Determinants of Livestock Production Development of Smallholder Farmers’: The Case of Bedele District, Bunno Bedele Zone, Western Ethiopia

Livestock production is undertaken both in highland and lowland of Ethiopia. The study assessed determinants of livestock production development through identifying the constraints and opportunity to production developments. The study adopted a cross sectional survey design. The district was randomly selected from zones. To undertake the assessment three kebele were selected for the same cases from these districts. Using proportionate sampling technique a total of 99 respondents was selected from the kebele where by ten were female headed and 89 were male headed households. Descriptive statistics like mean and percentage was used to describe the socio-economic data of respondents. Some opportunities available for livestock production development in the study area are availability of water, supply of improved breed, feed availability, credit services, veterinary supply and mixed crop-livestock production system.  Econometric model a multiple linear regression analysis has been carried out to find the factors influence livestock production development of smallholder farmers’. The results of the multiple linear regression model showed that from a total of ten explanatory variables were included in the model, of which education level , extension services ,  availability of market information, availability of grazing land, Artificial insemination  and veterinary service were found to be statistically significant to livestock production development. The multiple linear regression result show that livestock production development in the study area is determined by availability of grazing land, extension services, artificial insemination and veterinary service, availability of market information  education level at 1%, and 5% significant level respectively. Keywords: Determinants, Smallholder farmers, Livestock Production development, multiple linear regression models DOI: 10.7176/JEES/9-8-03 Publication date: August 31st 201

Determinants of Urban Youth Unemployment: Evidence from Guder Town, Western Shoa Zone, Ethiopia

Unemployment is a global issue that challenging every nation. It represents the underutilization of human capital and it is very important issue that negatively affects the development of the country. The study aimed to identifying the determinants factors responsible for urban youth unemployment: The study adopted a cross sectional data of Urban Employment-Unemployment. The town was purposively selected from the town of west shoa zones. The primary data was collected from 91 sample respondents through interview questionnaire from Guder town proportionally. A descriptive and econometric analysis was employed to meet the main objective of the study. The descriptive analyses result revealed that about 61.5 % of the youth are unemployed while 38.6 % are employed.  Regression results from a binary logit model estimation show that sex, educational level, marital status, skill match and access to credit use of youth are found to be the significant determinants to urban youth unemployment while family prosperity and market information were statistically insignificant to urban youth unemployment in the town. The econometric results suggested the need for the government go aboard on creating jobs through identify employment opportunities and industrialization and mechanization of agriculture. Keywords: Unemployment, Determinants, Binary logit model, Youth DOI: 10.7176/RHSS/9-17-07 Publication date:September 30th 201

Determinants of farmland degradation and its implication on crop productivity and sustainability

The study analyzed factors influencing smallholder farmland degradation and crop productivity in western Ethiopia. It was done based on survey of 120 households managing a total of 223 farm plots. The survey data was analyzed using ordered probit model. We found that out of 15 explanatory variables investigated, slope of the farm plot, plot distance from homestead, interval of crop rotation, frequency of growing cereal crops, and change in farm plot ownership were found to positively and significantly affect farmland degradation whereas other factors such as household responsibility in the society, livestock holding size, and soil and water conservation practices were found to negatively and significantly influence farmland degradation. The marginal effect of the slope and length of crop rotation interval on probability of the farmland to be classified as degraded land was found to be increased by 7 and 29%, respectively. The regression results show that crop productivity was significantly hampered by improved seeds used, plot size and farmland degradation. Therefore, if the investigated factors get policy merit, it is possible to minimize farmland degradation and enhance agricultural sustainability.Keywords: Farm plot; land management; land degradation; crop productivity; sustainabilit

Factors Influencing Soil Erosion Management Practices in Ejersa Lafo District, West Showa Zone, Oromia, Regional State, Ethiopia

Soil erosion by water is the major Agricultural problem, which results in reduction of agricultural productivity. This study focused on farmer perception of soil erosion and factors influence soil erosion management practices. A cross sectional data was used to assess information about soil erosion perception and factors influence soil erosion management practices. The Ejersa Lafo district was purposively selected from the districts of West Shoa Zones. A total of 142 sample respondents were randomly selected. Interview questionnaire, focus group discussion and survey of field observation were used as data collection tools. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and econometric model. Result from descriptive statistics show that majority of the respondents perceived soil erosion problem and its consequence on farmland. Both biological and physical soil erosion management practices in the area. Binary logit model estimation result shows that education level, landholding size, slopes of the land and land ownership type were mostsignificant to soil erosion management practices in the area. Therefore, taking these factors into account in setting appropriate soil erosion management measures may help policy makers and farmers to couple with erosion problem. The study recommended a need for the government to enforce effective policies to control and prevent soil erosion problem. Keywords: Binary logit model: Management practices: Soil Erosio

