Folksong based appraisal of bioecocultural heritage of sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench): A new approach in ethnobiology

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Sorghum is one of the main staple crops for the world's poorest and most food insecure people. As Ethiopia is the centre of origin and diversity for sorghum, the crop has been cultivated for thousands of years and hence the heritage of the crop is expected to be rich. Folksong based appraisal of bioecocultural heritage has not been done before.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In order to assess the bioecocultural heritage of sorghum by folksongs various research methods were employed. These included focus group discussions with 360 farmers, direct on-farm participatory monitoring and observation with 120 farmers, and key informant interviews with 60 farmers and development agents. Relevant secondary data was also collected from the museum curators and historians.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The crop is intimately associated with the life of the farmers. The association of sorghum with the farmers from seed selection to utilization is presented using folksongs. These include both tune and textual (ballad stories or poems) types. Folksongs described how farmers maintain a number of varieties on-farm for many biological, socio-economic, ecological, ethnological and cultural reasons. Farmers describe sorghum as follows: <it>Leaf number is less than twenty; Panicle hold a thousand seeds; a clever farmer takes hold of it</it>. In addition, they described the various farmers' varieties ethnobotanically by songs. The relative importance of sorghum vis-à-vis others crops is similarly explained in folksong terms.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The qualitative description of farmers' characterisation of the crop systems based on folksongs is a new system of appraising farmers' bioecocultural heritage. Hence, researchers, in addition to formal and quantitative descriptions, should use the folksong system for enhanced characterisation and utilization of bioecocultural heritages. In general, the salient characteristics of the folksongs used in describing the bioecocultural heritages are their oral traditions, varied function, communal or individual recreation and message transmissions.</p

The Contribution of Farmers’ Breeders in Meeting Food Security: The Case of Sorghum (\u3cem\u3eSorghum bicolor\u3c/em\u3e (L.) Moench) in Ethiopia

Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) is the fifth most important cereal crop worldwide and it is the third most important crop in Ethiopia. The national average yield amounts 1302 kg/ha. In order to assess the achievement in farmer breeding various types of research were undertaken. These include survey research to quantify the trend in productivity, the level of and reasons for adoption of improved varieties, yield performance and preference evaluation of farmers’ varieties (FVs) and improved varieties (IVs). As per the trend analysis over the last four decades, total production and yield per hectare has increased by 11.63% and 14.2% respectively. However, area allocated to sorghum has decreased over years by -2.93%. The lack of consistent productivity is attributed to the fluctuation of environmental factors. Sorghum production in Ethiopia is predominantly based on varieties developed by farmers. The share of IVs is very low. FVs and IVs are adopted by 87.3% and 12.7% of the farmers respectively. Besides, the adoption of IVs is limited to the lowland crop ecology. The comparative yield of FVs is higher than IVs by 132%. On top of yield, farmers do prefer their varieties for other multipurpose values namely feed, fuel wood and construction material. FVs under production are identified in each wereda. Farmer breeding has been successful compared to four decades of formal breeding. On the other hand, both farmer and formal breeding are not without weaknesses; a comparative balance sheet is outlined for both. Ideotypes for the three major crop ecologies are suggested and integrated plant breeding is anticipated to develop the proposed ideotypes thereby increase sorghum productivity in the region

Quality improvement in maternal, neonatal and child health services in sub-Saharan Africa: A look at five resource-poor countries

Background: Quality improvement (QI) practices can advance maternal, neonatal and child (MNC) health outcomes. Hence, accelerating QI activities to achieve better results should be encouraged. Objectives: This study aims to review QI interventions by conducting a synthesis of available data. Methods: A rapid review methodology and the ‘Google Scholar’ search engine were used. We focused on Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, Tanzania and Uganda because their populations are large, they all have a significant burden of MNC deaths, they are all signatories to the Every Newborn Action Plan (ENAP) and members of the Quality of Care (QoC) Network, and all have adopted maternal death surveillance and response (MDSR) systems. We also examined documents on the websites of ENAP, QoC Network, World Health Organization, and the ministries of health of all five countries. Results: There was a paucity of information on clinical practice guidelines (CPGs), audit and feedback. There was weak integration between national quality policies and strategies and UN initiatives. Only 12 articles and two reports met our inclusion criteria. We found a total of just 20 CPGs on the websites of the various ministries of health. All five countries shared a scarcity of CPGs and poor performance in using MDSR systems. Conclusions: For successful implementation of QI interventions, it is necessary to establish a mechanism for producing evidence-based CPGs and to revitalize the MDSR system. UN initiatives need to be integrated with national programs for impact and sustainability. While our findings do not allow us to make a causal link between the scarcity of CPGs and inadequate QoC in MNC healthcare services, evaluation of national programs, including UN initiatives, is required. [Ethiop. J. Health Dev. 2020; 34(1):59-80]. Key-words: Quality improvement; maternal, neonatal and child health; quality of care; Every Newborn Action Plan; Quality of Care Network; clinical practice guidelines; audit and feedbac

