Cross-Sectional Analysis of the Determinants of Education Demand in Small-Scale Gold Mining Communities in Burkina Faso

This study investigates the determinants of education demand in small-scale gold mining communities in Burkina Faso. It investigates issues of low demand of education in small-scale gold mining communities, in relation to the current debate around natural resources being a curse for local communities. It highlights priorities of education demand and supply factors that investments from natural resources can target to turn the resource curse into a blessing for education. Probit regression was used for the analysis, as education demand is proxied by a binary variable. Results suggest that child characteristics, household, and education supply factors are important predictors of education demand in small-scale gold mining communities in Burkina Faso. However, households demand for education does not follow the traditional pattern that shows higher education demand for wealthier families. This study recommends then that interventions focus on “opening the eyes” of many parents for them to realize that education is a long-term investment. Keywords: Education demand, gold mining communities, natural resource curse, DOI: 10.7176/JEP/10-12-15 Publication date: April 30th 201

A contribuição da cooperação científica Brasil - países do C4 para o melhoramento genético do algodão. Ensaio colaborativo Brasil - países do C4: o caso do burkina faso.

COTON-4

Bi-fractional transforms in phase space

The displacement operator is related to the displaced parity operator through a two dimensional Fourier transform. Both operators are important operators in phase space and the trace of both with respect to the density operator gives the Wigner functions (displaced parity operator) and Weyl functions (displacement operator). The generalisation of the parity-displacement operator relationship considered here is called the bi-fractional displacement operator, O(α, β; θα, θβ). Additionally, the bi-fractional displacement operators lead to the novel concept of bi-fractional coherent states. The generalisation from Fourier transform to fractional Fourier transform can be applied to other phase space functions. The case of the Wigner-Weyl function is considered and a generalisation is given, which is called the bi-fractional Wigner functions, H(α, β; θα, θβ). Furthermore, the Q−function and P−function are also generalised to give the bi-fractional Q−functions and bi-fractional P−functions respectively. The generalisation is likewise applied to the Moyal star product and Berezin formalism for products of non-commutating operators. These are called the bi-fractional Moyal star product and bi-fractional Berezin formalism. Finally, analysis, applications and implications of these bi-fractional transforms to the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, photon statistics and future applications are discussed

Etude comparative de l’exploitation traditionnelle de la pintade locale (Numida meleagris) dans deux villages, Toêghin et Sambonaye, au Burkina Faso

L’élevage de la pintade se pratique à Sambonaye comme à Toêghin, sans distinction de sexes, respectivement dans les régions du Centre et du Sahel du Burkina Faso. Il comporte dans sa pratique à la fois des avantages et également des inconvénients bien connus des p roducteurs. Cette activité représente, non seulement une source importante de revenus et de protéines pour la population, mais elle répond également à leurs besoins socioculturels. Les produits de cet élevage servent  essentiellement à la vente, à la reproduction, aux dons, à  l’autoconsommation et également aux sacrifices. Les différents  pourcentages affectés à chacun des éléments d’exploitation sont approchés dans cette étude. Cette activité est liée à la saison, car défavorable en saison sèche, elle est favorable à la saison des pluies. Mais, cet élevage connaît malheureusement des contraintes  multifactorielles, parmi lesquelles les contraintes sanitaires qui conduisent à des taux de mortalité très élevés. L’élevage de la pintade revêt plusieurs avantages et inconvénients avec lesquels l’éleveur est obligé de composer tous les jours. Mais les différentes voies d’exploitation de la pintade demeurent variables d’une année à l’autre et d’un village à l’autre.Mots clés : Burkina Faso, avantages, inconvénients, exploitation, pintades

Survie et performances de croissance des pintadeaux en milieu contrôlé au nord du Burkina Faso

Au Burkina Faso, les pintadeaux connaissent une très forte mortalité liée à des causes multifactorielles, et leur vitesse de croissance reste encore méconnue par les techniciens, tant de la recherche que du développement. Cette étude vise à évaluer les performances de croissance et le taux de mortalité des pintadeaux dans les conditions d’élevage améliorées. Le maximum du poids des oeufs incubés est compris dans la catégorie de 40-45 g. Les de mensurations des oeufs ont révélé une longueur moyenne de 47,4 ± 1,428 mm et 38,65 ± 1,08 mm en moyenne pour le grand diamètre. Le taux de mortalité a été de 9,10%, 7,00% et 9,80%  respectivement chez le producteur I, II et III avec une moyenne de 8,63%. Le poids vifs des pintadeaux à l’éclosion est de 26,59 ± 2,77 g pour les deux sexes. Pour les femelles, il est de 27,69 ± 2,18g et de 25,48 ± 3,35 g pour les mâles. La courbe de croissance des femelles est largement au dessus de celle des mâles. Les pintadeaux femelles ont un GMQ de 2,84 g et les pintadeaux mâles de 2,27 g pendant les deux premières semaines. Le Gain Moyen Quotidien est de 3,78 g pendant les quatre mois. Le test révèle un effet positif du protocole sur la mortalité des pintadeaux.Mots-clés : Pintadeaux, mortalité, croissance, Burkina Faso

Farmers Awareness, Perception of Climate Hazards and their Willingness to Participate in Crop Insurance Schemes in Southwestern Burkina Faso

AbstractInnovative financing arrangements such as index-base crop insurance (IBCI) schemes are increasingly becoming popular in West Africa for managing catastrophic agricultural risks. Recently, an IBCI pilot project was launched in Burkina Faso by PlaNet Guarantee11A member of the Planet Finance Group and the Global Index Insurance Facility program (GIIF).. However, similar to many existing IBCI schemes in the region, the enrolment rate is still very low. One possible explanation for this is based on the fact that remote sensing data is used as the basis for the design. Although the use of remote sensing data is appealing in many respect, it has several limitations. One major limitation is that it fails to take into account sensitive phases of the crops cycle, which may be more prone to climate and other environmental stresses (Muller, 2014).In this paper, we highlights the importance of using field facts in the design of innovative IBCI schemes in rural Burkina Faso. Farmers’ awareness and perception of climate hazards in relation to crop productivity and their willingness to participate (WTP) in IBCI in South-western Burkina were captured through household surveys and focus group discussions. Empirical findings indicate that farmers are aware of the effects of climate hazard on farm productivity and consider mid-season dry spells, during sowing, flowering and ripening depending on the crop type, as the most significant climate risk affecting local crop productivity. Specifically, 98% of the sampled farmers are willing to insure maize, cotton and sorghum, but only if the most sensitive periods of these crops to dry spell are taken into account in designing the crop insurance contracts. Furthermore, Probit regression analysis indicates that the probability to participate increases with years of farming experience, past experience of climate hazards, educational attainment of household head and insecurity to climate hazard, and decreases with farmer's age and household size