Investigations into soil nutrient and change in soil physical characteristics under complementary forage rotation in comparison to pasture systems for dairy cows

A investigation into soil nutrient and the change soil physical properties was carried out for three pasture systems for dairy cows; the complementary forage rotation (CFR) which comprised of brassica (Brassica napus )/clover (Trifolium resupinatum ) and maize (Zea mays) capable of achieving more than 40 t/ha, the typical intensive pasture (PI) with kikuyu grass (Penisetum clandestinum) over-sown with ryegrass ( Lolium multiflorum ) and the extensive system (PE); on two soil types (brown chromosol and black vertisol) . The study demonstrated that the CFR system was capable of doubling its yield by using similar fertilizers (N, P and K) and water inputs compared to these of the PI system resulting of greater nutrients (N and K) and water use efficiencies. Overall, the nutrient lost through runoff water was very limited for two intensive systems and nearly nil for PE system. Also similar trends were observed for soil physical properties in the intensive systems except for the topsoil (0-10 cm) where light acidification (P= 0.04) was recorded in the CFR probably due to the soil works before the maize sowing

Degradation of water resources in rural Burkina Faso: drivers, local perceptions and solutions.

Burkina Faso reformed its water management institutions and adopted integrated water resources management (IWRM) for more than two decades, yet the country still suffers from weak institutions and ineffective implementation of water management reforms. The key institutional question is: “How can IWRM reforms be adapted to increase effectiveness and sustainability of water management, and improve livelihoods of rural populations through increased participation of local stakeholders?” A key practical issue related to this bigger institutional question is to understand the barriers to adoption of good land and water management measures by riparian farmers and other land/water users, and the mechanisms to induce behavioral change among these users. Knowledge gaps exist in understanding the local perceptions and preferences of alternative management measures, and the incentive mechanisms to induce behavioral change. The aim of this study, which was part of a 3-year project entitled ‘Participatory planning for more inclusive and sustainable water management in rural Burkina Faso’, was to understand the perceptions, preferences and willingness of farmers and other land/water users to adopt environmentally friendly land and water management measures. The study also examined potential mechanisms that could induce riparian economic actors to adopt such measures

Factors Predicting Profitability of Enterprises Funded by Microfinance Institutions in Burkina Faso

In sub-Saharan Africa, only 13% of new businesses show profitability and survive beyond start-up. Such a low rate of success has an adverse impact on the region economy as small and medium enterprises comprise 90% of African businesses. Understanding the cause of business failure can help existing and new entrepreneurs to focus on factors that may help to overcome barriers to business growth and increase entrepreneurs\u27 chances of success. The purpose of the correlation study was to examine the relationship between business ownership characteristics, resources and professional management, timing, and profitability. The resource-based theory served as the theoretical lens for the study. A random sample of 238 micro-, small, and medium enterprises in Ouagadougou, the capital city of Burkina Faso, completed the questionnaire via the Survey Monkey website. Analysis revealed R-² (15, N = 238) = 94.9, p \u3c .005 (p = 0.000) supported the validity of Lussier\u27s model in predicting profitability. The data analysis showed that 14 out of 15 independent variables made a unique statistically significant contribution to the model at p \u3c 0.05. The implications for positive social change may include the potential to reduce entrepreneurship failure, increase employment opportunities, improve standards of living, and increase economic growth. New or existing businesses may benefit from the findings of the study in increased entrepreneurship success and job creation due to greater awareness of effective business success and failure models. Sustainability of micro-, small, and medium enterprises may increase the number of successful entrepreneurs who can provide regular meals for the families and send the children to school, which may lead to an increase in educational attainment

Burden and Risk Factors Associated with HCV Infection among People Living with HIV Infection in Nebraska: Population-Based Cross-Sectional Study from 1997 to 2017