Volatility of International Food Prices : Impacts on Resource Allocation and on Food Supply Response

Uncertainty is a quintessential feature of agricultural commodity prices. After about three decades of low and relatively stable price levels, we have experienced a dramatic rise and volatility in international food prices since 2005. Besides the traditional causes of price fluctuations, agricultural commodities are increasingly connected to energy and financial markets, with potentially destabilizing impacts on prices. The study focuses on the global supply response of the world’s key staple crops, namely wheat, corn, soybeans, and rice, to changes in international food prices and volatility. By applying the details of the crop calendar to derive monthly global acreage and production time series data for the period 1961–2010, we explicitly consider the role of seasonality in global agricultural supply response. Depending on the respective crop, the time series econometric results indicate that short-run elasticities are about 0.05 to 0.40; and price volatility tends to reduce acreage for most of the crops. Comparison of annual and monthly acreage response elasticities suggests that global acreage adjusts to new information and expectations seasonally. The analysis also indicates that acreage allocation is more sensitive to prices during spring than in winter, with varying responses across months. Furthermore, the study estimates global acreage, yield and production response of these key agricultural commodities by employing a multi–country, crop– and calendar–specific, seasonally disaggregated panel dataset, with price changes and price volatility applied accordingly. Besides confirming the time series econometric results, the dynamic panel supply response model results show that output price volatility has negative correlations with globally aggregated crop supply, implying that farmers shift land, other inputs, and yield-improving investments to crops with less volatile prices. In addition, we use the estimated coefficients to analyze whether the recent increase in prices and price volatility is an opportunity or a challenge for world food supply. Simulating the impact of the price dynamics since 2006, we find that price risk has reduced the production response of wheat in particular—and to a lesser extent, rice—thus dampening price incentive effects. The net-impact on production of the 2006–2010 price dynamics is an increase of about 3% for corn, 2% for soybeans, 1% for rice, and a decrease of about 1% for wheat. The study further develops country-specific acreage response models, which enable forecasting of planted acreages in large producer countries of major staple crops 2–3 months before planting. Every supply response study requires some form of price expectation modelling, so do the supply response models of the present study. Using primary data from rural Ethiopia, we investigate price expectation formation of farmers. The empirical results show that information regarding current and past output prices in nearby markets, central wholesale prices and seasonal rainfall shape farmers’ price expectations. Furthermore, the results indicate that farmers who invest in acquiring better price information are more likely to have smaller price prediction errors. This calls for public investments to provide smallholders with reliable market information.Die Volatilität von internationalen Nahrungsmittelpreisen: Auswirkungen auf die Ressourcenallokation und das Nahrungsmittelangebot Unsicherheit ist eine wesentliche Eigenschaft von Agrarpreisen. Nach rund drei Jahrzehnten mit niedrigen und relativ stabilen Weltmarktpreisen, sind die Nahrungsmittelpreise seit 2005 stark gestiegen und volatil. Neben den traditionellen Ursachen von Preisschwankungen, kann die zunehmende Vernetzung von Agrarprodukten mit Energie- und Finanzmärkten möglicherweise einen destabilisierenden Einfluss auf Preise haben. Diese Studie untersucht die Anpassung des weltweiten Angebots von Grundnahrungsmitteln, wie Weizen, Mais, Soja und Reis, an die Veränderungen von internationalen Nahrungsmittelpreisen und deren Volatilität. Dabei wird die Saisonabhängigkeit des globalen landwirtschaftlichen Angebots durch das Ableiten von Zeitreihendaten der monatlichen, globalen Anbaufläche und Produktion, für die Jahre 1961-2010, untersucht. Je nach Nutzpflanze zeigt die Zeitreihenanalyse kurzfristige Elastizitäten von 0,05 bis 0,40, während die Preisvolatilität die Anbaufläche für die meisten Pflanzen zu verringern scheint. Der Vergleich der jährlichen und monatlichen Anbauflächenelastizitäten zeigt, dass sich die weltweite Anbaufläche saisonal an neue Informationen und Erwartungen anpasst. Zudem schwankt die Allokation der Anbauflächen zwischen den Monaten und reagiert generell sensibler auf Preise während des Frühlings als im Winter. Desweitern schätzen wir die Reaktion der globalen Anbauflächen, des Ertrags und der Produktion der wichtigsten landwirtschaftlichen Güter. Dies geschieht anhand eines neu entwickelten internationalen, Pflanzen- und Kalender-spezifischen, saisonal desaggregierten Paneldatensatz, entsprechend den jeweiligen Preisänderungen und der Preisvolatilität. Die Ergebnisse des dynamischen Panelmodells der Angebotsreaktion bestätigen die Resultate der ökonometrischen Zeitreihenanalyse, und zeigen zudem, dass die Unbeständigkeit der landwirtschaftlichen Güterpreise negativ mit dem global aggregierten Angebot korreliert. Dies impliziert, dass Bauern Land, weitere Inputs und erntesteigernde Investitionen auf Anbaupflanzen mit geringerer Preisvolatilität konzentrieren. Die Koeffizienten der ökonometrischen Analyse zeigen, inwiefern Preissteigerungen und Preisschwankungen das weltweite Nahrungsmittelangebot beeinflussen. Durch die Simulation des Einflusses der Preisschwankungen seit 2006, konnten wir anhand der Weizenproduktion feststellen, dass das Preisrisiko einen durch die Preise generierten Produktionsanreiz dämpft. Der netto Einfluss der Preisschwankungen in den Jahren 2006-2010, führte zu einem Anstieg von 3% für Mais, 2% für Sojabohnen, 1% für Reis und einer Reduktion von rund 1% für Weizen. Diese Studie entwickelt des Weiteren ein länder-spezifisches Reaktionsmodel für Anbauflächen, welches diese in den größeren Produzentenländern, für die wichtigsten Grundnahrungsmittel und für einen Zeitraum von 2-3 Monaten vor der Aussaat, vorhersagt. Eine Analyse der Angebotsanpassung benötigt komplementär immer auch ein Preiserwartungsmodel. Anhand von Primärdaten evaluieren wir daher die Preiserwartungen von Kleinbauern im ländlichen Äthiopien. Die empirischen Ergebnisse zeigen, dass Informationen über aktuelle und vergangene Preise auf nahen Getreidemärkten, zentrale Großhandelspreise und saisonale Niederschlagsmengen die Preiserwartung entscheidend formen. Zudem können Kleinbauern, die in die Beschaffung besserer Informationen investieren, die Preise nach einer Ernte besser antizipieren. Folglich wäre es sinnvoll Institutionen zu schaffen, die Marktinformationen als öffentliches Gut bereitstellen

