Forage diversity and fertiliser adoption in Napier grass production among smallholder dairy farmers in Kenya

Feed scarcity is one of the major challenges affecting smallholder dairy production in Kenya. Forages are the foundation of livestock nutritional requirements; forage diversification and fertiliser are intensification options that can increase productivity. A sample of 316 and 313 smallholder farmers were surveyed in eastern midlands and central highlands of Kenya, respectively, to establish the types of forages cultivated and the factors that influence fertiliser adoption in Napier grass (Cenchrus purpureus Schumach.) production. Independent t-tests were applied to compare the effect of continuous variables on social economic and institutional characteristics between adopters and non-adopters on fertiliser and area allocated to different forages. Chi-square tests were used to compare nominal variables for the proportion of farmers growing different forages, criteria they consider in selection of suitable forages, and social economic and institutional characteristics of adopters and non-adopters of fertiliser. Binary logistic regression was used to determine factors that influence fertiliser adoption. The study revealed that forage diversification was low with Napier grass being the only forage cultivated by most farmers (~90%). Urochloa (Urochloa spp), Rhodes grass (Chloris gayana Kunth.) and Guinea grass (Megathyrsus maximus Jaq.) were cultivated by less than 11% of farmers. The fertiliser adoption rate was high (77%) and was influenced by gender of household head, membership of groups, access to extension services and labour. Future research should focus on promoting of forage diversification and investigate quantity and fertiliser application regimes in order to enable development of appropriate advisory services

Rotor Design Optimisation through Low Cycle Fatigue Testing

AbstractThe current work aims at modifying the rotor geometry to improve the alternator performance. For that purpose, the fatigue behaviour of the material needs to be defined. Experimental tests were conducted on the Fe-3Si steel constituting the rotor. It is shown that this material hardens under cyclic loadings and TEM observations revealed unusual damage mechanisms. From the experimental LCF tests, the material parameters needed for FEA and the fatigue resistance law have been defined. The FEA results were validated on smooth and notch samples. Finally, the rotor design is modified which enables a light-weighting of the magnet or an increase of the torque value depending on the considered rotor and purpose

Feminization of African agriculture and the meaning of decision-making for empowerment and sustainability

The purpose of this study was to assess women’s decision-making power in small-scale agriculture in six African countries in view of the feminization of agriculture and to discuss the meaning of decision-making in relation to women’s empowerment and sustainability. The data are drawn from a multisite and mixed-method agricultural research and development project in six sub-Saharan countries including two sites in each country. The five domains of empowerment outlined in the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index are used to structure the analysis. The results indicate that in the selected sites in Malawi, Rwanda and South Africa, women farmers tend to dominate agricultural decision-making, while the result is more mixed in the Kenyan sites, and decision-making tends to be dominated by men in the sites in Tanzania and Ethiopia. Despite women participating in agricultural decision-making, the qualitative results show that women small-scale farmers were not perceived to be empowered in any of the country sites. It appears that the feminization of agriculture leads to women playing a more important role in decision-making but also to more responsibilities and heavier workloads without necessarily resulting in improvements in well-being outcomes that would enhance sustainability

RETRACTED: Agro-morphological characterization of <i>Urochloa</i> grass accessions in Kenya

The Editors and Publisher have retracted this article because the text had already been published in Njarui et al 2016. The content conveyed by this article is therefore not original and redundant. The corresponding author, Donald Njarui, recognizes this involuntary duplication publication and agrees to the retraction of this article. The online version contains the full text of the retracted article as electronic supplementary material. Supplementary material http://www.tropicalgrasslands.info/public/417_Njauri_et_al.pdf References (Note of the editors: All hyperlinks were verified 28 June 2019.) Njarui DMG; Gatheru M; Ghimire SR. 2016. Agro-morphological characterisation of Brachiaria grass accessions. In: Njarui DMG; Gichangi EM; Ghimire SR; Muinga RW, eds. Climate smart Brachiaria grasses for improving livestock production in East Africa - Kenya Experience. Proceedings of a workshop, Naivasha, Kenya, 14–15 September 2016. p. 27–36. hdl.handle.net/10568/8042

Agro-morphological characterisation of Brachiaria grass accessions

Swedish International Development Cooperation Agenc

Kenya: The Pioneers of Brachiaria Grass

An interview by Ethel Makila (ILRI-Beca) with Donald Njarui (KALRO/Kenya) and Sita Ghimire (ILRI-Beca, Kenya) in Nairobi at International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in Nairobi/Kenya. Recorded on Nov. 11, 201