Causal Relationship Between Maize Production and Its Price in Zambia

In Zambia, changes in food prices specifically maize prices have received much of the attention of late because of its effect on national food security, farming systems, and political-economic conditions of the country. Measures have been taken in order to prevent future food crises and to achieve zero hunger by 2030 as per Sustainable Development Goal number 2 targets 2.4 and 2.c. The national strategies to stabilise the price and influence productivity depend on availability of data from different researchers. Most studies on maize production in Zambia have focused on climatic and demographic factors with insufficient efforts taken in addressing price changes on maize production. The article examined the consequences of changing price from 1990 to 2021 of maize on maize production in Zambia. It used a cross sectional research design to analyse secondary data from Zambia Statistics Agency and Food Agriculture Organization. The use of Granger causality test (time series) during analysis revealed unidirectional causation between price and production. This implies that price of maize is the Granger cause of maize production (p-value = 0.0010). The increase of price of maize influences maize productivity among peasants. The policy implication stemming from this study is that since price influences maize production, controlling maize production without stabilizing price levels cannot be enough to boost the agricultural economy and alleviate poverty. The government needs to control maize prices to meet the domestic self-sufficient and affordable prices.&nbsp

Assessment of Orange Losses and Existence of Post-Harvest Methods (PHM) Along the Coast Belt of Tanzania

An assessment of orange fruits losses and investigating of post-harvest methods was conducted in Mkuranga district which is situated along the Coast Belt of Tanzania. The district is among of the producer of orange fruits in the country. The study discovered that an average of 9,889 tons of pieces of orange fruits are produced mainly by small holder farmers in the district per year and about 3.9 tons (39.7 percent) of the produced orange fruits found to be wasted per year. The study analysis indicates that about 15 percent of the orange fruits wasted during harvesting process, 18 percent loss of orange fruits occurred during handling process, 50 percent of orange fruits lost at a storage places and 17 percent lost during transportation from farm to the market place.  At a household level, the analysis indicates that an average of 70 of orange trees owned per household and that at a moment of harvesting process each orange tree bears an average of 400 pieces of orange fruits. About 25,000 pieces of orange fruits investigated to be harvested per household per year where by an average of 19,000 pieces of orange fruits are sold per year per household at an average price of 30 TSH (equal to USD 0.018) per piece. About 3,000 piece of orange fruits found to be consumed by family members, relatives and friends per year per household and an average of 3,000 pieces of orange fruits found to be wasted per year per household. The study revealed that an existing methods and facilities for harvesting (orange smashing), handling and storage (nylon and plastic bags) are poor and are main causes of the orange waste or loss in the district.  Moreover, poor transportation infrastructures such as road is noted to contribute in fruit loss. Improved methods and facilities for harvesting, handling, storage and transportation are suggested to be commenced in the district for orange loss reduction. Trainings, awareness and skills at each point of post-harvest chain (PPHC) starting from primary to secondary actors should be collectively emphasized by both government and non-government institutions in Tanzania. Keywords: Orange losses, Existing-post-harvest methods, Coast Belt of Tanzani

A Review: Peanut Fatty Acids Determination Using Hyper Spectroscopy Imaging and Its Significance on Food Quality and Safety

This paper is a review of determination of peanut fatty acids by using Hyper Spectral Imaging (HSI) methods as a non-destructive food quality and safety monitoring. The key spectral areas are the visual and near-infrared wavelengths. Few have been published on determination of peanut fatty acids by using HSI as an efficient and effective method for evaluating the quality and safety of oil. Providentially, the use of HSI has been observed to have positive effects on determination of food quality and safety (Smith B. 2012). It has gained a wide recognition as a non-destructive, fast, quality and safety analysis, and assessment method for a wide range of food products.  Literature shows that, HSI is not commonly and widely used therefore this paper aspires to emphasize the use of HSI on improving the quality and safety of peanut oil and its products based on the determination of peanut fatty acids. The authors predicted that even in its current imperfect on the affordability, maintenance and complexity on finding solutions or model approaches to their food quality problems from optics, imaging, and spectroscopy, yet HSI is the best method than other current existing methods, and can give an idea of how to better meet market and consumer needs on high food quality and safety for their better healthy. Key words: Hyper spectral imaging, Peanut (Arachis hypogaea), oil, Oleic and linoleic fatty acid, Food quality, food safety