Perforated Peptic Ulcer Disease in a Tertiary Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: Five Year Retrospective Study

BACKGROUND: Peptic ulcer perforation is one of the two major acute complications of peptic ulcer disease with significant morbidity and mortality.METHODS: Institution based retrospective review was done to determine patient presentation, management and postoperative complications of perforated peptic ulcer disease (PPUD) at a tertiary hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Patients operated on from January 2013 to December 2017 were included. Univalent analysis was used to determine the influence of patient and operative events on postoperative outcomes.RESULT: Totally, 136 patients were studied. Males outnumbered females by a ratio of 5.5:1. The mean age of patients was 36.05±16.56 years. Seventy-one (52.2%) patients presented after twenty-four hours of onset of symptoms. Most perforations were located on the first part of the duodenum (117,86%). There were 73 postoperative complications recorded in 31(22.8%) patients. Old age, being female, presence of comorbidity, hypotension, tachycardia, and delayed presentation were significantly associated with postoperative morbidity (P&lt;0.05). Nine (6.6%) patients died at the hospital. Mortality was significantly associated with old age, comorbid illness, tachycardia, and development of post-operative complications (P&lt;0.05). The postoperative hospital stay of the patients with complications was 18.6 ± 14.7 days which was significantly higher than that of patients without complication 6.7±2.7days (P=0.001).CONCLUSION: Old age, being female, presence of comorbidity, hypotension, tachycardia, and delayed presentation were significantly associated with postoperative morbidity. Old age, comorbid illness, tachycardia and development of post-operative complications were found to increase the risk of mortality

Manual for designing community based interventions for preventing postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) using misoprostol: Standardized pilot-test training manual

