effects of traditional processing techniques on the nutritional and microbiological quality of four edible insect species used for food and feed in east Africa
Published online: 4 May 2020Edible insects are increasingly being considered as food and feed ingredients because of their rich nutrient content. Already, edible insect farming has taken-off in Africa, but quality and safety concerns call for simple, actionable hazard control mechanisms. We examined the effects of traditional processing techniques—boiling, toasting, solar-drying, oven-drying, boiling + oven-drying, boiling + solar-drying, toasting + oven-drying, toasting + solar-drying—on the proximate composition and microbiological quality of adult Acheta domesticus and Ruspolia differens, the prepupae of Hermetia illucens and 5th instar larvae of Spodoptera littoralis. Boiling, toasting, and drying decreased the dry matter crude fat by 0.8–51% in the order: toasting > boiling > oven-drying > solar-drying, whereas the protein contents increased by 1.2–22% following the same order. Boiling and toasting decreased aerobic mesophilic bacterial populations, lowered Staphylococcus aureus, and eliminated the yeasts and moulds, Lac+ enteric bacteria, and Salmonella. Oven-drying alone marginally lowered bacterial populations as well as yeast and moulds, whereas solar-drying alone had no effect on these parameters. Oven-drying of the boiled or toasted products increased the aerobic mesophilic bacteria counts but the products remained negative on Lac+ enteric bacteria and Salmonella. Traditional processing improves microbial safety but alters the nutritional value. Species- and treatment-specific patterns exist
Low permeability triple-layer plastic bags prevent losses of maize caused by insects in rural on-farm stores
Participatory on-farm trials were conducted to assess effectiveness of Purdue Improved Crop Storage (PICS™) bags for storage of maize in small-scale farmers’ stores in rural villages in eastern Kenya. A PICS bag is a three-layered hermetic bag-system that forms a barrier against the influx of oxygen and the escape of carbon dioxide. Jute, woven polypropylene or PICS bags were filled with shelled maize grain, purchased from the participating farmers, and the three sets of bags kept in the farmers’ own stores for 35 weeks. Oxygen and carbon dioxide levels in the PICS bags were monitored, as well as the temperature and relative humidity in all the bags. Grain moisture, live insect population, grain damage and weight loss were examined at intervals of seven weeks. Oxygen and carbon dioxide composition demonstrated that PICS bags are capable of sustaining good air-barrier properties under farmer storage conditions. Moreover, moisture content of maize stored in PICS bags did not change throughout the storage period whereas the moisture content of maize stored in polypropylene and jute bags decreased significantly in the final 14 weeks. Maize stored in PICS bags remained free from insect infestation and the weight loss due to insect damage was below 1 %. On the contrary, polypropylene and jute bags permitted profuse build-up of insect populations. At 35 weeks, grain damage reached 77.6 % and 82.3 % corresponding to 41.2 % and 48.5 % weight loss in the polypropylene and jute bags respectively. These findings demonstrate that PICS bags are effective in controlling losses caused by storage pests under farmer storage conditions
Gender Roles and Constraints in Beekeeping: A Case from Kitui County, Kenya
Beekeeping is a form of agriculture that
involves management of wild or domesticated
bee colonies for production of
honey and wax. Generally, in Kenya,
women perform most of the agricultural
activities (GOK, 2005; Oduol et al., 2013).
Even though they play a major role in
these activities, they end up receiving a
fraction of the income generated. In most
of the African countries, beekeeping has
often been a male-dominated enterprise
(Nel & Illgner, 2004; Ogaba & Akongo,
2001; Shackleton, Paumgarten, Kassa,
Husselman, & Zida, 2011). However, with
intervention from rural development
agencies, a change in this practice could
occur..
Estimating the impact of biological control of maize stemborers on productivity and poverty in Kenya: a continuous treatment approach
This study examines the farm-level effects of stemborers’ biological control (BC) using biological and household survey data collected in rural Kenya. The authors use a continuous treatment impact-evaluation method to estimate BC’s average and marginal treatment effects. Findings indicate that, on average, a one percent increase in the intensity of BC increases maize yield by 9.3 kg per hectare and reduces the poverty level of maize-growing farm households by 0.5%. Developing and promoting biological control can be seen as an additional tool in the fight against food insecurity and poverty in Africa through controlling important pests
The role of gender on malaria preventive behaviour among rural households in Kenya
Malaria remains a major health and development challenge in the sub-Saharan African economies
including Kenya, yet it can be prevented. Technologies to prevent malaria are available but are not universally
adopted by male- and female-headed households. The study thus, examined the role of gender in malaria prevention,
examining adoption behaviour between male- and female-headed households in Kenya
Returns to research and outreach for integrated pest management of western flower thrips infesting French bean and tomato in Kenya
Thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande), is a major invasive pest that causes extensive yield losses in French bean and tomato in Kenya. Thrips management is based on the application of pesticides. In addition to increased environmental risks associated with pesticides, frequent use of these chemicals increases production costs and pesticide resistance. Furthermore, exports are restricted due to non-compliance to maximum residue levels in important consumer export markets, especially the European Union (EU). This study was conducted to estimate the potential benefits of the effectiveness of the icipe-developed strategy for control of western flower thrips before dissemination of the technology in Kenya, using the economic surplus model. We calculated the benefit–cost ratio, the Net Present Value (NPV) and the Internal Rate of Return (IRR) using Cost–Benefit Analysis (CBA). Assuming a maximum conservative adoption rate of 1% and a 10% discount rate for the base deterministic scenario, the NPV of the research was estimated at US$2.2 million, with an IRR of 23% and a BCR of 2.46. Sensitivity analyses indicated that the NPV, IRR and BCR increased at an increasing rate as adoption rates increased. However, as elasticities of supply and demand increased, the NPV, IRR and BCR increased at a decreasing rate. The findings demonstrate that farmers from developing countries can gain when they obtain access to suitable pest management innovations such as integrated pest management technologies. Consequently, investment in IPM technologies for suppression of western flower thrips should be enhanced
Estimating and Decomposing Groundnut Gender Yield Gap: Evidence from Rural Farming Households in Northern Nigeria
Poverty among smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa has been associated with low
agricultural productivity emanating from gender yield gaps among other factors. Using data collected
from smallholder groundnut producers in Nigeria, we analyzed the gender yield gap by applying the
exogenous switching regression (ESR) model and Oaxaca–Blinder (OB) decomposition framework.
Results from the two complementary approaches showed a significant gender yield gap in favor of
male headed households (MHHs). The main and significant source of the gap was differences in
resources/endowments. We found that involving female headed households (FHHs) in prerequisite
yield augmenting activities like technology validation trials, testing, and demonstrations is critical in
closing the existing yield gap
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