Reproductive traits in Ethiopian male goats

This thesis characterizes reproductive traits of Ethiopian male goats raised under extensive husbandry and subjected to differential nutritional management. A total of 177 extensively-managed indigenous bucks of 5 breeds (i.e., Arsi–Bale [AB], Central Highlands [CH], Afar, Boran and Woito-Guji [WG]) were selected following stratified random sampling.The bucks were compared according to three age classes (<14 mo [young], 14–19.5 mo [intermediate] and 19.6–24 mo [old]) to determine whether breed and age influenced body size, testicular traits and epididymal sperm morphology. Bucks of a single goat breed (Ogaden; n= 35), selected by simple random sampling, were used to determine responses to differential nutritional treatments. Dietary treatments consisted of native hay fed ad libitum (control, C), native hay supplemented with 1% of body weight (BW) of agro–industrial by-products (Treatment 1, T1), native hay supplemented with 1% of BW of khat (Catha edulis) leftovers (Treatment 2, T2) and khat leftovers fed ad libitum (Treatment 3, T3). Breed, age and their interaction affected (P<0.05 to P<0.001) BW, body condition score (BCS), scrotal circumference (SC) and testicular weight (TW). Comparing all age classes, Boran displayed the highest (P<0.05) BW, greatest SC and heaviest TW, while Afar displayed the lowest values for these characteristics. Expressed as percentage of BW, Afar bucks had the highest TW. Regarding epididymal sperm morphology, most acrosome defects were displayed by CH (P<0.05) while AB mainly showed loose sperm heads (P<0.05). Bucks from a lowland agroclimate (i.e., Afar, Boran and WG) displayed more total sperm-head abnormalities (P<0.05) than did bucks of highland breeds (i.e., AB and CH). Younger bucks showed more (P<0.05) loose sperm heads, while older bucks had more (P<0.05) acrosome defects. Bucks fed according to the T1–T3 treatments improved (P<0.05) their BW, BCS, testicular size and testicular weight compared to controls. Goats in treatment groups T1–T3 showed higher (P<0.05) sperm motility, sperm concentration per mL and total number of spermatozoa per ejaculate compared to controls. Of groups T1–T3, bucks in T3 had the highest BW and testicular size. Feeding goats according to the T1–T3 regimes improved (P<0.001) feed dry matter (DM) and nutrient intake, and the occurrence of morphologically normal spermatozoa, compared to controls. Of the T1–T3 treatments, feeding according to T3 and T2 resulted in higher (P<0.05) DM, organic matter and gross energy intakes, while T1 followed by T3 resulted in the highest (P<0.05) crude protein intake, and T3 the highest occurrence of morphologically normal spermatozoa. In conclusion, body size, testicular traits and sperm morphology of Ethiopian bucks raised under extensive management were influenced by breed and age. Nutritional supplementation with khat leftovers and an agro–industrial by-product mix improved feed intake, growth and semen characteristics; these feedstuffs could be considered alternative feed resources to enhance goat production under smallholder farming systems in Ethiopia

Aid and Growth What Meta-Analysis Reveals

Some recent literature in the meta-analysis category where results from a range of studies are brought together throws doubt on the ability of foreign aid to foster economic growth and development. This paper assesses what meta-analysis has to say about the effectiveness of foreign aid in terms of the growth impact. We re-examine key hypotheses, and find that the effect of aid on growth is positive and statistically significant. This significant effect is genuine, and not an artefact of publication selection. We also show why our results differ from those published elsewhere.aid and growth, meta-analysis, heterogeneity and publication bias

Utilization of Solar Heat for the Control of Cowpea Seed Beetle, Callosobruchus Macilatus (Fabricius) (Coleoptera : Bruchidae)