This manual is a comprehensive, standardized, step-by-step guide for Population Council staff to use when designing and implementing community-based pilot interventions for the prevention of postpartum hemorrhage using misoprostol. The introduction and background section provide basic information about maternal mortality, normal and abnormal pregnancy, and postpartum hemorrhage. This section also describes prevailing methods of prevention and treatment for postpartum hemorrhage, active management of the third stage of labor, and use of misoprostol for the prevention and control of postpartum hemorrhage. The second half of the manual focuses on how to develop a protocol for an intervention study on misoprostol. It includes steps on submitting the research protocol including informed consent to the IRB for approval and developing training modules. Last, the manual explains the importance of monitoring and evaluation, data collection and review, preparation for the conduct of a rigorous study following Good Clinical Practice, and analysis and report-writing. The manual is intended for use by Population Council staff with suitable modification to fit the context of their study community and stakeholders

Variability in Ethiopian Durum Wheat under Rainfed Environment Subjected to Drought at Anthesis

አህፅሮትምርምሩ በ2016 64 የሰብሌ ዘመን በደብረዘይት አካባቢ በሚገኝ አሸዋማ አፈር ሊይ የተደረገ ሲሆን በጥናቱም የተሇያዩ የዘረመሌ ምንጭ ያሊቸው 64 የዱረም ስንዴ ዝርያዎች ሲምፕሌሊቲስ በሚባሌ የጥናት ዘዴ በሁሇት ድግግሞሽ ሙከራ ተካሂዶባቸዋሌ፡፡ የጥናቱ ዋና ዓሊማ ያተኮረው 15 የሚያህለ ማሳያዎችን በመጠቀም በእድገት ዑደት ማጠናቂቂያ ወቅት ከሚያጋጥም ድርቅ ሳቢያ በዱረም ስንዴ ዝርያ ዘረመሌ ባህርያት ሊይ ሉታዩ የሚችለ ባህርያትን ሇመሇየት ነው፡፡በጥናቱም የተሻሇ ምስሌ ሇማግኘት ሲባሌ በባህርያቸው የተሇያየ ባህርይ ባሊቸው በዘረመሌ ዓይነቶች ሊይ ጥናት ተደርጓሌ፡፡ ውጤቱም እንደተመሊከተው ከተጠኑት 15 ማሳያዎች መካከሌ በ8ቱ ሊይ የባህርይ ሌዩነት ታይባቸዋሌ፡፡ በሰብለ ዕድገት መጨረሻ ሊይ የሚፈጠር የዝናብ እጥረት በአበቃቀሌ ሽፋን፣ በአፈዳ ዕድገት በፍሬ ሙሊት እና በምርታማነት ሊይ ከፍተኛ ተጽዕኖ እንደሚፈጥር በየፕልቱ ከተደረገው ጥናት መመሌከት ተችሎሌ፡፡ በምርታማነት እና የገሇባ መጠን በ ፌኖታይፒክ ሌዩነት እና ጄኔቲክ አድቫንስ ከፍተኛ ሌዩነት ማሳየቱ እንደተጠበቀ ሆኖ ምርቱ ሇስብሰባ በመድረስ ሊይ በአንጻሩ አነስተኛ ተጽዕኖ ተመዝግቧሌ፡፡ በዝርያዎች መካከሌ በባህርይ መወራረስ ረገድ የተደረገው ጥናት እንዳመሇከተውም በምርት ግኝት ሊይ የታየው ተጽዕኖ አነስተኛ ሲሆን በፍሬ ሙላት ፍጥነት እና በፍሬ ዝግጅት ማጠናቀቅ ፍጥነት( 91%) ሊይ የታየው ተጽዕኖ በአንጻሩ ከፍተኛ ሆኖ ተመዝግቧሌ ፡፡ ማንኛቸውም ዓይነት በጥናት የተዳሰሱት ባህርያት ከፍተኛ GCV መጠን አሇማሳየታቸው ድርቅ የዝርያ ባህርይን በመቀየር ረገድ ከፍተኛ ተጽዕኖ እንደሚፈጥር ያሰያሌ ፡፡ የሙላት የፍጥነት ጊዜ እና የፍሬ ሙላት ከዝቅተኛ የጄኔቲክ አድቫንስ 5.15 እና 3.01 እንደተመሇከተው የታየው ሌዩነት ከጂን አክሽን ጋር የተያያዘ አይደሇም፡፡ አምስቱ መሰረታዊ አካሊት ከ eigenevalue ከ 1.1 እስከ 3.75 ሲተነተን በተደራራቢ ድምር 78.6% የሚሆነውን የፌኖታይፒክ ሌዩነት መታየቱ በዱረም ስንዴ ዝርያዎች መካከሌ የድርቁ ተጽዕኖ ከፍተኛ መሆኑን ያሳያሌ፡፡ በክሊሊስተር ትንታኔም የ 64ቱ ዱረም ስንዴዎች ዝርያዎቹ በአምስት ግሩፕ ከፍሏቸዋሌ፡፡ በዚህም መሰረት አምስቱን ዓይነቶች ከ 5 እስከ 15 ዝርያዎቹ መመሌከት በውጤቱ ተስተውሎሌ፡፡ በተሇያዩ ክፍልች እንደተጠኑት ዝርያዎቹ (ዘረመልቹ) በተሇያ የስብጥር እና ሁኔታ ሲባዙ የተሇያየ ድርቅን የመቋቋም ባህርይ ማሳታቸው ተስተውሎሌ፡፡ በዚህም መሰረት የዱረም ስንዴ ዘረመልች የዕድገት ዑደት ማጠናቀቂያ ሊይ የሚከሰት ድርቅን የመቋቋም ባህርያቸው በየዘረመሌ ዓይነት የሚሇያይ መሆኑን በጥናቱ ማረጋገጥ ተችሎሌ፡፡AbstractSixty-four durum wheat genotypes comprised of different sources of origin were field evaluated in a simple lattice design with two replications at Debre-Zeit sandy soil environment during the 2016 main season. The objective was to assess the extent of genetic variability for durum wheat genotypes under rain-fed terminal moisture stress using fifteen agronomic and yield related traits. There were wide ranges of variation for some of traits studied. Analysis of variance also revealed that there were significant variations among durum wheat genotypes for eight out of 15 traits studied, suggesting the possibility of improving durum wheat for these traits. The terminal drought had a highly significant effect on grain yield per plot, aboveground biomass, spike length, days to heading and grain filling. Grain yield per plot and straw yield showed the highest phenotypic coefficients of variations and genetic advance, whereas days to maturity and harvest index had the lowest values, respectively. Across traits, the broad sense heritability was lowest (12 %) for harvest index and highest for days to heading (91%) followed by grain filling period (73%). None of the traits had high GCV values indicating that the effect of drought was severe for trait expressions. The existence of high heritability for days to heading and grain filling period along with low genetic advance of 5.15 and 3.01 suggested that the variation observed may not indicate the expression of additive gene action. Five principal components (PCs) with eigenvalue between 1.1 and 3.73 explained a cumulative of about 78.6% of the total phenotypic variability observed among the durum wheat genotypes. Cluster analysis also classified the 64 durum wheat genotypes into five groups. The genotypes found into five clusters ranged from seven to 15. The genotypes maintained under different groups had specific characters and it may give desirable genetic recombinants in developing drought tolerant varieties. Overall, the present study revealed that there is sufficient variability existed in durum wheat genotypes tested under terminal drought environment

