Production Challenges and Sustainability of Smallholder Irrigation Schemes in Zimbabwe

Smallholder irrigation schemes in most developing countries, including Zimbabwe have proved to be unsustainable beyond external assistance. The history of smallholder irrigation schemes in Zimbabwe indicate these irrigation schemes suffered considerable neglect and were a mixture of success and failure during the post independence era. Their importance in the semi-arid regions cannot be over emphasized yet they the smallholder farmers do not seem to give them the value they deserve. This study was aimed at unravelling the factors influencing the production levels and the sustainability of smallholder irrigation schemes. Three smallholder irrigation schemes from the southern Eastern Low-veld of Zimbabwe were purposively selected for the study. A total of 130 farmers were interviewed using questionnaires, 11 key informant interviews and 3 Farmer Group Discussions (FGDs) with farmers were conducted in the 3 schemes. The study revealed that farmers had unsustainable sources of livelihood and poor asset base that compromised their capacity to make meaningful investments into the schemes. Production was unsustainably low due to limited access to agricultural inputs (only 40 – 67% of farmers had access to fertilizers and pesticides), inactivity in the input supply chain (the dominance of government and NGOs in the supply chain is biased towards specific farmer groups thus disadvantaging other groups), limited access to irrigation water (due to electricity load shedding and reduced discharge of the Save river in spring) and lack of credit facilities (0% farmers had access to bank loans and 17% accessed loans from input suppliers). The low application rates of fertilizers and the low value crops grown in the scheme showed that the farmers were still to graduate from subsistence to commercial or market oriented agriculture. Poor agricultural output markets prevented farmers from growing some high value crops and were a strong disincentive for commercialising the production in the schemes. Keywords: production level, smallholder irrigation schemes, sustainabilit

An Experimental Evaluation of Position Estimation Methods for Person Localization in Wireless Sensor Networks

In this paper, the localization of persons by means of a Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) is considered. Persons carry on-body sensor nodes and move within a WSN. The location of each person is calculated on this node and communicated through the network to a central data sink for visualization. Applications of such a system could be found in mass casualty events, firefighter scenarios, hospitals or retirement homes for example. For the location estimation on the sensor node, three derivatives of the Kalman Filter and a closed-form solution (CFS) are applied, compared, and evaluated in a real-world scenario. A prototype 65-node ZigBee WSN is implemented and data are collected in in- and outdoor environments with differently positioned on-body nodes. The described estimators are then evaluated off-line on the experimentally collected data. The goal of this paper is to present a comprehensive real-world evaluation of methods for person localization in a WSN based on received signal strength (RSS) range measurements. It is concluded that person localization in in- and outdoor environments is possible under the considered conditions with the considered filters. The compared methods allow for suffciently accurate localization results and are robust against inaccurate range measurements

Taking up the cudgels against gay rights? Trends and trajectories in African Christian theologies on homosexuality

Against the background of the HIV epidemic and the intense public controversy on homosexuality in African societies, this article investigates the discourses of academic African Christian theologians on homosexuality. Distinguishing some major strands in African theology, that is, inculturation, liberation, women’s and reconstruction theology, the article examines how the central concepts of culture, liberation, justice, and human rights function in these discourses. On the basis of a qualitative analysis of a large number of publications, the article shows that stances of African theologians are varying from silence and rejection to acceptance. Although many African theologians have taken up the cudgels against gay rights, some “dissident voices” break the taboo and develop more inclusive concepts of African identity and African Christianity

The University of Zimbabwe College of Health Sciences (UZ-CHS) BIRTH COHORT study: rationale, design and methods

Background: Commencing lifelong antiretroviral therapy (ART) immediately following HIV diagnosis (Option B+), has greatly improved maternal-infant health. Thus, large and increasing numbers of HIV-infected women are on ART during pregnancy, a situation concurrently increasing numbers of HIV-exposed-uninfected (HEU) infants. Compared to their HIV-unexposed-uninfected (HUU) counterparts, HEU infants show higher rates of adverse birth outcomes, mortality, infectious/non-communicable diseases including impaired growth and neurocognitive development. There is an urgent need to understand the impact of HIV and early life ART exposures, immune-metabolic dysregulation, comorbidities and environmental confounders on adverse paediatric outcomes. Methods: Six hundred (600) HIV-infected and 600 HIV-uninfected pregnant women ≥20 weeks of gestation will be enrolled from four primary health centres in high density residential areas of Harare. Participants will be followed up as mother-infant-pairs at delivery, week(s) 1, 6, 10, 14, 24, 36, 48, 72 and 96 after birth. Clinical, socio-economic, nutritional and environmental data will be assessed for adverse birth outcomes, impaired growth, immune/neurodevelopment, vertical transmission of HIV, hepatitis-B/C viruses, cytomegalovirus and syphilis. Maternal urine, stool, plasma, cord blood, amniotic fluid, placenta and milk including infant plasma, dried blood spot and stool will be collected at enrolment and follow-up visits. The composite primary endpoint is stillbirth and infant mortality within the first two years of life in HEU versus HUU infants. Maternal mortality in HIV-infected versus -uninfected women is another primary outcome. Secondary endpoints include a range of maternal and infant outcomes. Sub-studies will address maternal stress and malnutrition, maternal-infant latent tuberculosis, Helicobacter pylori infections, immune-metabolomic dysregulation including gut, breast milk and amniotic fluid dysbiosis. Discussion: The University of Zimbabwe-College of Health-Sciences-Birth-Cohort study will provide a comprehensive assessment of risk factors and biomarkers for HEU infants’ adverse outcomes. This will ultimately help developing strategies to mitigate effects of maternal HIV, early-life ART exposures and comorbidities on infants’ mortality and morbidity. Trial registration: ClinicalTrial.gov Identifier: NCT04087239. Registered 12 September 2019

