Effects of Exogenous Antioxidants on Dietary Iron Overload

In dietary iron overload, excess hepatic iron promotes liver damage. The aim was to attenuate free radical-induced liver damage using vitamins. Four groups of 60 Wistar rats were studied: group 1 (control) was fed normal diet, group 2 (Fe) 2.5% pentacarbonyl iron (CI) followed by 0.5% Ferrocene, group 3 (Fe + V gp) CI, Ferrocene, plus vitamins A and E (42× and 10× RDA, respectively), group 4 (Fe – V gp) CI, Ferrocene diet, minus vitamins A and E. At 20 months, glutathione peroxidase (GPx), superoxide dismutase (SOD), Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC), Ames mutagenicity test, AST, ALT and 4-hydroxynonenal (4-HNE) immunohistochemistry were measured. 8OHdG levels of the Fe + V and Fe – V groups were 346 ± 117 and 455 ± 151, ng/g w.wt, respectively. Fe + V and Fe – V differences were significant (p<0.005). A positive correlation between DNA damage and mutagenesis existed (p<0.005) within the iron-fed gps. AST levels for Fe + V and Fe – V groups were 134.6 ± 48.6 IU and 202.2 ± 50.5 IU, respectively. Similarly, ALT levels were 234.6 ± 48.3 IU and 329.0 ± 48.6 IU, respectively. However, Fe – V and Fe + V groups transaminases were statistically insignificant. 4-HNE was detected in Fe + V and Fe – V gp livers. Vitamins A and E could not prevent hepatic damage

INFLUENCE OF MULTI-STAKEHOLDER INNOVATION PLATFORM APPROACH ON SMALLHOLDER FARMERS MARKETING DECISIONS

One of the very numerous decisions that smallholder farmers face world wide relates to market participation in agricultural markets and, consequently choosing the appropriate marketing channel for their agricultural produce. Such decisions impact on their incomes and subsequently on their welfare. The objective of this study was to determine how a multi-stakeholder innovation platform approach influences pigeon pea ( Cajanus Cajan L.) marketing decisions in smallholder farming in Malawi. The study relied on primary data collected from 115 households in Balaka District in Malawi during an impact survey done in November 2014. Results confirmed that the multi-stakeholder innovation platform approach improves decision making in pigeon pea marketing. Variables such as access to transport services and market information, improved extension, capacity building through farmer training, adoption of conservation agriculture and membership to farmer groups influenced marketing decisions.L\u2019une des plus nombreuses d\ue9cisions auxquelles les petits agriculteurs font face g\ue9n\ue9ralement est relative \ue0 la participation aux march\ue9s entre les march\ue9s agricoles et, par cons\ue9quent choisir les canaux appropri\ue9s de commercialisation pour leur produits agricoles. De telles d\ue9cisions impactent sur leurs revenus et ult\ue9rieurement sur leur bien-\ueatre. L\u2019objectif de cette \ue9tude \ue9tait de determiner comment l\u2019approche de la plate-forme d\u2019innovation multipartite influence les d\ue9cisions de commercialisation du pois d\u2019angole ( Cajanus Cajan L.) chez les petits exploitants agricoles au Malawi. L\u2019\ue9tude s\u2019est bas\ue9e sur des donn\ue9es primaires collect\ue9es sur 115 m\ue9nages dans le district de Balaka au Malawi au cours d\u2019une enqu\ueate d\u2019impact conduit en Novembre 2014. Les r\ue9sultats ont confirm\ue9 que l\u2019approche de la plate-forme d\u2019innovation multipartite am\ue9liore la prise de d\ue9cision de la commercilisation du pois d\u2019angole. Les variables tells que l\u2019acc\ue8s aux services de transport et au march\ue9 d\u2019information, am\ue9liorent la vulgaristaion, le renforcement des capacit\ue9s \ue0 travers la formation des producteurs, l\u2019adoption de l\u2019agriculture de conservation et les groupements de producteurs ont influenc\ue9 les d\ue9cisions de commercilalisation

COLLECTIVE MARKET PARTICIPATION FOR IMPROVED INCOME AMONG SMALLHOLDER FARMING HOUSEHOLDS: A CASE OF BALAKA INNOVATION PLATFORM IN MALAWI