Determinants of livestock production development of smallholder farmers’

The study assessed determinants of livestock production development of smallholder farmers’ through identifying the constraints and opportunity to livestock production developments. The study adopted cross sectional survey design. The district was randomly selected from zones. A total of 99 respondents were selected from the kebele where by ten were female headed and 89 were male headed households. Descriptive statistics result showed that opportunities of livestock production development in the study area, availability of water, availability of market information, supply of improved breed, feed availability, credit services, veterinary services and mixed crop-livestock production system. Multiple linear regression analysis has been carried out to find out determinants of livestock production development of smallholder farmers’. The results of the multiple linear regression model showed that from a total of ten explanatory variables were included in the model, of which availability of grazing land, extension services, artificial insemination and veterinary service, availability of market information and education level were found to be statistically significant to livestock production development at 1%, and 5% significant level respectively.Keywords: Determinants, Livestock Production Development, Multiple Linear regressions Mode

Factors Influencing Soil Erosion Management Practices in Ejersa Lafo District, West Showa Zone, Oromia, Regional State, Ethiopia

Soil erosion by water is the major Agricultural problem, which results in reduction of agricultural productivity. This study focused on farmer perception of soil erosion and factors influence soil erosion management practices. A cross sectional data was used to assess information about soil erosion perception and factors influence soil erosion management practices. The Ejersa Lafo district was purposively selected from the districts of West Shoa Zones. A total of 142 sample respondents were randomly selected. Interview questionnaire, focus group discussion and survey of field observation were used as data collection tools. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and econometric model. Result from descriptive statistics show that majority of the respondents perceived soil erosion problem and its consequence on farmland. Both biological and physical soil erosion management practices in the area. Binary logit model estimation result shows that education level, landholding size, slopes of the land and land ownership type were most significant to soil erosion management practices in the area. Therefore, taking these factors into account in setting appropriate soil erosion management measures may help policy makers and farmers to couple with erosion problem. The study recommended a need for the government to enforce effective policies to control and prevent soil erosion problem

Modeling the global distribution of Culicoides imicola : an ensemble approach

Culicoides imicola is a midge species serving as vector for a number of viral diseases of livestock, including Bluetongue, and African Horse Sickness. C. imicola is also known to transmit Schmallenberg virus experimentally. Environmental and demographic factors may impose rapid changes on the global distribution of C. imicola and aid introduction into new areas. The aim of this study is to predict the global distribution of C. imicola using an ensemble modeling approach by combining climatic, livestock distribution and land cover covariates, together with a comprehensive global dataset of geo-positioned occurrence points for C. imicola. Thirty individual models were generated by 'biomod2', with 21 models scoring a true skill statistic (TSS) >0.8. These 21 models incorporated weighted runs from eight of ten algorithms and were used to create a final ensemble model. The ensemble model performed very well (TSS = 0.898 and ROC = 0.991) and indicated high environmental suitability for C. imicola in the tropics and subtropics. The habitat suitability for C. imicola spans from South Africa to southern Europe and from southern USA to southern China. The distribution of C. imicola is mainly constrained by climatic factors. In the ensemble model, mean annual minimum temperature had the highest overall contribution (42.9%), followed by mean annual maximum temperature (21.1%), solar radiation (13.6%), annual precipitation (11%), livestock distribution (6.2%), vapor pressure (3.4%), wind speed (0.8%), and land cover (0.1%). The present study provides the most up-to-date predictive maps of the potential distributions of C. imicola and should be of great value for decision making at global and regional scales

Updating the global occurrence of Culicoides imicola, a vector for emerging viral diseases

Culicoides imicola is the main vector transmitting viruses causing animal diseases such as Bluetongue, African Horse Sickness, and Schmallenberg. It has become widely distributed, with reports from South Africa to southern Europe, and from western Africa to southern China. This study presents a global compendium of Culicoides imicola occurrence between 1943 and 2018, reflecting the most recently compiled and harmonized global dataset derived from peer-reviewed literature. The procedures used in producing the data, as well as the geo-coding methods, database management and technical validation procedures are described. The study provides an updated and comprehensive global database of C. imicola occurrence, consisting of 1 039 geo-coded records from 50 countries. The datasets can be used for risk mapping of the diseases transmitted by C. imicola as well as to develop the global habitat suitability for the vector