A survey, consisting of two hundred sample farmers, was conducted in major cool-season food legume growing regions of Ethiopia. Assessment of grain legume seeds collected from sample farmers' stores revealed the importance of adzuki bean beetle, C. chinensis (L.). Storage pests were more serious in mid altitude than highland areas. Farmers realized the negative effect of storage insect pests on marketability, consumption quality and viability of legume seeds. Hence, development of economically feasible and environmentally friendly control options is needed. Biology of C. maculatus was studied on adzuki bean seeds in Malaysia at UPM. Mated female bruchid laid 61.8 eggs on average in its life with reproductive effort of 11.6. Eggs had average incubation period of 4.6 days and mean hatchability rate of 77.9%. Four larval instar stages were recognized. The insect had mean developmental period of 27.8 days with adult emergence rate of 62.0%. Number of eggs had strong negative relation to age of female bruchid while developmental period had positive relation. Obtuse-base-angle box heaters glued from inside with aluminum foil had better ability in trapping solar energy where 118' base-angle box had significantly high performance. Square box heaters painted black from inside trapped higher solar energy with better performance of boxes of 10 cm height, though not as capable as the obtuse-base-angle box heaters. The different glazing thicknesses and glazing layers did not show significant effect on the extent of trapped energy. Box heater of 118' base angle, glued from inside with aluminum foil was, therefore, promoted for further evaluation of the effect of heating on C. maculatus, due to its better performance in trapping solar energy. Effect of heat treatment on C. maculatus and adzuki bean seed moisture content and germination was evaluated. Exposure of the various developmental stages of C. maculatus to heat for up to 45 minutes raised the temperature between and within the seeds well in excess of the lethal level and resulted in complete control. Treatment of adzuki bean seeds with heat for up to one hour did not significantly affect seed viability. Though there was no significant difference, about 18.6% and 27% loss in seed viability resulted from seeds treated for 30 and 60 minutes, respectively, should not be undermined. Hence, adzuki bean seeds meant for planting should not be heat treated to control storage insect pests. However, heat treatment had no much effect on seed moisture content. Assessment on the effect of seed layer thickness on the efficacy of heat treatment against C. maculatus revealed that up to 3 cm thickness of adzuki bean seed can be treated at a time, as neither adult bruchids survived heat treatment nor emerged later. Therefore, solar heating of infested adzuki bean seeds using the aforementioned box heater around noon for an hour can give effective control of C. maculatus

Conservation Agriculture-Based Maize-Bean Cropping Systems in South Central Ethiopia

Conservation agriculture (CA) is defined as sustainable agriculture production system comprising a set of farming practices adapted to the requirement of crops and local condition of each region. This experiment was conducted at three districts: East-Badawaho, Meskan and Hawassa-Zuriya. In each district five farmers hosted the experiment and each farmer was used as a replicate. The experiment was run for six years (2011-2016) at each farmer’s field. The experiment consisted of five treatments (Continuous sole maize, Maize bean rotation, Maize-bean inter-cropping, Bean rotation under CA and farmer practice. BH-543 maize variety and Hawassa-Dume common bean variety were used. Soil moisture content under CA practices was higher than the farmer practice during drought year. Maize yield and yield related traits and soil water data were collected from each site. At East-Badawacho grain yield was 4% higher in CA compared with farmer practice. Maize bean rotation and sole maize under CA out yielded the farmer practice by 13 and 4%, respectively but maize-bean inter-cropping had 5% lower grain yield. At Hawassa-Zuriya, CA maize bean rotation had higher yield than farmer practice in 2011 and 2013. At Meskan, CA had 8% higher than FP. Maize-bean inter-cropping, maize bean rotation and sole maize under CA had 10, 8 and 6% higher grain yield than farmer practice, respectively. Common bean grain yield from bean rotation under CA had 2799, 2908, and 3226 kg ha-1 at East-Badawacho, Hawassa-Zuriya and Meskan district respectively. Inter-cropping under CA had 817, 1065 and 927 kg ha-1, respectively.  Generally, CA cropping systems had random drought stress reduction potential as compared with common practice and even under normal condition cropping systems under CA had higher grain yield and biomass production potential. Keywords: cropping systems, farmer practice, sole maize, rotation, inter cropping; rift valley DOI: 10.7176/JNSR/10-12-01 Publication date:June 30th 202

