Unlocking Opportunities in Renewable Energy Technologies in Africa: The Role of Development Financial Institutions

Climate change and global warming are undeniably undermining global development with developing or emerging economies being the worse hit in this unfortunate development. In recent times, it has become necessary to adopt effective adaptation measures that mitigate the impact of climate change on the social, political, and economic environment. A global shift to low-carbon energy technologies through the gradual integration of renewable energy resources in the global energy mix has been generally proposed. Whilst legal and regulatory initiatives are indeed crucial in driving this global energy transition, it is equally imperative that the necessary capital is unlocked to finance the construction, development, and expansion of renewable energy projects in Africa. This paper focused on examining the impact of renewable energy technologies on climate change mitigation, and analysed the role of Development Financial Institutions (DFIs) in unlocking the vast opportunities associated with renewable energy technologies or projects, with a view to driving the clean energy transition in Africa

Could Society’s willingness to reduce pesticide use be aligned with Farmers’ economic self-interest?

agricultural intensification (AI), agricultural extensification (AE), pesticide reduction, environmental performance, non parametric cost-functions

Could Society’s willingness to reduce pesticide use be aligned with Farmers’ economic self-interest?

In the context of the agreement of about 50% reduction in pesticide uses according to the accords du “Grenelle de l’environnement” in France, the central part of this study involves the assessment of agricultural intensification (AI) and agricultural extensification (AE) processes in crop activities.This is done with reference to pesticide uses per ha thereby helping to proffer a solution to the lingering questions of farmers as regards the use of inputs in an intensified manner or otherwise. With respect to this, a sample of 600 farms in the Meuse department was observed over a 12-year period. The analysis was essentially to assess cost efficiency dominance between the two technologies AE and AI using non parametric cost-functions which involves different characterizations of the reference set. This therefore helps to define the relative intensive and extensive technologies in terms of pesticide uses per ha, our empirical application therefore shows that AE process is a better option than AI not only for the society but also for the producers who could significantly reduce their operating costs.agricultural intensification (AI), agricultural extensification (AE), pesticide reduction, environmental performance, non parametric cost-functions, Environmental Economics and Policy, Farm Management,

Leaf Area Determination for Sesame (Sesamum indicum), Wheat (Triticum aestivuma), Groundnut (Arechis hypogaea) and Bambaranut (Vigna subterrane) Crops Using Linear Measurements

This study was carried out within the green house environment of the Faculty of Agriculture, Kogi State University (Latitude 7°.61N and Longitude 7°.431E) Anyigba in the Southern Guinea Savannah agro ecological zone of Nigeria during 2016 raining season. The experiment was laid using Randomized complete block design with 8 replicates. The treatment consisted of sesame, groundnut, wheat and bambaranut. Each treatment was repeated eight times, the results reveal K-coefficient for determination of leaf area to be 0.43, 0.62, 0.53 and 0.64 for sesame, groundnut, wheat and bambaranut respectively. The use of multiple regression equation improves the prediction over linear measurement. Also, simple and multiple regression analysis was carried out in other to increase precision in use of leaf area in the four treatments which are; sesame (Y=1563.632 + 0.409x1, Y= 1563.632 + 0.409x1 -45.73x2), groundnut (Y = -3175.794 + 0.611x1, Y= 3175.794+0.611x1 +56.825x2), wheat (Y= 376.084+0.265x1, Y=376.084+ 0.265x1-4.559x2) and bambaranut (Y=162.603 + 0.615x1, Y=162.603 + 0.615x1 +15.677x2). The data on leaf area and leaf number value of all the four crops were fitted into linear regression analysis separately as well as combined data, it shows significant difference or improvement over the use of linear measurement. Keywords: K-Coefficient, Linear measurements, Simple and Multiple regression of Sesame, Wheat, Groundnut and Bambaranut. DOI: 10.7176/JBAH/10-12-04 Publication date:June 30th 202

Cervical cancer screening and practice in low resource countries: Nigeria as a case study