Measuring performance on the Healthcare Access and Quality Index for 195 countries and territories and selected subnational locations: A systematic analysis from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016

Copyright © 2018 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. Background A key component of achieving universal health coverage is ensuring that all populations have access to quality health care. Examining where gains have occurred or progress has faltered across and within countries is crucial to guiding decisions and strategies for future improvement. We used the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2016 (GBD 2016) to assess personal health-care access and quality with the Healthcare Access and Quality (HAQ) Index for 195 countries and territories, as well as subnational locations in seven countries, from 1990 to 2016. Methods Drawing from established methods and updated estimates from GBD 2016, we used 32 causes from which death should not occur in the presence of effective care to approximate personal health-care access and quality by location and over time. To better isolate potential effects of personal health-care access and quality from underlying risk factor patterns, we risk-standardised cause-specific deaths due to non-cancers by location-year, replacing the local joint exposure of environmental and behavioural risks with the global level of exposure. Supported by the expansion of cancer registry data in GBD 2016, we used mortality-to-incidence ratios for cancers instead of risk-standardised death rates to provide a stronger signal of the effects of personal health care and access on cancer survival. We transformed each cause to a scale of 0-100, with 0 as the first percentile (worst) observed between 1990 and 2016, and 100 as the 99th percentile (best); we set these thresholds at the country level, and then applied them to subnational locations. We applied a principal components analysis to construct the HAQ Index using all scaled cause values, providing an overall score of 0-100 of personal health-care access and quality by location over time. We then compared HAQ Index levels and trends by quintiles on the Socio-demographic Index (SDI), a summary measure of overall development. As derived from the broader GBD study and other data sources, we examined relationships between national HAQ Index scores and potential correlates of performance, such as total health spending per capita. Findings In 2016, HAQ Index performance spanned from a high of 97·1 (95% UI 95·8-98·1) in Iceland, followed by 96·6 (94·9-97·9) in Norway and 96·1 (94·5-97·3) in the Netherlands, to values as low as 18·6 (13·1-24·4) in the Central African Republic, 19·0 (14·3-23·7) in Somalia, and 23·4 (20·2-26·8) in Guinea-Bissau. The pace of progress achieved between 1990 and 2016 varied, with markedly faster improvements occurring between 2000 and 2016 for many countries in sub-Saharan Africa and southeast Asia, whereas several countries in Latin America and elsewhere saw progress stagnate after experiencing considerable advances in the HAQ Index between 1990 and 2000. Striking subnational disparities emerged in personal health-care access and quality, with China and India having particularly large gaps between locations with the highest and lowest scores in 2016. In China, performance ranged from 91·5 (89·1-93·6) in Beijing to 48·0 (43·4-53·2) in Tibet (a 43·5-point difference), while India saw a 30·8-point disparity, from 64·8 (59·6-68·8) in Goa to 34·0 (30·3-38·1) in Assam. Japan recorded the smallest range in subnational HAQ performance in 2016 (a 4·8-point difference), whereas differences between subnational locations with the highest and lowest HAQ Index values were more than two times as high for the USA and three times as high for England. State-level gaps in the HAQ Index in Mexico somewhat narrowed from 1990 to 2016 (from a 20·9-point to 17·0-point difference), whereas in Brazil, disparities slightly increased across states during this time (a 17·2-point to 20·4-point difference). Performance on the HAQ Index showed strong linkages to overall development, with high and high-middle SDI countries generally having higher scores and faster gains for non-communicable diseases. Nonetheless, countries across the development spectrum saw substantial gains in some key health service areas from 2000 to 2016, most notably vaccine-preventable diseases. Overall, national performance on the HAQ Index was positively associated with higher levels of total health spending per capita, as well as health systems inputs, but these relationships were quite heterogeneous, particularly among low-to-middle SDI countries. Interpretation GBD 2016 provides a more detailed understanding of past success and current challenges in improving personal health-care access and quality worldwide. Despite substantial gains since 2000, many low-SDI and middle- SDI countries face considerable challenges unless heightened policy action and investments focus on advancing access to and quality of health care across key health services, especially non-communicable diseases. Stagnating or minimal improvements experienced by several low-middle to high-middle SDI countries could reflect the complexities of re-orienting both primary and secondary health-care services beyond the more limited foci of the Millennium Development Goals. Alongside initiatives to strengthen public health programmes, the pursuit of universal health coverage hinges upon improving both access and quality worldwide, and thus requires adopting a more comprehensive view - and subsequent provision - of quality health care for all populations

Measuring performance on the Healthcare Access and Quality Index for 195 countries and territories and selected subnational locations: A systematic analysis from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016