The School Leadership Is a Key to Break the Higher Education Iron Triangle through Borderless Distance Education: The Case of UNISA in Addis Ababa Ethiopia

This paper examines the role of cross-border distance education institutions in providing access to quality postgraduate education in Ethiopia, using the South Africa University (UNISA) as a case study. It draws on the appropriate school leadership for the development of distance education, and it further explores the potential of a distance education program delivery system in an Ethiopian context. In addition, the study explores the policy gap between conventional and distance education in relation to international postgraduate distance education. Two instruments were used to gather relevant data, namely: interviews and document analysis. Theoretical framework developed through three key elements: access, cost and quality were used as tools of analysis

Oral Health Knowledge, Practices and Attitude among Parents/Caretakers of Children with Heart Disease on Follow up at Tikur Anbessa Hospital

Background: Infective endocarditis is one of the most dreaded complications of structural heart disease. Poor oral hygiene has been implicated in the predisposition to infective endocarditis. The objective of this study is to assess the knowledge and practice of oral hygiene among parents of children with heart disease.Method: A cross sectional study using examiner administered questionnaire was used to obtain information on the oral health knowledge and practice of parents/caregivers of children with heart disease attending the pediatric cardiology clinic at Tikur Anbessa specialized Hospital. The study was conducted from April 1 to August 15, 2014.Results: A total of 384 caretakers of children participated in the study. About two-third (255) of the caretakers were informed on the importance of oral hygiene. Even though majority of the participants 317(82.6%) were aware about the benefits of tooth brushing, only 108(28.1%) reported using tooth brush and paste. The reason for not brushing teeth among the majority of caretakers (198, 71.7%) was that they did not think it was necessary. Lack of availability was mentioned by 53(19.2%) caretakers and unaffordability was mentioned by15 (5.4%).Caretakers’ knowledge on dental carries was also unsatisfactory. The role of the caretakers in the supervision of their children’s oral hygiene was also poor with only 19(4.9%) caretakers reportedly brushing their children’s teeth and 126(32.8%) watching and advising while the rest reportedly never cared, 89 (23.2%), or only gave advice but never watched, 150 (39.1%).Conclusion: This study has shown that the knowledge, attitude and practice of caretakers of children with heart disease on dental care to be poor. Many participants were not informed on the importance of oral hygiene on the prevention of infective endocarditis. Thus educating caretakers on the importance of regular tooth brushing habit, oral hygiene and regular preventive dental visit to reduce the risk of complication of the cardiac condition is recommended. [Ethiop. J. Health Dev. 2018; 32(2):82-87]Key words: oral health, children, heart disease

Evaluation of Crossbred Heifer Calves Rearing Practices and Growth Performace in Urban and Peri-Urban Dairy Systems of Sebeta Awas Wereda, Oromia, Ethiopia