Thermotolerance of an inactivated rabies vaccine for dogs

This study provides the first robust data that the antibody response of dogs vaccinated with Nobivac® Rabies vaccine stored for several months at high temperatures (up to 30 °C) is not inferior to that of dogs vaccinated with vaccine stored under recommended cold-chain conditions (2–8 °C). A controlled and randomized non-inferiority study was carried out comparing the four-week post vaccination serological responses of Tanzanian village dogs inoculated with vaccine which had been stored at elevated temperatures for different periods of time with those of dogs vaccinated with the same product stored according to label recommendations. Specifically, the neutralizing antibody response following the use of vaccine which had been stored for up to six months at 25 °C or for three months at 30 °C was not inferior to that following the use of cold-chain stored vaccine. These findings provide reassurance that the vaccine is likely to remain efficacious even if exposed to elevated temperatures for limited periods of time and, under these circumstances, it can safely be used and not necessarily destroyed or discarded. The availability of thermotolerant vaccines has been an important factor in the success of several disease control and elimination programs and could greatly increase the capacity of rabies vaccination campaigns to access hard to reach communities in Africa and Asia. We have not confirmed a 3-year duration of immunity for the high temperature stored vaccine, however because annual re-vaccination is usually practiced for dogs presented for vaccination during campaigns in Africa and Asia this should not be a cause for concern. These findings will provide confidence that, for rabies control and elimination programs using this vaccine in low-income settings, more flexible delivery models could be explored, including those that involve limited periods of transportation and storage at temperatures higher than that currently recommended

Combining Tree-Crop Farming: Mimicking Farmers' Mixed Cropping and Land Fallowing Practices in Developing Sustainable Farmland Management System

Growing population and climate changes exerts pressure on land productivity and forest resources. Emerging unsustainable practices such as shortened period of traditional smallholders' natural fallows, exploitative cultivation and extension of farms through opening new farmlands and harvesting of natural forests for fuel wood are threats to productivity and environment. This necessitates development of sustainable production and environmental management solutions. Tree and shrubs were grown for two seasons in association with maize to mimic traditional farmers' mixed cropping and land fallowing in south western Tanzania, which significantly increased soil fertility with concomitant doubling of maize yield and reducing households' drudgery through increasing accessibility to firewood. Trees, Acacia mearnsii and Calliandra calothyrsus provided on average 20t/ha and 10t/ha of fuel wood biomass sufficient for over 590 and 330 days requirement of a rural household, respectively. These trees were liked by households as fuel wood for their heating strength, smokiness, charcoal and smelling on burning. The results mean that scaling up and out in the local landscapes of trees-crops culture would substantially increase farmland productivity, while eliminating harvesting pressure on natural forests. Trees and shrubs wood biomass and crop residues are promising economic resources in development of small electric power plants in rural areas

Infant and young child feeding practices on Unguja Island in Zanzibar, Tanzania: a ProPAN based analysis

Background: Undernutrition in children has remained a challenge despite the success achieved in reduction of other childhood diseases in Zanzibar. Most empirical studies on infants and young child feeding (IYCF) have examined nutritional value of foods fed to the children in terms of energy and micronutrient content. Little is known on the role of culture, traditions and social norms in influencing IYCF practices. This study aimed at assessing the existing IYCF practices and socio-cultural factors influencing these practises using ProPAN tool to get an in-depth understanding of the mothers’ practices with respect to exclusive breastfeeding and infant and young child feeding.Methods: A cross sectional study involving mothers/caregivers was conducted using semi-structured interviews and opportunistic observations on Unguja Island, Zanzibar. A random selection of 36 Shehias and 213 households with children 0 – 23 months old was done proportional-to-size of Shehias and children. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected using the ProPAN tool and embedded software for analyses.Results: A total of 213 of mothers/caregivers were involved in the study. Almost all new-borns were fed colostrum (96%). Proportion of mothers who   initiated breastfeeding within one hour after giving birth was 63%. About 24% of the women practiced exclusive breastfeeding and 21% of the children were given pre-lacteal feeds 2-3 days after birth. The mean age of introduction of complementary foods was four months. Responsive feeding was not practiced by some mothers as 31% of the children 12-23 months of age were left to eat alone without any support from caregivers. The common reasons for non-adherence to the recommended feeding practices were related to income and socio-cultural norms which are strong in the community and supported by other family members.Conclusion: Infant and young child feeding in Unguja was suboptimal. Inadequate care practices, use of pre-lacteals, early introduction of complementary foods, low rate of exclusive breastfeeding and low meal frequency were among the common practices. The main causes of the observed feeding practice were related to socio-cultural norms and beliefs. There is a need to strengthen IYCF education into the antenatal clinic regime

