Shelterbelts and farmers needs

As a response to desertification and long periods of drought in Northern Nigeria in the 1970s, the Kano State Forestry Department designed a programme of land rehabilitation using shelterbelts. It soon became clear, however, that the shelterbelts had design errors and had many disadvantages. Farmers had not been consulted when they had been established and this added to their sense of dissatisfaction with the measures implemented. In this article the authors use the Nigerian experience to stress the importance of actively involving farmers as well as researchers and policy makers in soil management and rehabilitation programmes

Using traditional methods and indigenous technologies for coping with climate variability

In agrometeorology and management of meteorology related natural resources, many traditional methods and indigenous technologies are still in use or being revived for managing low external inputs sustainable agriculture (LEISA) under conditions of climate variability. This paper starts with the introduction of an "end-to-end" climate information build up and transfer system in agrometeorology, in which the use of such methods and technologies must be seen to operate. It then reviews the options that LEISA farmers have in risk management of agrometeorological and agroclimatological calamities. This is based on the role that the pertinent meteorological/climatological parameters and phenomena play as limiting factors in agricultural production and the expectations on their variability. Subsequently, local case studies are given as examples of preparedness strategies to cope with i). variable water/moisture flows, including mechanical impacts of rain and/or hail, ii). variable temperature and heat flows, including fires, and iii). fitting cropping periods to the varying seasons, everywhere including related phenomena as appropriate. The paper ends with a series of important additional considerations without which the indicated strategies cannot be successful on a larger scale and in the long run

Air movement and its consequences around a multiple shelterbelt system under advective conditions in semi-arid northern Nigeria.

Horizontal wind speed patterns above a scarce millet row crop on inhomogeneous sandy soil revealed insufficient protection from hot winds by multiple shelterbelts in semi-arid Northern Nigeria. This appeared mainly due to too high distances between the belts. Marked yield drops occurred with distance between the belts, in what McNaughton defined (under mechanical damage and microclimate disturbance from strong winds) as the unprotected wake zone. These may, in the case of hot winds, mainly be attributed to combined negative effects on soil moisture and crop physiology of the combination of turbulence, worsened by the shelterbelts, and advected heat. Other parameters confirm the picture of the wake zone and the quiet zone, the latter also being present windward of the belts in a reduced form. The results have serious consequences for the design rules of multiple shelterbelts and alternatives under African semi-arid conditions

Shelterbelts and farmers needs

As a response to desertification and long periods of drought in Northern Nigeria in the 1970s, the Kano State Forestry Department designed a programme of land rehabilitation using shelterbelts. It soon became clear, however, that the shelterbelts had design errors and had many disadvantages. Farmers had not been consulted when they had been established and this added to their sense of dissatisfaction with the measures implemented. In this article the authors use the Nigerian experience to stress the importance of actively involving farmers as well as researchers and policy makers in soil management and rehabilitation programmes

The Views Of Cancer Patients On Receiving Bad News

AIM: This study was performed in a descriptive matter to determine the views of inpatients at an oncology state hospital on receiving bad news. METHOD: The study sample consisted of 237 inpatients (155 females, 82 males) at an oncology state hospital between October and November 2008 who were determined using the random sampling method and accepted participating in the study. The data collection tool used was a survey form that consisted of 24 questions related to the sociodemographic features and views on receiving bad news. RESULTS: The mean age of the study subjects was 53.1±13.9 (min.=18, max.=83). The patients were undergoing the treatment process in 84% and the diagnostic process in 16%. The bad news had been given by the physician in 87.8% and while in the physician's room in 74.8%. The patients had been told while receiving the bad news that 'there is a mass/problem/lesion/tumor and you will undergo surgery' in 47.7% while 24.9% had been told that they had cancer directly. The patients stated that they froze, fainted, were shocked, felt their life was shattered and experienced emotions such as sadness, fear, hopelessness, sorrow, disappointment, desperation, etc. at a rate of 93.7%. We found that 58.2% of the patients had not been given an opportunity to express their emotions when they received the bad news, 67.4% preferred to have a relative with them at the time, 40.9% felt that the bad news should be given in a special environment, 30% wanted the bad news to be given as soon as the diagnosis was known while 36.7% preferred being told everything about the disease when receiving the bad news CONCLUSION: Taking into account the information content, family participation, and the individual preferences of the patients regarding time and place when giving bad news and encouraging them to ask questions and express themselves may make it easier for the patients to cope with bad news. [TAF Prev Med Bull 2011; 10(3.000): 319-326