Background: A key component of achieving universal health coverage is ensuring that all populations have access to quality health care. Examining where gains have occurred or progress has faltered across and within countries is crucial to guiding decisions and strategies for future improvement. We used the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2016 (GBD 2016) to assess personal health-care access and quality with the Healthcare Access and Quality (HAQ) Index for 195 countries and territories, as well as subnational locations in seven countries, from 1990 to 2016. Methods Drawing from established methods and updated estimates from GBD 2016, we used 32 causes from which death should not occur in the presence of effective care to approximate personal health-care access and quality by location and over time. To better isolate potential effects of personal health-care access and quality from underlying risk factor patterns, we risk-standardised cause-specific deaths due to non-cancers by location-year, replacing the local joint exposure of environmental and behavioural risks with the global level of exposure. Supported by the expansion of cancer registry data in GBD 2016, we used mortality-to-incidence ratios for cancers instead of risk-standardised death rates to provide a stronger signal of the effects of personal health care and access on cancer survival. We transformed each cause to a scale of 0-100, with 0 as the first percentile (worst) observed between 1990 and 2016, and 100 as the 99th percentile (best); we set these thresholds at the country level, and then applied them to subnational locations. We applied a principal components analysis to construct the HAQ Index using all scaled cause values, providing an overall score of 0-100 of personal health-care access and quality by location over time. We then compared HAQ Index levels and trends by quintiles on the Socio-demographic Index (SDI), a summary measure of overall development. As derived from the broader GBD study and other data sources, we examined relationships between national HAQ Index scores and potential correlates of performance, such as total health spending per capita. Findings In 2016, HAQ Index performance spanned from a high of 97\ub71 (95% UI 95\ub78-98\ub71) in Iceland, followed by 96\ub76 (94\ub79-97\ub79) in Norway and 96\ub71 (94\ub75-97\ub73) in the Netherlands, to values as low as 18\ub76 (13\ub71-24\ub74) in the Central African Republic, 19\ub70 (14\ub73-23\ub77) in Somalia, and 23\ub74 (20\ub72-26\ub78) in Guinea-Bissau. The pace of progress achieved between 1990 and 2016 varied, with markedly faster improvements occurring between 2000 and 2016 for many countries in sub-Saharan Africa and southeast Asia, whereas several countries in Latin America and elsewhere saw progress stagnate after experiencing considerable advances in the HAQ Index between 1990 and 2000. Striking subnational disparities emerged in personal health-care access and quality, with China and India having particularly large gaps between locations with the highest and lowest scores in 2016. In China, performance ranged from 91\ub75 (89\ub71-93\ub76) in Beijing to 48\ub70 (43\ub74-53\ub72) in Tibet (a 43\ub75-point difference), while India saw a 30\ub78-point disparity, from 64\ub78 (59\ub76-68\ub78) in Goa to 34\ub70 (30\ub73-38\ub71) in Assam. Japan recorded the smallest range in subnational HAQ performance in 2016 (a 4\ub78-point difference), whereas differences between subnational locations with the highest and lowest HAQ Index values were more than two times as high for the USA and three times as high for England. State-level gaps in the HAQ Index in Mexico somewhat narrowed from 1990 to 2016 (from a 20\ub79-point to 17\ub70-point difference), whereas in Brazil, disparities slightly increased across states during this time (a 17\ub72-point to 20\ub74-point difference). Performance on the HAQ Index showed strong linkages to overall development, with high and high-middle SDI countries generally having higher scores and faster gains for non-communicable diseases. Nonetheless, countries across the development spectrum saw substantial gains in some key health service areas from 2000 to 2016, most notably vaccine-preventable diseases. Overall, national performance on the HAQ Index was positively associated with higher levels of total health spending per capita, as well as health systems inputs, but these relationships were quite heterogeneous, particularly among low-to-middle SDI countries. Interpretation GBD 2016 provides a more detailed understanding of past success and current challenges in improving personal health-care access and quality worldwide. Despite substantial gains since 2000, many low-SDI and middle- SDI countries face considerable challenges unless heightened policy action and investments focus on advancing access to and quality of health care across key health services, especially non-communicable diseases. Stagnating or minimal improvements experienced by several low-middle to high-middle SDI countries could reflect the complexities of re-orienting both primary and secondary health-care services beyond the more limited foci of the Millennium Development Goals. Alongside initiatives to strengthen public health programmes, the pursuit of universal health coverage hinges upon improving both access and quality worldwide, and thus requires adopting a more comprehensive view-and subsequent provision-of quality health care for all populations