Cervical cancer is the most common female genital tract malignancy in Nigeria and majority of the patients present with advanced disease. It is a preventable cancer as there are well‑defined treatable premalignant phases. The objective of the study is to review the burden of cervical cancer, its screening modalities, and practice of screening and treatment in low resource countries with emphasis on Nigeria. This is a review involving internet and literature search. While developed countries have recorded significant reduction in the incidence of cervical cancer owing to organizedscreening programs, treatment of premalignant cervical lesions, and follow‑up of treated cases, developing countries including Nigeria are yet to optimally utilize screening services due to lack of organized population‑based screening programs with only pockets of screening services which are at best opportunistic. This has not reduced the incidence of cancer because only a fraction of the target population is covered. Apart from this, loss to follow‑up is rampant. The level of awareness of cervical cancer and its preventive strategies are low among the population and policymakers in Nigeria. There is no organized screening program, and the few services available are only opportunistic with little or no impact. Development of cervical cancer screening policy and institution of organized screening program targeted at covering ≥80% of population at risk is fundamental. There is also a need for widespread education of the populace on the burden of cervical cancer and the public health importance of the disease using the mass media, counseling at antenatal clinics, and the involvement of men will contribute immensely to reduction in the incidence of cervical cancer. Decentralization of services by incorporation of cervical screening and treatment in primary health care programs will ensure adequate rural‑urban coverage.Keywords: Cervical cancer screening; human papillomavirus, low resource countries; Nigeria; premalignant diseas

Effects of Variations in Sea and Land Surface Temperature on Rainfall Pattern over Nigerian Coastal Zone

This study evaluated the variations in sea and land temperature from 1901 to 2013 with a view to examining their effects on rainfall pattern in the coastal zone of Nigeria. It used the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) monthly mean sea surface temperature (SST) over the Atlantic Ocean (longitude 0o E - 8o.20′ E and latitude 1oN - 3o.50′ N). Land Surface Temperature (LST) and rainfall dataset sourced from the archive of the University of Delaware (UDEL) and ground station observations (NIMET) over four selected coastal locations (Calabar, Lagos, Port-Harcourt and Warri) were also used. The mean observations of rainfall and temperature of NIMET and UDEL for the overlapping period (i.e. 1974-2013) were compared Using paired T-test and Percent Bias. The annual and seasonal trends in these climatic variables were examined using their deviations from means and trend analyses. The study then employed Pearson multiple linear regression analysis to evaluate the combined effects of LST and SST on rainfall pattern over the study areas. The results revealed the highest values of SST and LST in MAM and the lowest in JJA season.  It rained in all months across the stations with the maximum rainfall (163.5 - 471.2 mm/month) in JJA and the least (24.0 - 47.2mm/month) in DJF. The comparison of both UDEL and NIMET observations suggested no significant difference between both datasets at P = .05.  The results demonstrated increasing trends in both SST (0.012oC year-1) and LST (0.003 to 0.007oC year-1). Both SST and LST significantly influenced rainfall pattern (0.445 ≥ R ≤ 0.731; R > 39%) at P = .05. The contributions of SST to rainfall variations were, however, significantly higher (0.530: 0.422) than those of LST (0.452: 0.215) in Lagos and Port-Harcourt due to the proximity and locations of these stations to the Atlantic Ocean. Keywords: Sea and land surface temperature, rainfall variations, effects, coastal zon

Optimization of Inventory Inflation Budget Based on Spare-parts and Miscellaneous Costs of a Typical Automobile Industry

Brainstorming has been a common approach in many industries where the result is not always accurate, especially when procuring automobile spare parts. This approach was replaced with a scientific and optimized method that is highly reliable, hence the decision to optimize the inventory inflation budget based on spare parts and miscellaneous costs of the typical automobile industry. Some factors required to achieve this goal were investigated. Through this investigation, spare parts (consumables and non-consumables) were found to be mostly used in Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing (IVM), Nigeria but incorporated miscellaneous costs to augment the cost of spare parts. The inflation rate was considered first due to the market's price increase. Different types of vehicles were used to implement the Non-preemptive goal programming model and to predict the cost of procurement of the spare parts and miscellaneous and the profit for the current year. The result proved that the solution did not fully achieve the goals since the objective function is not equal to zero, but deviations for going below the profit goal and above the cost of procurement goal were significantly minimized

SEN-Iot: A Smart Emergency Notification System Suitable for Developing Countries using Internet of Things

Research has shown that disaster effects on properties and lives can be drastically reduced through wide dissemination of information on the impending danger to people at the appropriate time. Generally, the emergency alert systems are usually proactive systems; they are meant to gather data in surrounding using the necessary tools, alert the specified listeners about an impending danger and gives suggestion on the necessary actions to be taken in each situation. In addition, some emergency alert systems also activate automatic responses. Furthermore, the integration of Internet of things (IoT) technology with emergency notification systems is rapidly attracting new discovery in this domain. In this paper, an effective smart emergency notification system named SEN-IoT was design using IOT technology. SEN-IoT was modeled to manage domestic hazard with a scope of water, fire and gas leaks; by creating an emergence notification and immediate response systems. The SEN- IOT was implemented using arduino, sensors and the GSM module. The system was tested for maintainability, functionality, efficiency, usability and reliability, and results revealed that SEN-IoT can effectively handle domestic hazard