Crop-land Suitability Analysis Using GIS and Remote Sensing in Nyandarua County, Kenya

Land suitability analysis is a method of land evaluation, which measures the degree of appropriateness of land for a certain use. The aim of this research was to identify and delineate the land that can best support potatoes, using GIS-based Multi Criteria Evaluation technique and Remote Sensing. The study was carried out in Nyandarua County in Kenya. Agriculture is the mainstay of local economy in the study area, but the production is very low because some of the crops being introduced are not doing well. There is need therefore to identify and delineate suitable areas for growing various crops to achieve maximum potential yield. Three suitability criteria i.e. soil (PH, texture, depth, drainage), climate (rainfall, temperature) and topography were evaluated based on agronomist experts opinions and FAO guideline for rainfed agriculture. An Analytical Hierarchical Process was used to determine relative importance of criteria and the resulting weights were used to construct the suitability maps/layers using GIS software. Finally, land suitability map was generated by overlaying these maps with current land cover map generated from Landsat images through supervised classification. The results of this research revealed that in the study area, 37.6% of the agricultural land is highly suitable for potatoes cultivation, 51.5% is moderately suitable and 10.9% is marginally suitable. The results can be used by the County government to advice the local farmers on the suitable areas for potatoes cultivation. Keywords: Land suitability analysis, GIS, Remote sensing, Multi-Criteria Evaluation, AHP, Potatoes cultivation, Nyandarua

Assessment of relationship between management policies and transfer of skills: A case of public secondary school heads in Nyeri County, Kenya

Despite heavy investments in training and development, low-quality education standards and challenges in management practices have been a sticky problem in the Kenyan education sector. Organization Theory guided the main aim of this study in establishing the relationship between management policies and transfer of skills for public secondary school headteachers in schools management. The study adopted a descriptive research design. Questionnaires were used to collect quantitative and qualitative data. Data were analyzed through descriptive and inferential statistics. The study population comprised 226 headteachers.  A mixture of stratified random sampling and census study was adopted in sampling 69 respondents. The results established that management policies explained a 23.4% variation in the transfer of skills for school heads. ?1 = 0.536 and p-value = 0.000 (p<0.05) indicated that management policies had positive and significant effects on transfer of skills. The study established that unsupportive policies like the Students Council, two centers of power, strict policies, and lack of inclusivity in policy formulation adversely affected school heads in implementing learned skills. The study recommends fair representation of all categories of education stakeholders in policies review and formulation to alleviate challenges associated with management policies to enhance the transfer of skills. The Government should address the issue of two centers of power in the public basic education sector. The paper sought to call the attention of the professional development trainers to exercise follow-ups to assess post-training behavioral outcomes in the context of organizational climate

Avifauna of Ishaqbini Community Conservancy in Ijara District, NE Kenya

Ishaqbini community conservancy, in the arid northern-eastern Kenya was established in 2006 by local pastoralists as a community initiative to safeguard their wildlife heritage especially the endemic Hirola Beatragus hunteri. Prior to this survey there were no known recent avifaunal surveys for the area despite the fact that the conservancy lies adjacent to the relatively well-known lower Tana River forests, an important bird area (Bennun & Njoroge 1999), as well as the East Africa coast forests endemic bird area (Stattersfield et al. 1998). In this paper we present the results of an avifaunal survey of the conservancy that includes a description of the bird assemblages in the conservancy, and an annotated account of some species of global and regional conservation concern occurring there

Attitudes of primary teacher trainees toward sexuality education in Kenya

The purpose of this study was to examine the attitudes of primary teacher trainees toward sexuality education as a component of family life education in Kenya. The study was designed to determine the relationship between attitudes toward sexuality education and teacher trainees knowledge regarding sexuality education. The study was also designed to examine the relationship between the teacher trainees' attitudes and their perceived readiness to teach selected family life education topics. In addition, the study was designed to examine the influence of selected personal variables on the teacher trainees' attitudes toward sexuality education. The sample for this study consisted of 150 first-year students enrolled as primary teacher trainees at Thogoto Teachers College, Kenya, during the academic year 1988- 1989. Data for this study were collected by means of a structured questionnaire designed for this study and validated by a panel of experts. The instrument contained 68 response items grouped into five categories: attitude toward teaching sexuality education, attitude toward teenage sexual behavior, knowledge regarding adolescent development, perceived readiness to teach family life education topics and information on selected personal variables. The respondents' attitude toward teaching sexuality education and attitude toward teen-age sexual behavior tended to be neutral. They also had relatively low scores on the knowledge test. Significant relationships did not exist between attitude toward teaching sexuality education and the teacher trainees' attitude-toward teen-age sexual behavior or their knowledge regarding sexuality education. However, a significant relationship was found between the teacher trainees' attitude toward teen-age sexual behavior and their knowledge of sexuality education. Results also indicated no significant relationship between attitude toward teaching sexuality education and the teacher trainees' willingness to teach selected family life education topics except for the topic on sexually transmitted diseases. A significant relationship was found between the teacher trainees' attitude toward teen-age sexual behavior and their willingness to teach topics on: puberty, dating and relationships, conception and birth, birth control methods, and values on sexual behavior. Regarding attitudes toward sexuality education and the teacher trainees' personal variables, results indicated a lack of significant relationship or difference in attitude toward teaching sexuality education or attitude toward teen-age sexual behavior by age, marital status, years of teaching experience as untrained teacher and experience in teaching sexuality education topics. Although no significant differences were indicated in attitude toward teaching sexuality education by Catholics and Protestants, significant differences were found between Catholics and Protestants in attitude toward teen-age sexual behavior. Similarly, male subjects had a more positive attitude toward teen-age sexual behavior than female subjects