Identification of citrus (Citrus sinensis) Postharvest Pathogens from Ethiopia and their Control

From a world prospective, the continuous application of chemical pesticides has serious long-term effects on human health and environmental pollution, and can result in resistant pathogen strains. However, postharvest diseases cause major losses on the markets and need to be controlled effectively. The search for biopesticides using microbial antagonists and natural plant products has subsequently become more important as viable alternatives to control postharvest diseases. Currently, little information exists in terms of citrus production practices, disease management measures and postharvest losses in Ethiopia. The aim of this study was therefore to determine what the current situation in the country is in terms of production, disease management and postharvest disease incidence, disease management practices in Ethiopia and to develop an effective and safe disease control strategy for the industry. Citrus production in Ethiopia is mainly done by Government enterprises with little technical expertise. Disease control strategies are ineffective with postharvest losses exceeding 46%. The most important postharvest pathogen identified was Penicillium digitatum. In development of biopesticides, three yeast antagonists [Cryptococcus laurentii (strain MeJtw 10-2 and strain TiL 4-3) and Candida sake (TiL 4-2)] and plant leaf extracts of Acacia seyal and Withania somnifera were found to have some potential to control Penicillium in in vitro and in vivo trials and ensure fruit quality. The modes of action of the yeast antagonists were not based on antibiosis. Instead, it involved competitive colonization where the antagonists inhibited P. digitatum spore germination and reduced mycelial growth by 75-100%. Extracts from the two plant species showed broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity against a range of several fungal and bacterial pathogens. The semi-commercial application of the antagonists and plant extracts improve fruit quality and the integration of these biopesticides were found effective in semi commercial trials and may provide a commercial solution for the citrus industry.Thesis (PhD (Crop Protection))--University of Pretoria, 2006.Microbiology and Plant Pathologyunrestricte