Development and Dissemination of Integrated Crop Management (ICM) Technologies for Management of Biotic and Abiotic Stresses affecting Common bean in PABRA

The common bean is sensitive to many biotic and abiotic constraints. To enhance farm productivity, farmers need to have access to and use bean production practices that combine seed of improved varieties as well as integrated soil fertility management (ISFM) and integrated pest and disease management (IPDM) technologies. This poster describes efforts and achievements by the Pan Africa Bean Research Alliance (PABRA) in the development and delivery of IPDM and ISFM technologies to improve bean productivity across sub-Saharan Africa. Over 50 crop management technologies, IPDM (36) and ISFM (23) have been tested on-station and on farm in different PABRA countries, including: pest/disease tolerant varieties, staking techniques for climbing beans, botanical pesticides for storage pests, intercropping, varietal mixtures, pesticide application, organic and inorganic fertilizers, tithonia, manure amendments, N-P-K application, and integrated management options for major diseases, bean stem maggot and bean bruchids. A two-pronged approach was used to increase access to ISFM/IPDM technologies which involved; i) a deliberate promotion and delivery of improved varieties and ICM technologies as a single package, and ii) the harnessing of enabling policies (including input support systems) to deliver ICM technologies to bean farmers. The combined use of new stress tolerant varieties and improved crop management practices led to yield increases of 65% (Ethiopia) to 400% (DR Congo). The two-pronged approach led to the delivery of ICM technologies to 4.9 million farmers during 2009 – 2011. In countries where the approach was either no

Presented at the Third International Tropical Agriculture Conference (TROPAG 2019), Brisbane, Australia, 11–13 November 2019

Common bean fresh pod is a niche market product consumed worldwide including in Eastern Africa region. It is more preferred to dry bean due to the fresh taste and ease to cook. A lot of research has been done on production and disposition of dry bean product; however, little information is available on production and marketing of fresh bean pod in Uganda. The general observation indicates wide consumption of fresh bean pods however, there is limited information on its entire value chain, yet, its value cannot be undermined. Based on this background, a reconnaissance study was undertaken in Mpigi district, a major fresh bean growing area and eight retailing markets within Uganda’s capital, Kampala, to understand the economic feasibility of fresh bean pod market. Using qualitative approaches, farmer and market analysis was conducted to explore and understand fresh bean market dynamics. The results show that there are over 10 varieties being sold for fresh pod, unstandardized weight measures are being used, and price variation of over 50%. Additionally, unsatisfied demand for fresh pod beans is 45%. The results indicate existence of a lucrative fresh pod market valued at more than USD 2.0 million within Kampala and suburbs. It was also revealed that production faces significant gaps in seed availability to ensure consistent quality supply to the market while at selling points, bronzing effect was a major challenge leading to product deterioration. Thus, interventions are needed to eliminate the existing production and marketing challenges for a sustainable fresh bean pod business

malaria infection among schoolchildren in highland Rwanda

Background Plasmodium infection and malaria in school children are increasingly recognized as a relevant public health problem, but data on actual prevalence and health consequences are insufficient. The present study from highland southern Rwanda aimed at estimating infection prevalence among children attending school, at identifying associated factors and at assessing the clinical consequences of these infections. Methods In a survey including 12 schools in the Huye district of Rwanda, 1089 children aged 6–10 years were clinically and anthropometrically examined, malaria parasites were diagnosed by microscopy and PCR, haemoglobin concentrations were measured, and socio- economic and behavioural parameters as well as medical histories were obtained. Results Upon examination, the vast majority of children was asymptomatic (fever 2.7%). Plasmodium infection was detected in 22.4% (Plasmodium falciparum, 18.8%); 41% of these were submicroscopic. Independent predictors of infection included low altitude, higher age, preceding antimalarial treatment, and absence of electricity or a bicycle in the household. Plasmodium infection was associated with anaemia (mean haemoglobin difference of −1.2 g/dL; 95% CI, −0.8 to −1.5 g/dL), fever, underweight, clinically assessed malnutrition and histories of fever, tiredness, weakness, poor appetite, abdominal pain, and vomiting. With the exception of underweight, these conditions were also increased at submicroscopic infection. Conclusion Malaria infection is frequent among children attending school in southern highland Rwanda. Although seemingly asymptomatic in the vast majority of cases, infection is associated with a number of non-specific symptoms in the children´s histories, in addition to the impact on anaemia. This argues for improved malaria surveillance and control activities among school children

The evolving SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Africa: Insights from rapidly expanding genomic surveillance