A formative study of disposal and re-use of old mosquito nets by communities in Malindi, Kenya

Background: About 30 million insecticide treated mosquito nets have been distributed in Kenya since 2001 and ownership is approaching full coverage. As a consequence of this achievement, Kenya is faced with the challenge of disposing old mosquito nets that are no longer in use. The study aimed at investigating ways of disposal and re-use of old and torn nets by end users. Materials and Methods: A formative study was conducted in the former Malindi District, which is comprised of Malindi and Magarini sub-counties of Kilifi County in Coastal Kenya. A total of 6 Focus Group Discussions, 10 Key Informant Interviews and 9 transect walks/drives were undertaken. Data from the different sources were analysed separately and triangulated for similarities and differences. Results: There were variations in disposal and re-use of old nets between urban and rural or peri-urban residents. In all settings, people adopted innovative and beneficial ways of re-using old, expired nets, and those that were damaged beyond repair. Common causes of damage were fire, children, domestic animals sharing the sleeping room and friction from the bed poles while hanging or tacking it in under a sleeping mat. Re-use was most prominent in farming activities (78%) and less to for use in mosquito control, like window screening (15%). The remaining 8% was related to making ropes, swings, footballs, goal posts and fishing nets. Advantageous texture and nature of the netting material, perceived economic benefit and lack of guidelines for disposal were the main reasons cited by residents for re-using old nets. Conclusions: It is important that re-use and disposal of old mosquito nets is distinguished from misuse of newly distributed mosquito nets. Alternative uses of old nets as opposed to misuse of new nets was found to be common in our study

EFFECTS OF BLENDED FERTILIZERS ON YIELDS OF MATURE TEA CLONES TRFK 6/8 AND BBK 35 GROWN IN KENYAN HIGHLANDS

Kenya’s tea industry depends predominantly on imported NPK fertilizers to replenish nutrients removed through plucking. In this respect, two blended fertilizers containing NPKS 25:5:5:4+9Ca+2.6Mg and NPKS 23:5:5:4+10Ca+3Mg with trace elements have been produced in the country. However, contribution of the blended fertilizers to optimal tea yields had not been determined. The study aimed to evaluate the optimal levels of the two blended fertilizers on tea grown in the highlands of Kenya. The blended fertilizers were evaluated in two sites, i.e. Timbilil estate in Kericho and Kagochi farm in Nyeri. The trial was laid out in a randomized complete block design with two blended fertilizers and the standard NPK 26:5:5 as a control. The treatments were applied at four fertilizer rates (0-control, 75, 150 and 225 kg N ha-1 yr-1),  with three replications. The results showed that application of 225 kg N ha-1 yr-1 blended fertilizer NPKS 25:5:5:4+9Ca+2.6Mg in Timbilil produced mean yield of 2,995 kg Mt ha-1 compared with 3,099 kg Mt ha-1 from the standard NPK. In Kagochi, the highest yield was 1,975 kg Mt ha-1 obtained from the application of the same blended fertilizer NPKS 25:5:5:4+9Ca+2.6Mg at 75 kg N ha-1 yr-1. The highest yields in both sites were obtained during a warm-dry season except in 2015-2016. This study concluded that based on the annual and seasonal yields, the two blended fertilizers and the standard type had the same effectiveness, irrespective of clones and sites. However, the fertilizer rates affected the tea yield

Effects of Blended Fertilizers on Yields of Mature Tea Clones Trfk 6/8 and Bbk 35 Grown in Kenyan Highlands

Kenya's tea industry depends predominantly on imported NPK fertilizers to replenish nutrients removed through plucking. In this respect, two blended fertilizers containing NPKS 25:5:5:4+9Ca+2.6Mg and NPKS 23:5:5:4+10Ca+3Mg with trace elements have been produced in the country. However, contribution of the blended fertilizers to optimal tea yields had not been determined. The study aimed to evaluate the optimal levels of the two blended fertilizers on tea grown in the highlands of Kenya. The blended fertilizers were evaluated in two sites, i.e. Timbilil estate in Kericho and Kagochi farm in Nyeri. The trial was laid out in a randomized complete block design with two blended fertilizers and the standard NPK 26:5:5 as a control. The treatments were applied at four fertilizer rates (0-control, 75, 150 and 225 kg N ha-1 yr-1), with three replications. The results showed that application of 225 kg N ha-1 yr-1 blended fertilizer NPKS 25:5:5:4+9Ca+2.6Mg in Timbilil produced mean yield of 2,995 kg Mt ha-1 compared with 3,099 kg Mt ha-1 from the standard NPK. In Kagochi, the highest yield was 1,975 kg Mt ha-1 obtained from the application of the same blended fertilizer NPKS 25:5:5:4+9Ca+2.6Mg at 75 kg N ha-1 yr-1. The highest yields in both sites were obtained during a warm-dry season except in 2015-2016. This study concluded that based on the annual and seasonal yields, the two blended fertilizers and the standard type had the same effectiveness, irrespective of clones and sites. However, the fertilizer rates affected the tea yield