Collective market participation can reduce transaction costs and information asymmetries, which can build up market power. The objective of this study was to evaluate decisions to participate in collective marketing and its effect on household income among smallholder farmers in an Innovation Platform (IP). This study targeted the Balaka IP in Malawi. Collective marketing identified as critical for improving households\u2019 incomes, is one of the activities that Balaka Innovation Platform has been addressing since its formation in 2009. The study involved a sample of 115 randomly selected households from Balaka Innovation Platform. The odds of participating in collective marketing by smallholder farm households in Balaka was significantly influenced by gender, education level, access to social capital through membership in farmer groups that form the Innovation Platform, farming experience, adoption/practice of conservation agriculture and possession of assets e.g. cellphone and bicycle. Moreover, results indicate that functions of IPs such as organising farmers to market collectively, promoting crop diversification, improved extension service, credit access through linkages to microfinance, communication and market linkages, positively influence income. Thus participation in multi-stakeholder IP activities highly influences collective marketing, which in turn impacts positively on smallholder farming households\u2019 income.La participation collective au march\ue9 peut r\ue9duire les co\ufbts de transaction et les assym\ue9tries d\u2019information; lesquelles peuvent constituer un pouvoir du march\ue9. L\u2019objectif de cette \ue9tude \ue9tait d\u2019\ue9valuer les d\ue9cisions \ue0 participer \ue0 la commercialisation collective et leur effet sur le revenu des m\ue9nages entre les petits exploitants agricoles dans une Plate-forme d\u2019Innovation (IP). Cette \ue9tude s\u2019est focalis\ue9e sur le Balaka IP au Malawi. La commercialisation collective identifi\ue9e comme essentielle pour l\u2019am\ue9lioration des revenus de m\ue9nages, est une des activit\ue9s que la Plate-forme d\u2019Innovation de Balaka a toujours abord\ue9 depuis sa mise en place en 2009. Cette \ue9tude a utilis\ue9 un \ue9chantillon de 115 m\ue9nages al\ue9atoirement select\ue9s dans la Plate-forme d\u2019Innovation de Balaka. Les chances de participation des petits exploitants agricoles \ue0 la commercialisation collective au Balaka \ue9tait significativement influenc\ue9es par le genre, le niveau d\u2019\ue9ducation, l\u2019acc\ue8s au capital social \ue0 travers les groupements de producteurs qui forment la Plate-forme d\u2019Innovation, l\u2019exp\ue9rience agricole, l\u2019adoption/la pratique de l\u2019agriculture conservative et la possession d\u2019actifs eg. t\ue9l\ue9phone cellulaire et bicyclette. De plus, les r\ue9sultats montrent que les fonctions des IPs telles que: organiser les agricultures \ue0 commercialiser collectivement, promouvoir la diversification de culture, le service am\ue9lior\ue9 de vulgarisation, l\u2019acc\ue8s au credit en liaison avec la microfinance, la communication et les liens commerciaux, influencent posistivement le revenu. Ainsi, la participation multipartite aux activit\ue9s de l\u2019IP influence la commercialisation collective, qui en cons\ue9quence impacte positvement sur le revenu des petits exploitants agricoles

Smallholder grain postharvest management in a variable climate: Practices and perceptions of smallholder farmers and their service-providers in semi-arid areas

Field data on current crop postharvest management practices and perceptions from smallholder farming communities in an increasingly variable climate are scarce. Our study used a multi-dimensional approach to explore the practices and perceptions of these communities and their service-providers regarding grain postharvest management in semi-arid Mbire and Hwedza districts in Zimbabwe. A total of 601 individual household interviews, six focus group discussions with women and men, and interviews with 40 district stakeholders and 53 community key informants were conducted. Farmers and service-providers explained how climate change was threatening food security; causing reduced and more variable maize and sorghum yields of below 0.5 t/ha, alongside higher grain storage insect pest pressure. Increased food insecurity and concerns regarding grain theft have driven a shift from bulk storage in traditional outdoor free-standing granaries to polypropylene bags stacked inside the living quarters. Poor and improper use of grain protectants in these circumstances exacerbate the health-related risks. Agricultural extension officers were the most common source of agronomic and postharvest information followed by farmer-to-farmer information exchange. Targeted postharvest training; participatory field trials involving agricultural extension staff, farmers and other service-providers; and policy dialogue around grain postharvest management and food security are proposed to help in strengthening the capacity to reduce grain postharvest losses under increasingly unpredictable conditions

Maize productivity and profitability in Conservation Agriculture systems across agro-ecological regions in Zimbabwe: A review of knowledge and practice

Conservation agriculture (CA) is increasingly promoted in southern Africa as a strategy to improve food security and reverse soil degradation in the face of climate change. However, the performance of CA under different environments and its ability to improve ecosystem services is still unclear. The effects of the CA options; direct seeding, rip-line seeding, and seeding into planting basins on maize grain yield, soil health and profitability across agro-ecological regions in Zimbabwe were evaluated through a review of literature in combination with meta-analysis. Overall, CA improved maize yield over conventional agriculture. Compared to conventional agriculture, direct seeding, rip-line seeding, and seeding into planting basins increased yield by 445, 258 and 241 kg ha−1, respectively. However, there was an initial yield decline in the first two years. CA practices reduced soil erosion and bulk density, and increased soil water content in most studies. Under high levels of residue retention (6 Mg ha−1), CA systems exhibited greater macro fauna abundance and diversity than conventional agriculture, particularly termites. Weed pressure tended to increase labour requirement for hand-hoe weeding under CA compared to conventional agriculture. However, the use of herbicides reduced weeding labour demand during the early season. The benefits of CA are tied to the farmers’ management intensity including: time of planting, weeding, fertiliser and herbicide application, and adequate training on equipment use. Economic analysis results showed that on average, a farmer incurs losses for switching from conventional agriculture to CA in the main maize growing regions of Zimbabwe. Based on the six seasons’ data, the losses were least with the ripper in drier areas and worst with the direct seeder in wetter areas. Incorporation of chemical herbicides worsens the economic returns of CA tillage options in all the agro-ecological zones. Overall, the study showed that the rip-line seeding is more attractive in the drier areas than direct seeding. Although not costed in this study, critical is the cumulative reversal of soil degradation associated with consistent CA practice which can sustain agriculture. Results from this review suggest that the benefits of CA depend largely on the type and context of CA being practised. It is thus imperative to profile the technology, the farmer socio-economic circumstances and the bio-physical environment in which the farmer operates for proper geographical and beneficiary targeting to achieve greater impact. More longer-term studies are required to fully elucidate the benefits and context of CA options and practice