INTRODUCTION Investment in Africa over the past year with regard to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) sequencing has led to a massive increase in the number of sequences, which, to date, exceeds 100,000 sequences generated to track the pandemic on the continent. These sequences have profoundly affected how public health officials in Africa have navigated the COVID-19 pandemic. RATIONALE We demonstrate how the first 100,000 SARS-CoV-2 sequences from Africa have helped monitor the epidemic on the continent, how genomic surveillance expanded over the course of the pandemic, and how we adapted our sequencing methods to deal with an evolving virus. Finally, we also examine how viral lineages have spread across the continent in a phylogeographic framework to gain insights into the underlying temporal and spatial transmission dynamics for several variants of concern (VOCs). RESULTS Our results indicate that the number of countries in Africa that can sequence the virus within their own borders is growing and that this is coupled with a shorter turnaround time from the time of sampling to sequence submission. Ongoing evolution necessitated the continual updating of primer sets, and, as a result, eight primer sets were designed in tandem with viral evolution and used to ensure effective sequencing of the virus. The pandemic unfolded through multiple waves of infection that were each driven by distinct genetic lineages, with B.1-like ancestral strains associated with the first pandemic wave of infections in 2020. Successive waves on the continent were fueled by different VOCs, with Alpha and Beta cocirculating in distinct spatial patterns during the second wave and Delta and Omicron affecting the whole continent during the third and fourth waves, respectively. Phylogeographic reconstruction points toward distinct differences in viral importation and exportation patterns associated with the Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron variants and subvariants, when considering both Africa versus the rest of the world and viral dissemination within the continent. Our epidemiological and phylogenetic inferences therefore underscore the heterogeneous nature of the pandemic on the continent and highlight key insights and challenges, for instance, recognizing the limitations of low testing proportions. We also highlight the early warning capacity that genomic surveillance in Africa has had for the rest of the world with the detection of new lineages and variants, the most recent being the characterization of various Omicron subvariants. CONCLUSION Sustained investment for diagnostics and genomic surveillance in Africa is needed as the virus continues to evolve. This is important not only to help combat SARS-CoV-2 on the continent but also because it can be used as a platform to help address the many emerging and reemerging infectious disease threats in Africa. In particular, capacity building for local sequencing within countries or within the continent should be prioritized because this is generally associated with shorter turnaround times, providing the most benefit to local public health authorities tasked with pandemic response and mitigation and allowing for the fastest reaction to localized outbreaks. These investments are crucial for pandemic preparedness and response and will serve the health of the continent well into the 21st century

Design of temperature control system using conventional PID and Intelligent Fuzzy Logic controller

In this paper, we present the design of temperature control for industrial heat treating furnace by using Intelligent Fuzzy Logic and PID controllers. Temperature control is important in heating processes as it can disqualify materials in terms of their physical properties when not well performed. Obviously PID temperature controller is the most used in industries to control non-linear processes. Consequently, it has been found that the output response from Fuzzy Logic is very accurate in terms of overshoot and steady state error when compared to that of PID. Moreover, both temperature controllers are modeled and simulated using MATLAB software

Effect of excessive and minimal soil moisture stress on agronomic performance of bush and climbing bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.)

Water stress is a major crop production constraint for common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L). The response of bush and climbing bean to excessive and minimal soil moisture at various plant growth stages was investigated under greenhouse for two growing periods; September-February 2016 and March-July 2016. The control consisted in watering with recommended rates for each plant growth stage. Two bean genotypes RWR2245 (bush bean) and MAC44 (climbing bean) were used for this study. The minimal soil moisture (drought stress) treatment consisted of withholding water supply, from the on-set of emergence, vegetative, flowering, pod setting and seed filling growth stages, up to the wilting point of plants. The excessive soil moisture (waterlogging stress) was achieved by saturating the soil on a daily basis for five successive days, starting from the on-set of the aforementioned plant growth stages. For each genotype, these treatments were replicated four times and arranged in a Completely Randomized Design. Drought stress accelerated the number of days to maturity whilst waterlogging stress tended to increase the number of days to maturity. Both stresses reduced the agronomic performance of both genotypes. However, pod setting and flowering were the most sensitive stages to drought stress and waterlogging stress, respectively

Reduced efficacy of albendazole against Ascaris lumbricoides in Rwandan schoolchildren

Control of human soil-transmitted helminths (STHs) relies on preventive chemotherapy of schoolchildren applying the benzimidazoles (BZ) albendazole or mebendazole. Anthelmintic resistance (AR) is a common problem in nematodes of veterinary importance but for human STHs, information on drug efficacy is limited and routine monitoring is rarely implemented. Herein, the efficacy of single dose albendazole (400 mg) was evaluated in 12 schools in the Huye district of Rwanda where Ascaris is the predominant STH. Ascaris eggs were detected by wet mount microscopy and the Mini-FLOTAC method to assess cure rate (CR) and faecal egg count reduction (FECR). Blood and faecal samples were analysed for co-infections with Plasmodium sp. and Giardia duodenalis, respectively. Ascaris positive samples collected before and after treatment were analysed for putatively BZ-resistance associated β-tubulin gene single nucleotide polymorphisms. The overall CR was 69.9% by Mini-FLOTAC and 88.6% by wet mount microscopy. The FECR was 75.4% and the 95% calculated confidence intervals were 50.4–87.8% using sample variance, 55.4–88.8% by bootstrapping, and 75.0–75.7% applying a Markov Chain Monte Carlo Bayesian approach. FECR varied widely between 0 and 96.8% for individual schools. No putative BZ-resistance associated polymorphisms were found in the four Ascaris β-tubulin isotype genes examined. Since FECR

Index-based agricultural insurance products: challenges, opportunities and prospects for uptake in sub-Sahara Africa

Agricultural insurance products have been piloted in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) to address climate related risks faced by farmers. However, these products in general face low rates of adoption in SSA. Factors and challenges that may explain the low uptake of index-based insurance products in SSA are reviewed in this paper with the objective of assessing and documenting (i) the insurance products available to farmers, (ii) factors influencing farmers to purchase insurance products, (iii) challenges limiting farmers accessing to insurance products and (iv) opportunities that can positively enhance uptake in SSA. This review reveals that area yield index insurance, index-based crop insurance and index-based livestock insurance have been piloted or implemented in the region. The uptake of these products was found to be positively correlated with on-farm income/savings, literacy, and family size with estimated coefficients of 0.211, 0.292 and 0.018, respectively; and negatively correlated with premium rate (−0.183), age of farmer (−0.058), land tenure (−0.800) and farm size (−0.167). Challenges that impede uptake of index-based products include weakness of regulatory environment and financial facilities, basis risk, quality and availability of weather data, capacity building of stakeholders (farmer, insurer, and regulator), and lack of innovation for local adaptation and scalability. The current gap between high promise and low uptake calls for farmer-driven product design, strong public-private partnerships and improved quality and availability of weather data