Severe outcomes of malaria in children under time-varying exposure

In malaria epidemiology, interpolation frameworks based on available observations are critical for policy decisions and interpreting disease burden. Updating our understanding of the empirical evidence across different populations, settings, and timeframes is crucial to improving inference for supporting public health. Here, via individual-based modeling, we evaluate a large, multicountry, contemporary Plasmodium falciparum severe malaria dataset to better understand the relationship between prevalence and incidence of malaria pediatric hospitalizations - a proxy of malaria severe outcomes- in East-Africa. We find that life-long exposure dynamics, and subsequent protection patterns in children, substantially determine the likelihood of malaria hospitalizations relative to ongoing prevalence at the population level. Unsteady transmission patterns over a lifetime in children -increasing or decreasing- lead to an exponential relationship of hospitalization rates versus prevalence rather than the asymptotic pattern observed under steady transmission. Addressing this increase in the complexity of malaria epidemiology is crucial to update burden assessments via inference models that guide current and future policy decisions

Spatial heterogeneity of low-birthweight deliveries on the Kenyan coast

Background Understanding spatial variations in health outcomes is a fundamental component in the design of effective, efficient public health strategies. Here we analyse the spatial heterogeneity of low birthweight (LBW) hospital deliveries from a demographic surveillance site on the Kenyan coast. Methods A secondary data analysis on singleton livebirths that occurred between 2011 and 2021 within the rural areas of the Kilifi Health and demographic surveillance system (KHDSS) was undertaken. Individual-level data was aggregated at enumeration zone (EZ) and sub-location level to estimate the incidence of LBW adjusted for accessibility index using the Gravity model. Finally, spatial variations in LBW were assessed using Martin Kulldorf’s spatial scan statistic under Discrete Poisson distribution. Results Access adjusted LBW incidence was estimated as 87 per 1,000 person years in the under 1 population (95% CI: 80, 97) at the sub-location level similar to EZ. The adjusted incidence ranged from 35 to 159 per 1,000 person years in the under 1 population at sub-location level. There were six significant clusters identified at sub-location level and 17 at EZ level using the spatial scan statistic. Conclusions LBW is a significant health risk on the Kenya coast, possibly under-estimated from previous health information systems, and the risk of LBW is not homogenously distributed across areas served by the County hospital

Sample-ready multiplex qPCR assay for detection of malaria

BACKGROUND: Microscopy and antigen detecting rapid diagnostic tests are the diagnostic tests of choice in management of clinical malaria. However, due to their limitations, the need to utilize more sensitive methods such as real-time PCR (qPCR) is evident as more studies are now utilizing molecular methods in detection of malaria. Some of the challenges that continue to limit the widespread utilization of qPCR include lack of assay standardization, assay variability, risk of contamination, and the need for cold-chain. Lyophilization of molecular assays can overcome some of these limitations and potentially enable widespread qPCR utilization. METHODS: A recently published multiplex malaria qPCR assay was lyophilized by freezing drying into Sample-Ready™ format (MMSR). MMSR assay contained all the required reagents for qPCR including primers and probes, requiring only the addition of water and sample to perform qPCR. The performance of the MMSR assay was compared to the non-freeze dried, “wet” assay. Stability studies were done by maintaining the MMSR assays at four different ambient temperatures of 4°C, room temperature (RT), 37°C and 42°C over a period of 42 days, tested at seven-day intervals. Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax DNAs were used for analysis of the MMSR assay either as single or mixed parasites, at two different concentrations. The C(T) values and the standard deviations (SD) were used in the analysis of the assay performance. RESULTS: The limit of detection for the MMSR assay was 0.244 parasites/μL for Plasmodium spp. (PLU) and P. falciparum (FAL) assay targets compared to “wet” assay which was 0.39 and 3.13 parasites/μL for PLU and FAL assay targets, respectively. The MMSR assay performed with high efficiencies similar to those of the “wet” assay and was stable at 37°C for 42 days, with estimated shelf-life of 5 months. When used to analyse field clinical samples, MMSR assay performed with 100% sensitivity and specificity compared to the “wet” assay. CONCLUSION: The MMSR assay has the same robust performance characteristics as the “wet” assay and is highly stable. Availability of MMSR assay allows flexibility and provides an option in choosing assay for malaria diagnostics depending on the application, needs and budget