Transmission ecology of canine parvovirus in a multi-host, multi-pathogen system

Understanding multi-host pathogen maintenance and transmission dynamics is critical for disease control. However, transmission dynamics remain enigmatic largely because they are difficult to observe directly, particularly in wildlife. Here, we investigate the transmission dynamics of canine parvovirus (CPV) using state-space modelling of 20-years of CPV serology data from domestic dogs and African lions in the Serengeti ecosystem. We show that, although vaccination reduces the probability of infection in dogs, and despite indirect enhancement of population seropositivity as a result of vaccine shedding, the vaccination coverage achieved has been insufficient to prevent CPV from becoming widespread. CPV is maintained by the dog population and has become endemic with ~3.5-year cycles and prevalence reaching ~80%. While the estimated prevalence in lions is lower, peaks of infection consistently follow those in dogs. Dogs exposed to CPV are also more likely to become infected with a second multihost pathogen, canine distemper virus. However, vaccination can weaken this coupling raising questions about the value of monovalent versus polyvalent vaccines against these two pathogens. Our findings highlight the need to consider both pathogen- and host-level community interactions when seeking to understand the dynamics of multi-host pathogens and their implications for conservation, disease surveillance and control programmes

Impact of HIV/AIDs on household livelihoods in Dar es salaam city, Tanzania

Many studies have been done on HIV/AIDS in Tanzania yet few empirical studies have been conducted to examine the effect of HIV/AIDS in urban areas including Dar-es- Salaam. This study therefore aimed at estimating the extent to which HIV/AIDS affects household livelihoods as well as identifying common coping mechanism of affected and unaffected households with regard to food security, asset ownership/possession and social network. Therefore, this study was conducted with the specific objectives to: determine the social impact associated with HIV/AIDS; determine wealth of the affected and non- affected households; identifying coping strategies used by household with regard to impacts of HI/AIDS; and compare the impacts of HIV/AIDS between affected and non- affected households. The study gives the detailed explanation on livelihoods framework and establishes household’s socio-economic impacts. A cross sectional design was employed. An interview by using closed and open-ended questions was used to get required information. A sample size of 90 respondents was involved of which 45 were affected and 45 non-affected households by HIV/AIDS. Snow-ball (chain referral) sampling technique was employed for the selection of individual respondents affected by HIV/AIDS. Multistage and purposive sampling techniques were used to select 45 non- affected households. Data from these respondents were analysed by using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) Version 11.5-computer program. The study revealed that petty business was the main economic activity of the affected respondents (90%). Existence of stigma, poor people integration, inheritance of the widow and inability to provide amount of remittance are the social impacts of HIV/AIDS on household livelihood. The other economic bottleneck is food insecurity, failure to pay medical expense, poor income and school dropout (s). In order to cope with miserable conditions the study identified a number of coping strategies including reduction in number of meals, selling of household assets and children to live with relatives. Therefore affected households experience more shock of social and economic welfare than non-affected households. The study recommends among other things, new ways of preventing and combating HIV/AIDS from a small scale to a large scale by bringing together the weight of the government and non governmental organizations in order to generate shared momentum so that the magnitude of the problem can be reduced and therefore household livelihoods can be well attained

Impact of HIV/AIDs on household livelihoods in Dar es salaam city, Tanzania

Many studies have been done on HIV/AIDS in Tanzania yet few empirical studies have been conducted to examine the effect of HIV/AIDS in urban areas including Dar-es- Salaam. This study therefore aimed at estimating the extent to which HIV/AIDS affects household livelihoods as well as identifying common coping mechanism of affected and unaffected households with regard to food security, asset ownership/possession and social network. Therefore, this study was conducted with the specific objectives to: determine the social impact associated with HIV/AIDS; determine wealth of the affected and non- affected households; identifying coping strategies used by household with regard to impacts of HI/AIDS; and compare the impacts of HIV/AIDS between affected and non- affected households. The study gives the detailed explanation on livelihoods framework and establishes household’s socio-economic impacts. A cross sectional design was employed. An interview by using closed and open-ended questions was used to get required information. A sample size of 90 respondents was involved of which 45 were affected and 45 non-affected households by HIV/AIDS. Snow-ball (chain referral) sampling technique was employed for the selection of individual respondents affected by HIV/AIDS. Multistage and purposive sampling techniques were used to select 45 non- affected households. Data from these respondents were analysed by using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) Version 11.5-computer program. The study revealed that petty business was the main economic activity of the affected respondents (90%). Existence of stigma, poor people integration, inheritance of the widow and inability to provide amount of remittance are the social impacts of HIV/AIDS on household livelihood. The other economic bottleneck is food insecurity, failure to pay medical expense, poor income and school dropout (s). In order to cope with miserable conditions the study identified a number of coping strategies including reduction in number of meals, selling of household assets and children to live with relatives. Therefore affected households experience more shock of social and economic welfare than non-affected households. The study recommends among other things, new ways of preventing and combating HIV/AIDS from a small scale to a large scale by bringing together the weight of the government and non governmental organizations in order to generate shared momentum so that the magnitude of the problem can be reduced and therefore household livelihoods can be well attained