FACTORS INFLUENCING THE CHOICE OF MARKETING STRATEGIES AMONG CASSAVA MICROENTERPRISES IN KENYA

Cassava ( Manihot esculenta L.) production and utilisation in Kenya face stiff competition from other major starchy food crops mainly maize, potatoes and wheat. This is due to the cyanide content in cassava which is lethal when roots are mishandled, leading to avoidance of the crop by potential consumers. This has affected the marketing of the crop and its products.The objective of this study was to analyse factors that influence the choice of marketing strategies among agripreneurs in cassava microenterprises in Kenya. A studywas conducted in Migori County (Kuria West, Suna East, Suna West and Uriri Sub-counties) in Kenya, using a semi-structured questionnaire, administered to a sample of 267 cassava micro enterprises. Results showed that the most used marketing strategies were pricing, product promotion, value addition and formation of a marketing alliance mostly in their combination. Multivariate Probit results showed that age, gender, education level, household size, major occupation (trading), marketing experience, seed money, entrepreneurial training, marketing information, market distance, group membership, farm gate and open-air marketing outlets significantly (P<0.05) influenced the choice of marketing strategies among cassava microenterprises. Therefore, cassava agripreneurs of microenterprises need to combine viable product lines and the marketing strategies that give maximum performance in order to increase their marketing shares and profits.La production etl\u2019utilisation du manioc ( Manihot esculenta L.) au Kenya sontconfront\ue9es \ue0 une concurrence f\ue9roce de la part d\u2019autresprincipales cultures f\ue9culentes, principalement le ma\uefs, les pommes de terre et le bl\ue9. Celaestd\ufb \ue0 la teneurencyanure du manioc qui estmortellelorsque les racinessont mal trait\ue9es, ce qui conduit \ue0 l\u2019\ue9vitement de la culture par les consommateurspotentiels. Cela a euune incidence sur la commercialisation de la culture et de sesproduits. L\u2019objectif de cette\ue9tude\ue9taitd\u2019analyser les facteurs qui influencent le choix des strat\ue9gies de commercialisation des agripreneurs dans les microentreprises du manioc au Kenya. Une\ue9tude a \ue9t\ue9men\ue9edans le comt\ue9 de Migori (comt\ue9s de Kuria West, Suna East, Suna West et Uriri) au Kenya \ue0 l\u2019aide d\u2019un questionnaire semi-structur\ue9, administr\ue9 \ue0 un \ue9chantillon de 267 microentreprises de manioc.Les r\ue9sultatsontmontr\ue9 que les strat\ue9gies de marketing les plus utilis\ue9es\ue9taient le prix, la promotion de produits, la valeurajout\ue9e et la formation d\u2019une alliance de marketing principalementencombinaison. Les r\ue9sultatsmultivari\ue9s de Probit ontmontr\ue9 que l\u2019\ue2ge, le sexe, le niveau de scolarit\ue9, la taille du m\ue9nage, la profession principale (n\ue9gociation), l\u2019exp\ue9rience de marketing, l\u2019argent de d\ue9marrage, la formation entrepreneuriale, l\u2019information de marketing, la distance du march\ue9, l\u2019appartenance \ue0 un groupe, Les points de vente \ue0 la ferme et enplein air (p<0.05) ontfortementinfluenc\ue9 le choix des strat\ue9gies de commercialisation parmi les microentreprises de manioc. Par cons\ue9quent, les agripreneurs de manioc des microentreprisesdoivent combiner des gammes de produitsviableset des strat\ue9gies de commercialisation qui donnentune performance maximaleafind\u2019augmenterleurs parts de commercialisation et leursb\ue9n\ue9fices

Dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate levels associated with decreased malaria parasite density and increased hemoglobin concentration in pubertal girls from western Kenya

In areas where Plasmodium falciparum malaria is endemic, parasite density, morbidity, and mortality decrease with increasing age, which supports the view that years of cumulative exposure are necessary for the expression of maximal protective immunity. Developmental changes in the host also have been implicated in the expression of maximal resistance. To further evaluate the contribution of host developmental factors in malaria resistance, we examined the relationship between P. falciparum parasitemia and pubertal development in a cross-sectional sample of 12 - 18-year-old schoolgirls from an area of intense transmission in western Kenya. Among pubertal girls, dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS) levels were significantly associated with decreased parasite density, even after adjustment for age. DHEAS levels also were related to increased hemoglobin levels, even after accounting for age and other determinants of hemoglobin level. These findings support the hypothesis that host pubertal development, independent of age and, by proxy, cumulative exposure, is necessary for maximal expression of resistance to malarial infection and morbidity, as assessed by hemoglobin leve

Comparison of indirect fluorescent antibody test and enzyme linked immunosorbent assay in the detection of exposure of cattle to Theileria parva in Kenya

Appraisal of the indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT) and antigen enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) serological tests as carried out to detect cattle exposed to Theileria parva at the National Veterinary Research Centre, Muguga (NVRC), Kenya is reported. Using sera from T parva naive cattle and cattle experimentally exposed to T parva, the two tests were appraised in terms of their sensitivity and specificity.IFAT and ELISA had the same sensitivity of 90% while ELISA had a higher specificity (90 %) than IFAT (80 %). A comparison was also made of the capability of the two tests to detect exposure of dairy cattle to T parva prior to immunization against East Coast fever (ECF). The positive outcome from the IFAT was significantly higher (X2 = 30,36; P < 0,001) than that from the ELISA. The agreement between the two tests was low (Kappa= 0,21 ). The two tests indicated a higher risk of ECF in the study area than was expected. Indications are that the ELISA has been effectively adopted at NVRC.The articles have been scanned in colour with a HP Scanjet 5590; 600dpi. Adobe Acrobat v.9 was used to OCR the text and also for the merging and conversion to the final presentation PDF-format.Department for International Development, UK. Government of Kenya

Kenya : national information and informatics policy

Meeting: Regional Seminar on National Information and Informatics Policies for Africa, 28 Nov.-Dec. 1988, Addis Ababa, ETIn IDL-393

Theileria parva carrier state in naturally infected and artificially immunized cattle

Rhipicephalus appendiculatus adult ticks, collected int he field from zebu (Bos indicus) and exotic (Bos tarus) cattle with high antibody titres to Theileria parva schizont antigen, transmitted Theileria parva infection typical of East Coast fever to susceptible cattle. Uninfected R. appendiculatus nymphs applied to naturally recovered zebu and exotic cattle kept under tick-free conditions in the laboratory for 16 and 7 months respectively, transmitted fatal theileriosis to susceptible cattle. Cattle immunised by the infection and treatment method were shown to be carriers of Theileria parva by examination of the salivary glands of ticks applied to them and by tick transmission. Three and 7 monts after immunisation, Theileria parva infected lymphocytes were established in vitro from peripheral blood lymphocytes. This was the first demonstration, in vitro, of the existence of schizonts in Theileria parva (East Coast fever) infection carrier status. These studies show that cattle from endemic and epidemic areas of East Coast fever (ECF) become carriers thereby maintaining the T. parva population. The relevance of the findings in this study to the control of ECF by dipping, immunisation and treatment is discussed