Farmers' willingness to pay for a village poultry vaccine service in Ethiopia: prospect for enhancing rural livelihoods

This research examines farmers’ willingness to pay for village poultry vaccine programmes using data from 400 household heads from two districts in Ethiopia, Horro and Jarso. The study applied a contingent valuation method to elicit farmers’ willingness to pay for village poultry vaccine services. Two hypothetical vaccine programmes were designed for Newcastle disease and Gumboro disease. Both parametric and non-parametric approaches were employed in data analysis. The results show that farmers recognise the benefits of the vaccine programme and that many would be willing to pay for it. Results from non-parametric estimates produced households’ mean willingness to pay Ethiopian Birr (ETB) 80 up to ETB 87 per year based on vaccine programme type. This demonstrates the potential and prospect of reducing the impact of infectious poultry diseases and enhancing rural livelihoods through village poultry. Exponential probit analysis revealed that farmers’ willingness to pay for village poultry vaccine service is influenced by age, education level, and region of respondents. Younger and more-educated farmers were more likely to pay for village poultry vaccine services and farmers from Horro, a relatively food secure and educated area, were more likely to pay than those from the less food secure Jarso district

Assessment of the effect of Value Added Tax on consumption behavior: The Case of Nekemte Town, Wollega

This study has been conducted having the objective of assessing the effect of Value Added Tax on consumption behavior of Nekemte Town households.  Descriptive research design has been implemented to undertake this study. The two most commonly used data collecting mechanisms (questionnaire and interview) have been used for this study by taking a sample size of 384, out of 20,870 households using stratified random sampling and three higher officials of Ethiopian Revenue and Custom Authority  Nekemte branch from twelve total staff members using purposive sampling.  To collect and measure the study,  Liker Scale question were used and the collected data were edited for minor error.  Relevant statistical methods of analysis like mean, standard deviation correlation and regression were use using the statistical package. The study revealed that the implementation of VAT to go down well with Consumers, the scheme has to come with some compensatory measures such as the reduction of income taxes to put more money in the pockets of households and to boost their purchasing power. And to ensure that the low-income and poor consumers – who may not enjoy the benefits of lower income taxes as most likely they are already exempted from such payment in the first place - are not worse off with VAT, zero-rating some basic essential products and providing other targeted assistance programmes are necessary measures to help them

Prevalence and molecular characterisation of Eimeria species in Ethiopian village chickens

BACKGROUND: Coccidiosis, caused by species of the apicomplexan parasite Eimeria, is a major disease of chickens. Eimeria species are present world-wide, and are ubiquitous under intensive farming methods. However, prevalence of Eimeria species is not uniform across production systems. In developing countries such as Ethiopia, a high proportion of chicken production occurs on rural smallholdings (i.e. 'village chicken production') where infectious diseases constrain productivity and surveillance is low. Coccidiosis is reported to be prevalent in these areas. However, a reliance on oocyst morphology to determine the infecting species may impede accurate diagnosis. Here, we used cross-sectional and longitudinal studies to investigate the prevalence of Eimeria oocyst shedding at two rural sites in the Ethiopian highlands. RESULTS: Faecal samples were collected from 767 randomly selected chickens in May or October 2011. In addition, 110 chickens were sampled in both May and October. Eimeria oocysts were detected microscopically in 427 (56%, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 52-59%) of the 767 faecal samples tested. Moderate clustering of positive birds was detected within households, perhaps suggesting common risk factors or exposure pathways. Seven species of Eimeria were detected by real time PCR in a subset of samples further analysed, with the prevalence of some species varying by region. Co-infections were common; 64% (23/36, 95% CI 46-79%) of positive samples contained more than one Eimeria spp. Despite frequent infection and co-infection overt clinical disease was not reported. Eimeria oocysts were detected significantly more frequently in October (248/384, 65%, 95% CI 60-69%), following the main rainy season, compared to May (179/383, 47%, 95% CI 42-52%, p < 0.001). Eimeria oocyst positivity in May did not significantly affect the likelihood of detecting Eimeria oocyst five months later perhaps suggesting infection with different species or immunologically distinct strains. CONCLUSIONS: Eimeria spp oocysts may be frequently detected in faecal samples from village chickens in Ethiopia. Co-infection with multiple Eimeria spp was common and almost half of Eimeria positive birds had at least one highly pathogenic species detected. Despite this, all sampled birds were free of overt disease. Although there was no evidence of a difference in the prevalence of oocysts in faecal samples between study regions, there was evidence of variation in the prevalence of some species, perhaps suggesting regional differences in exposure to risk factors associated with the birds, their management and/or location-specific environmental and ecological factors

Climate change and financing adaptation by farmers in northern Nigeria

Abstract This paper examines farmers’ perceptions of their exposure to climate change in rural northern Nigeria. It also examines whether there is a significant relationship between the exposure of farmers to climate change and their need for financial access as an adaptation strategy. Questionnaires were administered to 320 respondents in rural communities in northern Nigeria. Descriptive analysis shows that rural farmers are affected by climate change through increased temperature, prolonged dry seasons, floods, and drought, which lead to low harvest and, in turn, low income. An estimate from a non-parametric test also shows a significant relationship between farmers’ perceived exposure to climate change and their need for credit. Although the Spearman correlation results show a 63% association between exposure to climate change and the need for finance, 96% of those seeking credit to mitigate these impacts would be unable to do so due to financial exclusiveness. The paper recommends that the Central Bank of Nigeria should ensure that microfinance institutions refocus their products/services to those who need them the most in order to enhance access to financial resources and enable farmers to build resilience that will maximize post-harvest gains. Lastly, considering that climate change is a global phenomenon with local effects, perhaps the international community could support lending to smallholder farmers through central banks by insuring the loans that banks give to farmers towards financing climate change adaptation strategies

Pattern of Presentation and Survival of Breast Cancer in a Teaching Hospital in North Western Nigeria

Objectives: Developing countries are experiencing demographic and epidemiologic transition and the prevalence of non-communicable diseases especially cancers which is on the increase. Breast cancer is the most common and lethal malignancy in developing countries with varying presentation. This study aims to determine the pattern of presentation and survival of breast cancer patients in North Western Nigeria.Methods:A five-year retrospective review of breast cancer records from 2001-2005 was conducted. Relevant information was retrieved and analyzed using statistical package for social science software. Manchester stage III and IV were classified as advance disease. Survival analysis was carried out with survival defined as the time between the date of commencement of treatment and the date of last follow-up or death.Results: Most of the patients were in the 4th and 5th decades 58 (57.4%) with a mean age of 44.5±13 years. Majority of the patients were females 99 (96.1%). One of the four males had invasive lobular carcinoma while the others presented with invasiveductal carcinoma 3 (75.0%). Most of the patients were premenopausal 62 (62.6%) and were presented late with advanced breast cancer disease 64 (62.1%). The left breast was more affected 64 (62.1%), and the upper outer quadrant was mostly involved 48 (60.7%), followed by the areola, 43(41.7%) either singly or in combination. Invasive ductal carcinoma was detected in 85 (82.5%) cases and was the predominant histological finding. Survival rate beyond 30 months was observed in 24.5% of cases and 100% for advanced and early breast cancer respectively, (p=0.0001). The overall survival rate beyond 36 months was 70.4% and postmenopausal patients (70.6%) had better survival beyond 36 months than premenopausal (68.5%) patients (p=0.05).Conclusion: The overall survival rate was low and patients with early breast cancer had better survival than those with advanced disease. Majority of the patients were young premenopausal women with advanced breast cancer