Abstract. The study was aimed at evaluating the rearing practice and growth performance of heifer calves in urban and peri-urban dairy systems of Sebeta Awas Wereda, Oromia National Regional State, Ethiopia. Stratified random sampling method was used to select target farms and sample respondents for the prepared questionnaire. Farms for monitoring study was selected from data collected during the survey. Hence, 18 farms which had crossbred dairy heifer calves of (3-6 months of age), were purposively selected from both production systems and across the entire herd size category. Eighteen heifer calves were monitored from 18 different farms (2 production systems, 3 farm sizes, 3 replicates). Dairy farming has been gradually expanding in the area through years where above 90% of farms were established within last fifteen years. The overall average crossbred dairy herd size per household was 10.6±2.1 in urban and 11.3±2 in peri-urban area, where, the proportion of heifers accounted for 50.5% for urban and 48.8% for peri-urban farms of their respective total herds. Stall-feeding system is commonly practiced in urban and peri-urban farms, mostly feeding hay, straw, high-energy and protein feeds. Above 91.7% households raised their heifer calves through bucket feeding, where, 60%, 26% and 14% of overall farms weaned their calves at three, four and above four months of age respectively. Crude protein (CP) to metabolizable energy (ME) ratio of offered feeds to heifer calves were slightly below the desired level (66:1) in most farms. Body weight change, body condition score, girth height and average daily body weight gain (adg) of heifer calves were not affected by production systems. There was significant difference in body weight changes and adg due to difference in herd sizes. The overall observed heifer calf rearing and growth were good. But relatively inferior performance and prominent management problems were observed in medium sized farms Key words: heifer calf, urban, peri-urban, body weight, body condition score Abstrak.  Penelitian ini bertujuan mengevaluasi praktik budidaya dan pertumbuhan sapi heifer di peternakan kota dan pinggir kota di Sebeta Awas Wereda, Oromia National Regional State, Ethiopia. Metode sample acak terstruktur digunakan untuk memilih target peternakan dan sampel responden untuk kuesioner. Peternakan untuk penelitian dipilih dari data yang dikumpulkan selama survei, sehingga ada 18 peternakan dengan sapi heifer perah silang berusia 3-6 bulan dipilih baik dari segi sistem produksi dan dari seluruh kategory jumlah ternak. Delapan belas sapi heifer diteliti dari 18 peternakan berbeda (2 sistem produksi, 3 ukuran peternakan, 3 pengulangan). Peternakan sapi perah berangsur berkembang di daerah itu sepanjang tahun dimana lebih dari 90% peternakan dibangun selama 15 tahun terakhir. Total rataan jumlah ternak sapi perah silang per rumah tangg adalah 10,6±2,1 di daerah kota dan 11,3±2 di pinggiran kota, dimana proporsi total ternak heifer sejumlah 50,5% di kota dan 48,85% di pinggiran kota. Sistem stall feeding umumnya diterapkan di peternakan kota dan pinggir kota yang sebagian besar menggunakan pakan jerami, rumput serta pakan tinggi protein dan energi. Lebih dari 97,6% rumah tangga memelihara ternaknya dengan pakan yang diberikan dalam ember, 60% peternakan memelihara ternak berumur 3 bulan, 26% empat bulan dan 14% diatas 4 bulan. Rasio protein kasar (PK) terhadap energi metabolit (ME) pada pakan berada di bawah level peternakan pada umumnya (66:1). Perubahan bobot tubuh, nilai kondisi tubuh, lingkar dada dan penambahan bobot tubuh harian (pbbh) sapi heifer tidak dipengaruhi oleh sistem produksi. Ada perbedaan nyata dalam perubahan bobot tubuh dan pbbh karena perbedaan jumlah ternak. Keseluruhan kondisi pemeliharaan dan pertumbuhan sapi heifer bagus, namun peternakan berukuran sedang menunjukkan performa yang kurang baik dan masalah manajemen yang menonjol. Kata  kunci: sapi heifer, kota, pinggir kota, bobot tubuh, nilai kondisi tubu

Participatory evaluation of cattle fattening innovations of smallholder farmers in Gamogofa zone of southern Ethiopia

