Quantifying the Impact of COVID-19 Relief Vouchers Schemes on Food Security: Empirical Evidence Insights from South Africa

Livestock production systems are essential for sustaining household food security, especially in the drylands of Africa. This study assesses the impact of South Africa’s targeted Large Stock Unit (LSU) social protection program on the acute food insecurity effects of the COVID-19 pandemic among selected smallholder livestock farmers. An embedded research approach was utilized in four local municipalities purposively selected in the Northern Cape Province, where 217 households were selected using a stratified proportionate random method. A structured questionnaire was employed, while secondary data on beneficiary farmers were collected from implementing agencies. A full information maximum likelihood (FIML) Endogenous Switching Regression (ESR) model was adopted to capture variations due to self-selection bias among respondents. ESR model results show that the decision maker’s age, the household head’s education level, the land holdings’ size, average relative livestock losses, the orientation of production, and the level of external support impact food security. The study concludes that based on average treatment effects analysis, beneficiaries of the LSU program are better off in the household food security relative to their non-beneficiary counterparts. These findings validate the need for enhancing support initiatives during COVID-19 shocks for households to attain food security using their main livelihood sources as the gateway. Increasing the diversity of livelihood strategies in these vulnerable communities needs to be scaled up to protect households from acute food insecurity. Targeted support programs, including direct financing and binding networks, may also be supported through youth-sensitive training programs to enhance mitigations and resilience against COVID-19 acute food insecurity. A policy can tap into existing local structures and province-wide institutional platforms for the long-term sustainability of the LSU support initiatives and mitigation of COVID-19 food security vulnerabilities

Quantifying the Impact of COVID-19 Relief Vouchers Schemes on Food Security: Empirical Evidence Insights from South Africa

Livestock production systems are essential for sustaining household food security, especially in the drylands of Africa. This study assesses the impact of South Africa’s targeted Large Stock Unit (LSU) social protection program on the acute food insecurity effects of the COVID-19 pandemic among selected smallholder livestock farmers. An embedded research approach was utilized in four local municipalities purposively selected in the Northern Cape Province, where 217 households were selected using a stratified proportionate random method. A structured questionnaire was employed, while secondary data on beneficiary farmers were collected from implementing agencies. A full information maximum likelihood (FIML) Endogenous Switching Regression (ESR) model was adopted to capture variations due to self-selection bias among respondents. ESR model results show that the decision maker’s age, the household head’s education level, the land holdings’ size, average relative livestock losses, the orientation of production, and the level of external support impact food security. The study concludes that based on average treatment effects analysis, beneficiaries of the LSU program are better off in the household food security relative to their non-beneficiary counterparts. These findings validate the need for enhancing support initiatives during COVID-19 shocks for households to attain food security using their main livelihood sources as the gateway. Increasing the diversity of livelihood strategies in these vulnerable communities needs to be scaled up to protect households from acute food insecurity. Targeted support programs, including direct financing and binding networks, may also be supported through youth-sensitive training programs to enhance mitigations and resilience against COVID-19 acute food insecurity. A policy can tap into existing local structures and province-wide institutional platforms for the long-term sustainability of the LSU support initiatives and mitigation of COVID-19 food security vulnerabilities

A retrospective analysis of water balance and hatchability in artificially incubated ostrich (Struthio camelus) eggs

(Zimbabwe Veterinary Journal, 1999, 30(3&4): 75-84

Neurosurgical injuries among small scale miners presenting to a tertiary hospital in Harare, Zimbabwe

Introduction: Small scale artisanal mining which is also called gold panning is rampant in gold rich areas in Zimbabwe. Objectives: This is a study of the nature and extent of neurosurgical injuries affecting miners and an evaluation of their financial means to access medical facilities. Design: This was a cross-sectional observational study carried out to study the neurosurgical injuries seen at Parirenyatwa Hospital.Materials and Methods: The setting was the Neurosurgical Unit at  Parirenyatwa hospital. The study period was January 2014 to December 2016. Data was collected at discharge onto a datasheet with subsequent computer analysis. Results: A total of 36 patients were seen during the study period following artisanal mining related neurosurgical injuries. Thirty-four (34) of them were male (94.4%) while two (2) were female (5.6%).The age range was 20-45 years