Fostering motivation in the engagement of volunteer workers: an analysis of volunteers in humanitarian organisations in Zimbabwe

The aim of the study was to look at the factors that motivate volunteers` engagement in voluntary work in Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in Zimbabwe. A descriptive survey was done to answer the research questions. Questionnaires were self administered to 60 volunteers sampled from two NGOs in Zimbabwe. Two focus group discussions with 6 volunteers from each organisation were also carried out. SPSS was used to analyse the quantitative data and content analysis was used to analyse qualitative data from focus group discussions. This involved extraction of major themes and which were then merged with the quantitative data that was obtained. The results revealed that volunteers need to be formally contracted and nurtured and that they were motivated by material rewards, trainings and recognition

Production challenges and sustainability of smallholder irrigation schemes in Zimbabwe

Abstract,Smallholder irrigation schemes in most developing countries, including Zimbabwe have proved to be unsustainable beyond external assistance. The history of smallholder irrigation schemes in Zimbabwe indicate these irrigation schemes suffered considerable neglect and were a mixture of success and failure during the post-independence era. Their importance in the semi-arid regions cannot be over emphasized yet they the smallholder farmers do not seem to give them the value they deserve. This study was aimed at unravelling the factors influencing the production levels and the sustainability of smallholder irrigation schemes. Three smallholder irrigation schemes from the southern Eastern Low-veld of Zimbabwe were purposively selected for the study. A total of 130 farmers were interviewed using questionnaires, 11 key informant interviews and 3 Farmer Group Discussions (FGDs) with farmers were conducted in the 3 schemes. The study revealed that farmers had unsustainable sources of livelihood and poor asset base that compromised their capacity to make meaningful investments into the schemes. Production was unsustainably low due to limited access to agricultural inputs (only 40 – 67% of farmers had access to fertilizers and pesticides), inactivity in the input supply chain (the dominance of government and NGOs in the supply chain is biased towards specific farmer groups thus disadvantaging other groups), limited access to irrigation water (due to electricity load shedding and reduced discharge of the Save river in spring) and lack of credit facilities (0% farmers had access to bank loans and 17% accessed loans from input suppliers). The low application rates of fertilizers and the low value crops grown in the scheme showed that the farmers were still to graduate from subsistence to commercial or market oriented agriculture. Poor agricultural output markets prevented farmers from growing some high value crops and were a strong disincentive for commercialising the production in the schemes

Production challenges and sustainability of smallholder irrigation schemes in Zimbabwe

Abstract,Smallholder irrigation schemes in most developing countries, including Zimbabwe have proved to be unsustainable beyond external assistance. The history of smallholder irrigation schemes in Zimbabwe indicate these irrigation schemes suffered considerable neglect and were a mixture of success and failure during the post-independence era. Their importance in the semi-arid regions cannot be over emphasized yet they the smallholder farmers do not seem to give them the value they deserve. This study was aimed at unravelling the factors influencing the production levels and the sustainability of smallholder irrigation schemes. Three smallholder irrigation schemes from the southern Eastern Low-veld of Zimbabwe were purposively selected for the study. A total of 130 farmers were interviewed using questionnaires, 11 key informant interviews and 3 Farmer Group Discussions (FGDs) with farmers were conducted in the 3 schemes. The study revealed that farmers had unsustainable sources of livelihood and poor asset base that compromised their capacity to make meaningful investments into the schemes. Production was unsustainably low due to limited access to agricultural inputs (only 40 – 67% of farmers had access to fertilizers and pesticides), inactivity in the input supply chain (the dominance of government and NGOs in the supply chain is biased towards specific farmer groups thus disadvantaging other groups), limited access to irrigation water (due to electricity load shedding and reduced discharge of the Save river in spring) and lack of credit facilities (0% farmers had access to bank loans and 17% accessed loans from input suppliers). The low application rates of fertilizers and the low value crops grown in the scheme showed that the farmers were still to graduate from subsistence to commercial or market oriented agriculture. Poor agricultural output markets prevented farmers from growing some high value crops and were a strong disincentive for commercialising the production in the schemes

Challenges of employee retention in two Non-Governmental Organisations operating in Zimbabwe

The study analyses challenges of retaining employees in non-governmental organisations in an economically distressed environment showing the link between employee commitment and turnover. This is an exploratory qualitative case study. Seventy employees (including 10 former employees who were interviewed through the telephone), from two Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) participated in this study through questionnaires, Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and semi-structured interviews. There is a serious problem of retention since 42% of workers would like to leave their organisation given a choice. Workers identified poor labour relations and poorly administered remuneration systems as major causes of dissatisfaction and staff turnover. Workers expected improvement of the labour relations, salaries and staff development programs in order to improve employee retention. Limited funding made it difficult for the two NGOs to provide more secure employment and invest in staff development and motivation and hence retain talent. The research implications are that NGOs should facilitate a learning organisational environment where employees feel valued and receive the necessary support to realise their potential and improve worker commitment. The value of the research is that no known study has been carried out to study employee retention in the non-profit sector in Zimbabwe. The study is exploratory and fills a gap currently existing concerning retention of employees in NGOs