Child height gain is associated with consumption of animal-source foods in livestock-owning households in Western Kenya

OBJECTIVE: To clarify the pathways between household livestock and child growth by assessing the relationships between consumption of animal-source foods (ASF) and child growth and evaluating the household livestock correlates of child consumption of ASF. DESIGN: We conducted a longitudinal cohort study of anthropometry and 3 d feeding recalls among children <5 years old between June 2014 and May 2015. In addition, we collected data on wealth, livestock ownership and livestock diseases in the same households. We used linear and negative binomial mixed models to evaluate the relationships between household livestock characteristics, reported consumption of ASF and child growth. SETTING: An 1800-household surveillance catchment area in Western Kenya within the structure of human and animal health surveillance systems. SUBJECTS: Children (n 874) <5 years old. RESULTS: Among children >6 months old, reported frequency of egg and milk consumption was associated with increased monthly height gain (for each additional report of consumption over 3 d: adjusted β (95% CI) = 0·010 (0·002, 0·019) cm/month and 0·008 (0·004, 0·013) cm/month, respectively). Poultry ownership was associated with higher reported frequency of egg, milk and chicken consumption (adjusted incidence rate ratio (95% CI) = 1·3 (1·2, 1·4), 1·4 (1·1, 1·6) and 1·3 (1·1, 1·4), respectively). Some livestock diseases were associated with lower reported frequency of ASF intake (livestock digestive Child growth diseases-adjusted incidence rate ratio (95% CI) = 0·89 (0·78, 1·00)). CONCLUSIONS: Child height gain was associated with milk and egg consumption in this cohort. ASF consumption was related to both household livestock ownership and animal health

The perceived impact of climate change on mental health and suicidality in Kenyan high school students

Background Climate change has psychological impacts but most of the attention has been focused on the physical impact. This study was aimed at determining the association of climate change with adolescent mental health and suicidality as reported by Kenyan high school students. Methods This was a cross sectional study with a sample size of 2,652. The participants were high school students selected from 10 schools in 3 regions of Kenya. A questionnaire was used to assess climate change experiences, mental health problems, and suicidality of the youth. Data were analyzed descriptively and with logistic regression to determine various associations of the different variables and the predictors of the various scores of SDQ and suicidality at 95% CI. Results Significant differences were observed between gender and two of the threats of climate change – worry and being afraid as subjectively experienced by the participants. Females were more worried and afraid of climate change than males. On univariate and multivariate logistic regression, we found that various experiences of climate change were significantly associated with various scores of SDQ and much fewer of the experiences predicted SDQ scores. The same pattern was reflected in suicidality. Conclusion Climate change appears to be associated with mental health concerns and suicidality according to Kenyan high school students’ reports with gender differences in some associations

Spatial heterogeneity of habitat suitability for Rift Valley fever occurrence in Tanzania: an ecological niche modelling approach

Despite the long history of Rift Valley fever (RVF) in Tanzania, extent of its suitable habitat in the country remains unclear. In this study we investigated potential effects of temperature, precipitation, elevation, soil type, livestock density, rainfall pattern, proximity to wild animals, protected areas and forest on the habitat suitability for RVF occurrence in Tanzania. Presence-only records of 193 RVF outbreak locations from 1930 to 2007 together with potential predictor variables were used to model and map the suitable habitats for RVF occurrence using ecological niche modelling. Ground-truthing of the model outputs was conducted by comparing the levels of RVF virus specific antibodies in cattle, sheep and goats sampled from locations in Tanzania that presented different predicted habitat suitability values. Habitat suitability values for RVF occurrence were higher in the northern and central-eastern regions of Tanzania than the rest of the regions in the country. Soil type and precipitation of the wettest quarter contributed equally to habitat suitability (32.4% each), followed by livestock density (25.9%) and rainfall pattern (9.3%). Ground-truthing of model outputs revealed that the odds of an animal being seropositive for RVFV when sampled from areas predicted to be most suitable for RVF occurrence were twice the odds of an animal sampled from areas least suitable for RVF occurrence (95% CI: 1.43, 2.76, p < 0.001). The regions in the northern and central-eastern Tanzania were more suitable for RVF occurrence than the rest of the regions in the country. The modelled suitable habitat is characterised by impermeable soils, moderate precipitation in the wettest quarter, high livestock density and a bimodal rainfall pattern. The findings of this study should provide guidance for the design of appropriate RVF surveillance, prevention and control strategies which target areas with these characteristics

Farmer participatory evaluation and potential impact of a dominant male sterility gene (Ms44) for maize in Kenya

In this paper we present farmer evaluation of a dominant male sterile gene – Ms44 – for maize varieties in Kenya. More than 1000 farmers, 58% women, evaluated the varieties in 8 sites. Our results show that farmers have a wide range of criteria they use in evaluating maize varieties. These criteria do include tassel formation and pollen shed, for which they score Ms44 varieties lower than their conventional counterparts in the mid-season evaluation. This clearly shows farmers can distinguish the male sterility trait at midseason. They still preferred the Ms44 varieties over the others during the mid-season evaluation, because of higher scores on other criteria, inlcuding yield. At the end-season evaluation, tassel formation in Ms44 varieties does not receive a lower score, indicating the trait is no longer observable at harvest. On the methods, asking farmers about different criteria does affect their evaluation, so this type of studies needs to be carefully designed, as demonstrated here. Farmers tend to state many criteria as importance, while not making much distinction between them. Regression overall evaluation over evaluations of different individual criteria, however, shows a more nuanced story. Again, including different criteria affect the weight of the other criteria. Acknowledgement : We appreciate the support of the IMAs project in funding this researc

Participatory evaluation and application of portfolios of climate smart agriculture practices to enhance adaptation to climate change in mixed smallholder systems of East and Southern Africa

Climate change is a threat to food security in Africa. Maize is the most important staple crop in Kenya, but production per capita has decreased in recent decades. Climate smart agriculture technologies become more important, but it is important to evaluate them with farmers to learn about their needs. Therefore, we conducted participatory evaluations of five miaze varieties both on-farm and on-station. We found that farmers’ perception of varieties are complex, with yield, drought tolerance, and early maturing valued the most. Men value characteristics related to size higher than women (cob size, stalk thickness). On average, men give higher scores than women, and women score more nuanced. On-station, DH02 was liked the best, and Tego the least. On-farm, DH02 was liked the least, while Duma43 was liked the most. Further, onfarm, DH02 was liked less in the wet year than in the dry year. Farmers’ scores did not reflect yield data well, indicating their complex perceptions of varieties. Further, farmers in Makueni could increase their annual income by 51.500 KSh by adopting the improved maize varieties from this study. Maize companies could benefit from an increase in sales, with a potential demand in Makueni of 3.500 metric tons per season