Gender Analysis: Engaging with Rural Development and Agricultural Policy Processes

One of the great ironies of the last 40 years is that sub-Saharan Africa, a continent of ‘female farming par excellence’ (Boserup 1970), became populated, at least within much development discourse, by rural women represented as either ‘cardboard victims or heroines’ (Cornwall et al. 2004:1). How did this disjuncture come about? What have been its implications for agricultural development policy and practice? How can more nuanced understandings of gender and social relations be fruitfully brought into agricultural research and policy processes?DfI

Young People, Agriculture, and Transformation in Rural Africa: An “Opportunity Space” Approach

Over the last decade, both agriculture and young people have become increasingly prominent on African development agendas. Politicians, policymakers, and development professionals have confronted food price volatility, food insecurity, and the phenomenon of large-scale land grabs on the one hand, and the entrenched under- and unemployment among young people—the (youthful) human face of the phenomenon of jobless growth—on the other. It is perhaps not surprising that many have put two and two together, concluding that engagement in production agriculture (including crops, livestock, and fisheries) is an obvious (if not the obvious) opportunity through which to address the problem of limited economic opportunity for young people in rural areas. Associated with this view is the assumption that rural young people would be better off if they did not migrate to urban areas, thus avoiding exposure to risky and illegal behavior (sex, HIV/AIDS, drugs, crime) and potential entanglement in dangerous political activity

Small ruminant production under pressure: The example of goats in southeast Nigeria

Presents preliminary assessment of animals' performance under a free-roaming and movement-restricted production system and farmers' responses to changed husbandry practices in southeast Nigeria; with particular reference to flock dynamics & male to female ratio; reproductive performance; growth rate; mortality; and farmers management & breeding strategy

Quick Money and Power: Tomatoes and Livelihood Building in Rural Brong Ahafo, Ghana

This article uses the example of small?scale, labour?intensive tomato production in Brong Ahafo, Ghana to explore some prospects of young people's engagement with the agri?food sector in Africa. Although tomatoes were produced by men and women of all ages, a significant proportion of young men specialised entirely in tomato production, growing three crops per year. Tomato production met short?term capital needs for home?building, marriage, business development and adventure. Young women also engaged in tomato production, although rarely as ‘3?croppers’. A return visit examined the role agriculture played in enabling young people to achieve their earlier life and work objectives. A social?relational approach was adopted, focusing on interdependency and linked lives. Life course analysis highlights shifts that have implications for the changing way people engage in agriculture, rather than assuming that ‘one size fits all at all times’

Economic analysis of alley farming with small ruminants

Evaluates alley farming models with small ruminants based on field and experimental data from southwest Nigeria, and compares them to basic alley cropping and to fallow systems. Describes the basic fallow model, the basic alley cropping model without animals, the alley farming model with goats, as well as with sheep

Anaemia and kidney dysfunction in Caribbean Type 2 diabetic patients

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Anaemia has been shown in previous studies to be a risk factor for cardiovascular disease in diabetic patients with chronic kidney disorder. This study was aimed to assess the prevalence of anaemia and kidney dysfunction in Caribbean type 2 diabetic patients that have been previously shown to have a high prevalence of the metabolic syndrome.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>155 type 2 diabetic patients and 51 non-diabetic subjects of African origin were studied. Anthropometric parameters were measured and fasting blood samples were collected for glucose, creatinine, glycated hemoglobin and complete blood count. Anaemia was defined as haemoglobin < 12 g/dl (F) or < 13 g/dl (M). Kidney function was assessed using glomerular filtration rate (GFR) as estimated by the four-variable Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD) study equation. Subjects were considered to have chronic kidney disease when the estimated GFR was < 60 ml/min per 1.73 m². Comparisons for within- and between-gender, between diabetic and non-diabetic subjects were performed using Student's t-test while chi-square test was employed for categorical variables.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The diabetic patients were older than the non-diabetic subjects. While male non-diabetic subjects had significantly higher red blood cell count (RBC), haemoglobin and hematocrit concentrations than non-diabetic female subjects (p < 0.001), the RBC and hematocrit concentrations were similar in male and female diabetic patients. Furthermore, irrespective of gender, diabetic patients had significantly higher prevalence rate of anemia than non-diabetic subjects (p < 0.05). Anaemic diabetes patients had significantly lower GFR (67.1 ± 3.0 vs. 87.9 ± 5.4 ml/min per 1.73 m², p < 0.001) than non-anaemic patients.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>A high prevalence of anaemia was identified in this group of type 2 diabetic patients previously shown to have a high prevalence of the metabolic syndrome. It is therefore recommended that diagnostic laboratories in developing countries and elsewhere should include complete blood count in routine laboratory investigations in the management of diabetic patients.</p

Contribution of scarred uterus to ruptured uterus in rural Nigeria

Background: Ruptured Uterus is one of the worst obstetric catastrophes that cause maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality. Though surgical incisions on the uterus are thought to contribute to this catastrophe, no work had been done in our environment to find out how scarred uterus had been contributing to uterine rupture in our area of practice hence the need for this work.Methods: This is a retrospective study involving all the cases of ruptured uterus managed at Mater Misericordiae Hospital, Afikpo in Ebonyi State of Nigeria over 10 years.Results: During the ten years under review, the incidence of ruptured uterus was 0.66% or 1 in 151 deliveries. Of the 74 cases of ruptured uterus, 28 or 37.8% occurred in those with scarred uterus. This translates to 1 uterine rupture caused by scarred uterus in every 2.6 cases of uterine rupture. Previous cesarean section was the commonest scar followed by previous uterine rupture and cornual ectopic pregnancy. There was no rupture from a myomectomy scar.Conclusions: Scarred uterus is a significant cause of uterine rupture, every effort must be made to reduce uterine scars and our women should be encouraged to utilize available health services

The Quantification of Child Labour by Ghana’s Mass Media: A Missed Opportunity?

This article describes how the mass media in Ghana use quantitative information to communicate the prevalence of child labour. During the period 2000–2020, stories about child labour frequently appeared in Ghana’s mass media. Within nearly 30 per cent of the stories, at least one numerical quantification is used. Quantifications appear to be constructed primarily to dazzle readers. The large numbers and the weight of the technical jargon used would appear to significantly reduce the potential to inform. We ask why successive governments have not used the mass media tools at their disposal to more effectively address the complex policy problem of child labour

Indigenous and scientific knowledge: the choice and management of cultivation sites by bedouin in Upper Egypt

This paper investigates the ways in which some bedouin in the Nubian Desert of southeastern Egypt take decisions about both the choice of site for cultivation and the subsequent management of their soils. It explores the complementarity of formal and informal sciences and how each might profitably inform the other. Results show that the bedouin understand the physical limitations and nutrient supply properties of soils, but not aspects such as pH. Decisions on the choice of cultivation site are often made with regard to other perceived risks, such as soil loss and intermittent inundation, rather than just soil quality. It is also apparent that there exists among bedouin a plurality of indigenous knowledge mediated by factors such as experience, wealth levels, household circumstances and production priorities. Understanding indigenous knowledge is essential in helping to develop better use of the soil in this area, about which little is known and which has only a short history of small scale cropping