The impact of adoption of conservation agriculture on smallholder farmers’ food security in semi-arid zones of southern Africa

BACKGROUND In southern Africa, conservation agriculture (CA) has received a lot of research and promotional support from various organizations in the past decades. Conservation agriculture is largely promoted as one of the few win–win technologies affordable to farmers, in the sense that potentially it improves farmers’ yields (in the long term) at the same time conserving the environment. This is because conservation agriculture reduces nitrogen loss in the soil, promotes water and soil conservation and improves agronomic use efficiency of applied nutrients. However, some concerns have been raised over the feasibility of conservation agriculture on smallholder farms given constraints imposed by the biophysical and institutional realities under which smallholder farmers operate. The main aim of this study is to answer the question whether conservation agriculture is resulting in tangible livelihood outcomes to smallholder farmers. The counterfactual outcome approach was used to estimate ex post impact of conservation agriculture adoption on one of the key livelihood outcomes—food security. RESULTS The study that utilized a data set covering 1623 households in Zimbabwe, Malawi and Mozambique found no significant impact of conservation agriculture adoption on Food Consumption Score of farmers in Zimbabwe and Malawi. Possible reasons for the insignificant of CA impact on food security in Zimbabwe and Malawi could include the small land areas currently devoted to CA, and the failure to implement the full complement of practices necessary to set off the biophysical process that are expected to drive yield increases. In Mozambique, conservation agriculture significantly improved the Food Consumption Score for farmers exposed to the technology. A possible reason for effectiveness of CA in Mozambique could be due to the fact that often CA is being promoted together with other better cropping management practices such as timely weeding and improved seed varieties, which are poorly practiced by the generality of farmers in a country just emerging from a war period. CONCLUSION This paper provides one of the few ex post assessments of the impact of conservation agriculture adoption on household livelihood outcomes—food security. Given the mixed findings, the study suggests that conservation agriculture farmers in the three countries need to be supported to adopt a value chain approach to conservation agriculture. This entails the introduction of commercial or high-value crops in the conservation agriculture programmes, value addition on farmers produce, access to the necessary support services such as markets for seed, fertilizer, herbicides and equipment as well as reliable extension. We believe that under such circumstances conservation agriculture can effectively reduce food insecurity and poverty in the medium to long term

A meta-analysis of long-term effects of conservation agriculture on maize grain yield under rain-fed conditions

Conservation agriculture involves reduced tillage, permanent soil cover and crop rotations to enhance soil fertility and to supply food from a dwindling land resource. Recently, conservation agriculture has been promoted in Southern Africa, mainly for maize-based farming systems. However, maize yields under rain-fed conditions are often variable. There is therefore a need to identify factors that influence crop yield under conservation agriculture and rain-fed conditions. Here, we studied maize grain yield data from experiments lasting 5 years and more under rain-fed conditions. We assessed the effect of long-term tillage and residue retention on maize grain yield under contrasting soil textures, nitrogen input and climate. Yield variability was measured by stability analysis. Our results show an increase in maize yield over time with conservation agriculture practices that include rotation and high input use in low rainfall areas. But we observed no difference in system stability under those conditions. We observed a strong relationship between maize grain yield and annual rainfall. Our meta-analysis gave the following findings: (1) 92% of the data show that mulch cover in high rainfall areas leads to lower yields due to waterlogging; (2) 85% of data show that soil texture is important in the temporal development of conservation agriculture effects, improved yields are likely on well-drained soils; (3) 73% of the data show that conservation agriculture practices require high inputs especially N for improved yield; (4) 63% of data show that increased yields are obtained with rotation but calculations often do not include the variations in rainfall within and between seasons; (5) 56% of the data show that reduced tillage with no mulch cover leads to lower yields in semi-arid areas; and (6) when adequate fertiliser is available, rainfall is the most important determinant of yield in southern Africa. It is clear from our results that conservation agriculture needs to be targeted and adapted to specific biophysical conditions for improved impact

Social circumstances and cultural beliefs influence maternal nutrition, breastfeeding and child feeding practices in South Africa:

Maternal and child undernutrition remain prevalent in developing countries with 45 and 11% of child deaths linked to poor nutrition and suboptimal breastfeeding, respectively. This also has adverse effects on child growth and development. The study determined maternal dietary diversity, breastfeeding and, infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices and identified reasons for such behavior in five rural communities in South Africa, in the context of cultural beliefs and social aspects