Ethical Objections to Commercial Farming and Consumption of Genetically Modified Foods in Kenya

 Food insecurity remains one of the most pressing problems of Third World countries. The causes of this predicament are varied, ranging from drought, inadequate farming methods, poverty, among others. The responses to famine, whenever it strikes in many of these countries, have also been varied, with the most popular one being appeals for food aid from wealthy individuals, corporate bodies and the international community. However, these initiatives have not been sustainable. The need for a permanent solution has attracted varied opinions. On the one hand, some stakeholders take the view that the solution lies in genetically modified foods. On the other, some of the stakeholders are either opposed to such foods, or are cautious about them, citing potential and/or real risks associated with them. This article is premised on the view that technological innovations often raise ethical concerns and even dilemmas that ought to be surmounted in order to enhance public acceptability. In this regard, the article reflects on the ethical objections against GM technology in general, and, in particular, the process leading to the enactment of the biosafety law in Kenya. Key wordsGenetically modified organisms, biosafety law, UN convention on biological diversity, Cartagena protoco

Knowledge Based Inter-Firm Collaborations: A Theoretical Review

This paper seeks to study the theoretical and empirical theories of knowledge based strategic inter-firm collaboration between firms.  Strategic alliances are innovative and interesting forms of relationships between organizations and organizations create alliances in their quest to compete against fast and nimble competitors. This paper provided some evidence to suggest that companies relying on strategic alliances are more profitable than their vertically integrated counterparts. In effect, strategic alliances provide an effective means to improve both the economies of scale and scope offered by traditional modes of organization. Consequently, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of strategic alliances. In the last two decades, alliances have become a central part of most companies’ competitive and growth strategies. Alliances help firms strengthen their competitive position by enhancing market power, increasing efficiencies, accessing new or critical resources or capabilities and entering new markets. By the turn of this century many of the world’s largest companies had over 20% of their assets, and over 30% of their annual research expenditures, tied up in such relationships. The review of related literature brought out some theories and concepts which were related to my study

Caught between Energy Demands and Food Needs: Dilemmas of Smallholder Farmers in Njoro, Kenya

Smallholders in rural Kenya, like their counterparts in tropical Africa currently face acute shortage of fuel wood for domestic use. There has been rapid population increase in the last few decades resulting in increased demand for food crops. This has led to the expansion of area under subsistence agriculture eating into indigenous forests, the traditional source of wood fuel. This situation has been compounded by the limited access to alternative sources of domestic energy in rural parts of Kenya. The recent upsurge in the cost of fossil-derived fuels as well as in hydro-generated electricity has left the smallholder farmer with wood as the sole source of fuel. This paper therefore examines the conflicting demands of domestic fuel needs and foods. Key research questions were: What are the household domestic energy demand and constraints? What is the household food demand and constraint among smallholders? How do the smallholders reconcile these competing basic needs? The paper reflects on the constraints of smallholders in their quest to fulfill their food and energy needs. The discussed model is a result based on discussions between the researchers and focus group discussions drawn from smallholder farmers. The primary data gathered from the discussions is augmented by secondary data to draw imperative implications on domestic energy use and food needs. The results indicate an average annual per capita wood fuel demand of 1.99 m3 and a deficit of 8.816 m3 per household. The deficit is usually catered for through purchase of wood fuel from the market, which has an implication on the pressure exerted on the forestry resources. This paper shows that households in Njoro have turned to desperate coping mechanisms and strategies such as use of maize straw, pruning and fallen twigs. The results of this study provide insights on how the dilemma may be resolved in a smallholder setup and suggest local policy options

Genetic diversity and population structure of Urochloa grass accessions from Tanzania using simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers

Urochloa (syn.—Brachiaria s.s.) is one of the most important tropical forages that transformed livestock industries in Australia and South America. Farmers in Africa are increasingly interested in growing Urochloa to support the burgeoning livestock business, but the lack of cultivars adapted to African environments has been a major challenge. Therefore, this study examines genetic diversity of Tanzanian Urochloa accessions to provide essential information for establishing a Urochloa breeding program in Africa. A total of 36 historical Urochloa accessions initially collected from Tanzania in 1985 were analyzed for genetic variation using 24 SSR markers along with six South American commercial cultivars. These markers detected 407 alleles in the 36 Tanzania accessions and 6 commercial cultivars. Markers were highly informative with an average polymorphic information content of 0.79. The analysis of molecular variance revealed high genetic variation within individual accessions in a species (92%), fixation index of 0.05 and gene flow estimate of 4.77 showed a low genetic differentiation and a high level of gene flow among populations. An unweighted neighbor-joining tree grouped the 36 accessions and six commercial cultivars into three main clusters. The clustering of test accessions did not follow geographical origin. Similarly, population structure analysis grouped the 42 tested genotypes into three major gene pools. The results showed the Urochloa brizantha (A. Rich.) Stapf population has the highest genetic diversity (I = 0.94) with high utility in the Urochloa breeding and conservation program. As the Urochloa accessions analyzed in this study represented only 3 of 31 regions of Tanzania, further collection and characterization of materials from wider geographical areas are necessary to comprehend the whole Urochloa diversity in Tanzania

Diversity of LEI0258 microsatellite locus in indigenous Ethiopian chickens

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundatio

MEETING REPORT: UNESCO-MERCK AFRICA RESEARCH SUMMIT 2015- ACCELERATING ACCESS AND SUSTAINING INNOVATION 'FROM AFRICA FOR AFRICA'.