The study was conducted in Gamogofa zone, southern Ethiopia, located 445-505 km south of Addis Ababa. The area is semi-arid lowland with altitudes ranging from 746 to 1450 m asl and mean temperature ranges from 22 to 25 °C. The dominant farming system is mixed crop-livestock. Cattle, goats and poultry are the major livestock species, while maize, sorghum, teff, banana and mango are the major crops. Cattle fattening is an important undertaking and source of livelihoods. However, the fattening system is traditional low-input-low-output and producers are not benefiting much from the sector. This study evaluated the challenges and constraints, and cattle fattening innovations introduced through the participation of stakeholders in the study area. The study used focus group discussion, key informants interview, livestock commodity platforms and questionnaires for data collection. The major challenges and constraints identified are; a) feed and feeding related - lack of improved fodder and poor utilisation, lack of fodder conservation practices, poor natural grazing lands management and energy loss due to long distance grazing; lack of access for concentrate feed; b) cattle related - inappropriate cattle type for fattening; c) production related - long cycle fattening (> 8 months), poor housing and poor cattle management; d) market related - unorganised cattle marking, dominance of local markets with brokers which makes producers price takers, lack of market linkage; e) capacity related - lack of knowledge and skill on improved cattle fattening by producers, input providers and livestock extension staff. The following interventions were introduced: a) capacity related, which includes skill based training and coaching & mentoring of producers and livestock extension staff on improved cattle fattening, improved reproductive management and artificial insemination; b) fattening innovations which includes stall feeding instead of grazing, short cycle (3-4 months) multiple fattening per annum, improved on farm fodder production, improved fodder utilisation through chopping, fodder conservation through bag silage making & proper harvesting and storage of crop residues, initiation of commercial concentrate feed supplying business and use of concentrate supplementation, better animal selection from the market and deworming before fattening, establishment of fattened cattle marketing groups, and marketing linkage with buyers

Child health problems in Ethiopia

1. Global situation or child health The world population is growing at an alarming rate and particularly so in the developing nations. Over 80% of the world's children live in the developing world (1) where child mortality and morbidity rates are the highest. Each year about 14 million under-five children die from malnutrition and infection, i.e. , 40,000 daily or 2000 per hour, of which 98 % occur in the developing countries (1). The main causes of mortality in these countries are diarrhoeal diseases, pneumonia, perinatal and neonatal problems, measles, neonatal tetanus and malaria (Table 1), over 60% of which are preventable at low cost in these countries (2). In 1980, an estimated five million children under 5 years of age, died as a consequence of diarrhoeal disease (3). After the introduction of ORT, a quarter-century ago, over one million young lives are now being saved a year .Still over two million under-five children in the world's poorest neighborhoods die necessarily every year of diarrhoeal diseases (4

Within Breed Phenotypic Diversity of Sokota/Tigray Sheep in Three Selected Zones of Tigray, Northern Ethiopia

The study was carried out in Atsibi wonberta, Wukro kilteawlaeo, Ofla, Alamata, Enderta and Degua Temben district of Tigray Regional State of Ethiopia. The objectives of the study were to characterize the sheep breeds based on their different qualitative and quantitative traits in their natural environment. Data were gathered through semi-structured questionnaire, focus group discussions, field observations and linear body measurements of sample populations. Body weight, linear body measurements and qualitative records were taken and observed from 600 sheep. The most frequent sheep types were the short fat tailed and fat rumped type of sheep. These include Begie- Degua (common highland) sheep breed which is found in Atsibi-wonberta, Wukro-Kilteawlaelo, Ofla and Degua-Tembien districts, Elle (Afar) sheep breed mostly found in Alamata district and mixed sheep breeds found in Enderta district. For Elle sheep, Sex of the sheep had highly significant (p&lt;0.01) effect on Heart girth (HG), Wither height (WH), tail length (TL). Whereas body weight (BW) and Body length (BL) was affected by sex of the sheep (p&lt;0.05) and ear length (EL) of Elle sheep were not affected (p&gt;0.05) by sex of the sheep. Differently in Common highland and mixed sheep breeds, BW, BL, HG, WH, TL and EL were not affected (p&gt;0.05) by sex of the sheep. Chest girth had consistently showed the highest correlation coefficient (r= 0.22 to 0.84) in the Elle, common highland and mixed sheep breeds in this study. Keywords: Sheep breeds, district (s), linear body measuremen