Water absorption in relation to fermentation in the colon of the ostrich (Struthio camelus)

The colon is a major site for fermentation and water absorption in the ostrich. Water absorption along the colon was evaluated and its relationship to osmolality, Na+ concentration, short chain fatty acid (SCFA) concentration and carbohydrate content of digesta analysed. Mean water content decreased from 5.30±0.99 to 2.51±0.13 ml/g dry mass in the first 5 m of the colon. Correspondingly, mean carbohydrate content fell from 529.85±46.61 to 434.99±29.89 mg/g dry mass. A significant correlation was shown between the decreases in mean carbohydrate and water content along the colon (r²=0.997, P<0.05). Changes in mean osmolality (±10 mOsm/kg) and SCFA concentration (±7 mmol/l) were minimal in comparison to the change in Na+ concentration (-54 mmol/l). These findings reflect a close coupling between SCFA production and absorption on the one hand and water absorption on the other.The articles have been scanned in colour with a HP Scanjet 5590; 600dpi. Adobe Acrobat v.9 was used to OCR the text and also for the merging and conversion to the final presentation PDF-format

Determinants of sorghum adoption and land allocation intensity in the smallholder sector of semi-arid Zimbabwe

Sorghum is important for sustainability of smallholder farmers’ subsistence, social and economic livelihoods in semi-arid and arid environments of Southern Africa. However, production of the crop has been on the decline in the smallholder communities of semi-arid Zimbabwe. The study examines factors affecting smallholder farmers’ inclination towards producing sorghum and allocating differential land proportions towards the crop. The paper uses a double hurdle estimation approach with cross-sectional survey data from 380 small holder sorghum farmers in the Mid Zambezi region. Frequency of contact with relatives, duration of receiving subsidies and the number of groups to which household members belonged had a robust influence (p<0.01) on the adoption decision. Market frequency, availability of storage facilities and the number of buyers in the market significantly (p<0.01) influenced the land allocation decision. Variables influencing the two decisions are not necessarily the same showing independence in the decisions. However, information flow from networks and conditions of market platforms remain important variables in the two decisions. It is important to decentralise sorghum markets, strengthen local networks of kinships and increase the scope of inclusive and responsive formal extension delivery systems. Storage facilities can also be developed in partnership with private players to allow for sales during market windows which generates higher returns for the small holder sorghum farmers

Determinants of sorghum adoption and land allocation intensity in the smallholder sector of semi-arid Zimbabwe

Sorghum is important for sustainability of smallholder farmers’ subsistence, social and economic livelihoods in semi-arid and arid environments of Southern Africa. However, production of the crop has been on the decline in the smallholder communities of semi-arid Zimbabwe. The study examines factors affecting smallholder farmers’ inclination towards producing sorghum and allocating differential land proportions towards the crop. The paper uses a double hurdle estimation approach with cross-sectional survey data from 380 small holder sorghum farmers in the Mid Zambezi region. Frequency of contact with relatives, duration of receiving subsidies and the number of groups to which household members belonged had a robust influence (p<0.01) on the adoption decision. Market frequency, availability of storage facilities and the number of buyers in the market significantly (p<0.01) influenced the land allocation decision. Variables influencing the two decisions are not necessarily the same showing independence in the decisions. However, information flow from networks and conditions of market platforms remain important variables in the two decisions. It is important to decentralise sorghum markets, strengthen local networks of kinships and increase the scope of inclusive and responsive formal extension delivery systems. Storage facilities can also be developed in partnership with private players to allow for sales during market windows which generates higher returns for the small holder sorghum farmers