Background: The Ebola virus disease outbreak of 2014 was the largest, longest and most devastating in the history of the disease. It demonstrated the social and economic impact an emerging infectious disease can have in a globalized world. Health systems in affected countries were stretched to the point of near collapse, while social relations and traditional practices were negatively impacted. Heads of African research institutions, African government representatives, leaders of global pharmaceutical companies, global infectious disease experts and close to 100 young African researchers from 25 countries; Assembled in Geneva on 19 and 20th October 2015, for the inaugural UNESCO-Merck Africa Summit sponsored by the United Nations Educational, Science and Culture Organization and Merck KGA Goal of Summit: The primary goal of the summit was to develop strategies to increase health research capacity in Africa, with special focus on Ebola and enhancing pandemic preparation for emerging infectious diseases. The summit was also provide a forum to showcase the research taking place in Africa, and provided platform for African researchers to network. Some of the key issues discussed included; strategies for enhancing policy frameworks to promote knowledge translation, strengthening of health systems, enhancing knowledge and data sharing, and increasing innovation in Africa. Conclusions: Summit attendees recognized that Africa still bore the heaviest burden of infectious disease, and increased commitment by African governments to fund health research, offered the best hope for developing health solutions and interventions to improve the health of Africans. Improved health in turn would enhance the productivity of Africans, further supporting the socio-economic transformation currently taking place on the contine

Ancient DNA and deep population structure in sub-Saharan African foragers

Multiple lines of genetic and archaeological evidence suggest that there were major demographic changes in the terminal Late Pleistocene epoch and early Holocene epoch of sub-Saharan Africa(1-4). Inferences about this period are challenging to make because demographic shifts in the past 5,000 years have obscured the structures of more ancient populations(3,5). Here we present genome-wide ancient DNA data for six individuals from eastern and south-central Africa spanning the past approximately 18,000 years (doubling the time depth of sub-Saharan African ancient DNA), increase the data quality for 15 previously published ancient individuals and analyse these alongside data from 13 other published ancient individuals. The ancestry of the individuals in our study area can be modelled as a geographically structured mixture of three highly divergent source populations, probably reflecting Pleistocene interactions around 80-20 thousand years ago, including deeply diverged eastern and southern African lineages, plus a previously unappreciated ubiquitous distribution of ancestry that occurs in highest proportion today in central African rainforest hunter-gatherers. Once established, this structure remained highly stable, with limited long-range gene flow. These results provide a new line of genetic evidence in support of hypotheses that have emerged from archaeological analyses but remain contested, suggesting increasing regionalization at the end of the Pleistocene epoch. DNA analysis of 6 individuals from eastern and south-central Africa spanning the past approximately 18,000 years, and of 28 previously published ancient individuals, provides genetic evidence supporting hypotheses of increasing regionalization at the end of the Pleistocene.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Biology and biotechnology of Trichoderma

Fungi of the genus Trichoderma are soilborne, green-spored ascomycetes that can be found all over the world. They have been studied with respect to various characteristics and applications and are known as successful colonizers of their habitats, efficiently fighting their competitors. Once established, they launch their potent degradative machinery for decomposition of the often heterogeneous substrate at hand. Therefore, distribution and phylogeny, defense mechanisms, beneficial as well as deleterious interaction with hosts, enzyme production and secretion, sexual development, and response to environmental conditions such as nutrients and light have been studied in great detail with many species of this genus, thus rendering Trichoderma one of the best studied fungi with the genome of three species currently available. Efficient biocontrol strains of the genus are being developed as promising biological fungicides, and their weaponry for this function also includes secondary metabolites with potential applications as novel antibiotics. The cellulases produced by Trichoderma reesei, the biotechnological workhorse of the genus, are important industrial products, especially with respect to production of second generation biofuels from cellulosic waste. Genetic engineering not only led to significant improvements in industrial processes but also to intriguing insights into the biology of these fungi and is now complemented by the availability of a sexual cycle in T. reesei/Hypocrea jecorina, which significantly facilitates both industrial and basic research. This review aims to give a broad overview on the qualities and versatility of the best studied Trichoderma species and to highlight intriguing findings as well as promising applications

Socio Economic Factors Influencing Utilization of Seasonal Climate Forecast Among Smallholder Farmers in Semi-Arid Lower Eastern Kenya: A Case of Masinga Sub-County

This paper discusses the influence of socio economic factors influencing utilization of Seasonal Climate Forecasts (SCF) by smallholder farmers in semi-arid lower Eastern Kenya in Masinga Sub County. Questionnaires were administered randomly to a total of 274 respondents in four administrative locations namely; Masinga Central Location, Musumaa Location, Musingini Location, and Katulye Location. Data on socioeconomic factors influencing utilization of climate forecast information was collected using questionnaires. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used in data analysis and in particular, Pearson correlation was used to test the relationship between socioeconomic characteristic and utilization of SCF. Results established that there exist a positive relationship   between gender, age, education level, income, land size and utilization of seasonal climate forecast (p=.007,p=.000,p=.005,p=.000 and p=.003) respectively. The study concludes that socio economic factors cannot be ignored in dissemination of climate forecast information because they significantly affect utility. If these socio economic factors are observed in the entire process of climate forecasts production, and dissemination there is likelihood of increasing utility of climate forecasts by the households hence reaping benefits of forecasts. This study recommends that, socioeconomic factors be considered in the entire process of forecasts access and dissemination in order to reap benefits of the forecasts. This is because these factors have not been sufficiently prioritized as a fundamental instrument to enhance access and utilization of climate forecasts. Keywords: Lower Eastern Kenya, Perception, Seasonal Climate Forecast, Semi-arid, Smallholder farmers.