Analysis Of Trends In Livestock Production In Nigeria: 1970-2005

The livestock industry as an important component of general agriculture is expected to be a key contributor to national development. This study analyzes the livestock production trends in Nigeria with a view to ascertaining the influence of policy changes on real output of livestock over time, and investigates the existence of acceleration, stagnation or deceleration in growth of livestock production at different periods. Secondary data on real production for the 1970-2005 periods were obtained from the publications of the Central Bank of Nigeria. Annual compound growth indices were calculated from the estimated trend equations while existence of acceleration, stagnation or deceleration in growth was investigated using quadratic equations in the time trend variables of the livestock production data. Results reveal that the growth rate, which was less than 1% per annum during the 1970-1985 pre-SAP period increased to 6.44% and 8.92% per annum respectively during the 1986-1998 SAP and 1999-2005 post-SAP eras. The compound growth rate was computed as 4.83% per annum during the entire period under study. Presence of statistical significant acceleration (

Characterization Of Farm Management Practices And Improved Crop Varieties In Northern Nigeria: Application Of “Transect Walks” Method

The need to increase yields and farm income, stimulate agricultural growth, alleviate poverty and promote food security in rural communities necessitated the introduction of improved farm management practices and crops varieties in northern Nigeria. Like every well-intended innovation, the benefits of the improved systems could only be realized if farmers adopted and practiced them. This paper assesses the use status of the improved cropping patterns and farm management systems in the drier savanna area of northern Nigeria. It used data collected through line intersects sampling survey, an aspect of transect-walks methodology, involving farm fields in ten communities in the area. The results revealed that 82.6% of the surveyed fields were arable non-fadama fields as against 6.8% fallow and 4.7% settlement fields. Less than one percent of surveyed fields were arable fadama and community reserved fields while 1.7% was woodland. The modern farm management practices introduced into the area have not been fully adopted by farmers. “Gicci”, a traditional cropping pattern, was very common having been observed in 38.7% of the 1001 farm fields surveyed. Sole cropping (30.9%) and relay (14.9%) were second and third commonly practiced farm management practices. Of improved crops\' varieties, maize was the most widely adopted, appearing in 11.9% of the fields as first crop, and in 26.1% as the first four crops. Improved cowpea and soybean varieties were observed as the first four crops in 8.5% and 4.5% of the surveyed fields respectively. In general, the study found that the proportion of the communities that devoted up to 50% of the observed maize fields to the improved maize was 30% while the proportion that devoted up to 50% to improved cowpea and soybean was only 20%.The study identified the need for intensified extension services, training and enlightenment programmes as ways for promoting the use of improved farming technologies to realize their full benefits. Keywords: line transects, farm management practices, improved varieties, gicci, drier savanna, NigeriaGlobal Approaches to Extension Practice Vol. 4 (1) 2008: pp. 20-3

Predictors of the number of under-five malnourished children in Bangladesh: application of the generalized poisson regression model

Islam MM, Alam M, Tariquzaman M, et al. Predictors of the number of under-five malnourished children in Bangladesh: application of the generalized poisson regression model. BMC Public Health. 2013;13(1): 11.BACKGROUND: Malnutrition is one of the principal causes of child mortality in developing countries including Bangladesh. According to our knowledge, most of the available studies, that addressed the issue of malnutrition among under-five children, considered the categorical (dichotomous/polychotomous) outcome variables and applied logistic regression (binary/multinomial) to find their predictors. In this study malnutrition variable (i.e. outcome) is defined as the number of under-five malnourished children in a family, which is a non-negative count variable. The purposes of the study are (i) to demonstrate the applicability of the generalized Poisson regression (GPR) model as an alternative of other statistical methods and (ii) to find some predictors of this outcome variable. METHODS: The data is extracted from the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS) 2007. Briefly, this survey employs a nationally representative sample which is based on a two-stage stratified sample of households. A total of 4,460 under-five children is analysed using various statistical techniques namely Chi-square test and GPR model. RESULTS: The GPR model (as compared to the standard Poisson regression and negative Binomial regression) is found to be justified to study the above-mentioned outcome variable because of its under-dispersion (variance < mean) property. Our study also identify several significant predictors of the outcome variable namely mother's education, father's education, wealth index, sanitation status, source of drinking water, and total number of children ever born to a woman. CONCLUSIONS: Consistencies of our findings in light of many other studies suggest that the GPR model is an ideal alternative of other statistical models to analyse the number of under-five malnourished children in a family. Strategies based on significant predictors may improve the nutritional status of children in Bangladesh

Lymphatic Filariasis in Nigeria; Micro-stratification Overlap Mapping (MOM) as a Prerequisite for Cost-Effective Resource Utilization in Control and Surveillance

Background Nigeria has a significant burden of lymphatic filariasis (LF) caused by the parasite Wuchereria bancrofti. A major concern to the expansion of the LF elimination programme is the risk of serious adverse events (SAEs) associated with the use of ivermectin in areas co-endemic with Loa filariasis. To better understand this, as well as other factors that may impact on LF elimination, we used Micro-stratification Overlap Mapping (MOM) to highlight the distribution and potential impact of multiple disease interventions that geographically coincide in LF endemic areas and which will impact on LF and vice versa. Methodology/Principal findings LF data from the literature and Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH) were collated into a database. LF prevalence distributions; predicted prevalence of loiasis; ongoing onchocerciasis community-directed treatment with ivermectin (CDTi); and long-lasting insecticidal mosquito net (LLIN) distributions for malaria were incorporated into overlay maps using geographical information system (GIS) software. LF was prevalent across most regions of the country. The mean prevalence determined by circulating filarial antigen (CFA) was 14.0% (n = 134 locations), and by microfilaria (Mf) was 8.2% (n = 162 locations). Overall, LF endemic areas geographically coincided with CDTi priority areas, however, LLIN coverage was generally low (<50%) in areas where LF prevalence was high or co-endemic with L. loa. Conclusions/Significance The extensive database and series of maps produced in this study provide an important overview for the LF Programme and will assist to maximize existing interventions, ensuring cost effective use of resources as the programme scales up. Such information is a prerequisite for the LF programme, and will allow for other factors to be included into planning, as well as monitoring and evaluation activities given the broad spectrum impact of the drugs used