Background: Previous studies have shown high prevalence of HCV infection among people living with HIV infection. Coinfected people are at risk of developing liver diseases resulting an increase rate of mortality. Several risk factors for HIV/HCV coinfection have previously been identified with injecting drug users (IDU) as the common route of exposure. Methods: This was cross -sectional study using HIV and HCV registries maintained by Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (NE DHHS) from1997 to 2017. A descriptive analysis was used to characterize the sample. Chi-squared test and Fisher exact test were selected to compare the different groups. Univariate and multiple variable logistic regression model chose for the analytical analysis for association between variables. Results: Of 3256 persons with HIV, 356 were coinfected with HCV resulting a proportion of 11%. Based on HIV diagnosis, 52% persons were coinfected by HCV after being diagnosed with HIV while 48% acquired their HCV before becoming infected with HIV. Exposure by IDU (OR=3.8, 95% CI:2.6-6.7), IDU & Heterosexual contact (OR=3.3, 95% CI:1.8-5.8), MSM & heterosexual contact (OR=2.7, 95% CI:1.1-6.7), MSM & IDU (OR=4.5, 95% CI:2.7-7.5) and all three factors MSM & IDU & Heterosexual contact (OR=4.8, 95% CI:2.1-11.1) had higher odds of HIV/HCV coinfection compare to heterosexual contact alone. MSM alone was not a statistically significant risk factor for coinfection. The 56 years and above age group had highest odds of HCV coinfection. Moreover, coinfected persons had 1.87 odds of dying (95% CI: 1.42-2.45) compared to those with HIV alone

Implementing a Data Distribution Variant with a Metamodel, Some Models and a Transformation

International audienceIn this paper, we show how model transformations can be used to implement data distribution features in the software design process of a component. This approach is based on a single metamodel that defines data distribution abstractions and on the design of alternatives that are used to implement each data distribution variant. A model transformation is associated with the metamodel and the component metamodel we consider as the target. We show that this approach facilitates the derivation of different implementation strategies from the model of a component. We illustrate our approach with the example of distributed communication component software that implements one centralized and two peer-to-peer variants and we demonstrate the reusability of the transformation

Electrochemical monitoring of methyl parathion degradation based on carbon fiber microelectrodes (CFME)

The electrochemical degradation of methyl parathion (MP) has been investigated by using carbon fiber microelectrodes (CFME) as working electrode and acetate buffer pH 5.2 as supporting electrolyte. pnitrophenol (PNP) and p-aminophenol (PAP) recognized as by-products of MP degradation process have been detected and identified in real time using square wave voltammetry. This study shows for the first time that CFME could be used to follow MP degradation in real time and to identify its stables metabolites.Keywords: Organopollutants, decomposition, p-nitrophenol, p-aminophenol, Cyclic voltammetry, Square wave voltammetr

Policy and Institutional effects on market participation by smallholder rice farmers: case studies in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger

Rice sector contributes significantly to secure households with regard to their food needs but also to the creation of employments and income generation. The sector development and its evolution over the years have been marked by various policies and approaches. These development stages of the sector constitute nothing but the impact of the number of factors such as the rice policies put in place. A collaborative multi-country pilot study on policy and institutional arrangements effects on irrigated rice production and commercialization was conducted by WARDA and its country partners of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger. In-depth surveys were carried out at both village and household levels to collect qualitative and quantitative data on irrigated rice production, commercialization, and irrigated schemes governance. A common critical constrain cited by the producers in these countries is the commercialization of their product and their inability to take advantage of the market opportunities. Using village and household levels survey data on irrigated rice production and commercialization, this paper attempts to examine the impact of policy and institutional factors in market participation by smallholder rice producers. A farm level supply is estimated using the quantity of rice marketed as the dependant variable and factors such as output and inputs price, and policy and institutional variables as independent ones. The preliminary results indicate that most significant explanatory variable is the average irrigated rice plot (Mali and Niger) and total area of other crops grown by the producer.Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Environmental Economics and Policy, Farm Management, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, International Relations/Trade, Labor and Human Capital, Marketing, Production Economics, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods,