What Determines Micro - Enterprises Competitiveness? Firm Level Evidence

The micro enterprises sector is characterized by highly diversified activities which can create job opportunities for a substantial segment of the population in both developed and developing economies.  Similarly, the sector comprises the largest share of enterprises and employment in the non-agricultural sector in Ethiopia. Despite the notable growth trends in the numeric figures of these enterprises recorded over the last decade, the sector essentially remains weak. Hence, an effective government policy to promote capital formation in the country should stimulate competitive enterprises and expand new businesses. To this effect, policy formulation process requires measuring and identifying the determinants of competitiveness of these enterprises. In this respect, this study intends to show what really determines the competitive power of small firms in Adama city taking owner, firm and inter-firm factors in to account. To achieve objectives of the study both qualitative and quantitative data type from both primary and secondary sources were used and analyzed using OLS multiple linear regression with the help of STATA 12 software. The output of this research would provide pertinent information to policy makers and development planners working on the promotion and creation of favorable environment for micro level firms to help them to be a competitive enterprise than their current stand. Keywords: Ethiopia; Firm Factors; Inter-firm Factors; Multiple Linear Regression; Owner Factor

Factors Determining Internal Audit Quality: Empirical Evidence from Ethiopian Commercial Banks

Internal audit is an important part of the corporate governance structure within an organization. The central objective of this study is to investigate factors determining internal audit quality in Ethiopian commercial Banks. The study has adopted quantitative research approach by employing survey research as a strategy of inquiry. Survey for the quantitative strategy has been used through distributing self-administered questionnaires to 160 internal auditors’ cross-sectional of 15 commercial banks. The Multiple Regression (OLS) has been employed to regress the data obtained via a structured questionnaire of a 5-point Likert scale. The implication of this paper go to inform the members of corporate governance (or board of directors, audit committee, internal auditors and external auditors) to use the findings in to account in their interactions to better equip internal audit function for their role in corporate governance effectiveness. The results of the study indicate that internal auditors in Ethiopian commercial banks believe the performance, competence and use of information technology by internal auditors as significant factors affecting internal audit quality. As a descriptive and regression result shows “performance” is the highest determinant factor of internal audit quality, followed by “competence” and “Information technology” respectively. The study recommends that Ethiopian commercial banks must work to ensure the availability of the key factors to achieve the quality of internal audit function. Keywords: Competence; Ethiopia; Information Technology; Internal audit quality; Objectivity; performance

Determining Factors of Household Decision to Participate on Small Scale Irrigation Practices in Wolaita Zone, Ethiopia

Africa has been promoting small-scale irrigated agriculture as a means of ensuring food security as well as improving the standard of living of rural poor. The main aim of this study was to analyze the determining factors of household decision to participate on Small-Scale Irrigation Practices in Wolaita Zone, Ethiopia. The study employed both primary and secondary data sources. Primary data was collected from randomly selected 150 households through interview schedules. Data was analyzed using both descriptive and econometric methods of analysis. Descriptive result indicated that only 28.67% of households participate on small scale irrigation practices and it is still low as compared to large population size of Wolaita Zone. Collapsed canal banks, unstable embankments, leaking lining in elevated embankments, and cattle climbing in and out of the canal are identified as canal related problems whereas lack of appropriate water laws, absence of irrigation association bylaws, conflicts, and sense of ownership are also management problems. Binary logistic result also revealed that location of the household from upstream side of the river, higher household income, being young-aged household head, owning large number of livestock, better accessing market, being male headed household, and attending in higher education improve the household decision to participate on small scale irrigation practices. The authors strongly recommended government, non-governmental organizations, and other concerned stalk holders to give emphasis on intensifying the use of modern agricultural technologies, strengthening the existing irrigation potentials, providing periodic awareness training, and providing different water holding structures to non-users. Keywords: smallholder farmers, small scale irrigation, participation, binary logistic model; DOI: 10.7176/JPID/57-02 Publication date: December 31st 202

Review on Role of Proline on Coffee Under Drought Conditions

Drought is one of the major constraints that limiting production of crop worldwide. Plants tolerate drought by many ways like morphological, physiological and biochemical tolerance mechanisms. Plants develop mechanisms to tolerant abiotic stress by osmotic adjustment that is usually accomplished by uptake of inorganic ions, as well as the accumulation of proline. Proline is a universal osmo-protectant and acts as an osmolyte and antioxidant, and it is one of the most important compatible solutes that play a vital role in osmotic adjustment in crops under drought stress. Accumulation of proline considered as adaptive mechanisms in drought-tolerant coffee genotypes. In general, more attention on biochemical traits for drought tolerant mechanisms on coffee should be given. Therefore, looking for high proline accumulation genotype under drought conditions is important for further coffee breeding program to release drought tolerant genotypes. Keywords: Coffee, Drought, Tolerant, Proline Accumulation DOI: 10.7176/JEES/9-10-01 Publication date:October 31st 201

Al2O3/Fe3O4/ZrO2 ternary oxide sorbent: Synthesis, characterization and sorption behavior to fluoride and phosphate ions from aqueous solution

ABSTRACT. Excess quantities of fluoride and phosphate in water bodies can lead to fluorosis and eutrophication problems, respectively. In search of a promising adsorbent targeting these ions, Fe3O4/Al2O3/ZrO2 ternary oxide was synthesized via co-precipitation method and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform-infrared (FTIR) and Brunauer-Emmer-Teller (BET). Its specific surface area was found to be 205 m2/g. The effects of solution pH, adsorbent dose, contact time, agitation speed and initial fluoride and phosphate concentrations were also investigated and the optimum values were 4, 0.5 g, 12 h, 100 rpm and 20 mg/L, respectively, for fluoride and 5, 0.1 g, 8 h, 100 rpm and 10 mg/L, respectively, for phosphate. Fluoride and phosphate adsorptions fitted well with Freundlich and Langmuir isotherm models, respectively and their kinetic data correlated well with the pseudo-second order model. Desorbability study revealed that maximum desorption was achieved at pH 12. Thermodynamics study on the other hand showed that adsorption of fluoride was nonspontaneous and endothermic whereas that of phosphate was spontaneous and exothermic. Application on real water sample decreased the concentration of fluoride from 4.92 to 1.97 mg/L in ground water and phosphate from 1.7 to 0.35 mg/L lake water showing its potential as a promising adsorbent.   KEY WORDS: Adsorption, Fluoride, Phosphate, Ternary oxide sorbent, Isotherm models   Bull. Chem. Soc. Ethiop. 2022, 36(3), 555-569.                                                               DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/bcse.v36i3.6                                                         &nbsp

Institutionalizing health technology assessment in Ethiopia: Seizing the window of opportunity

Ethiopia’s commitment to achieving universal health coverage (UHC) requires an efficient and equitable health priority-setting practice. The Ministry of Health aims to institutionalize health technology assessment (HTA) to support evidence-based decision making. This commentary highlights key considerations for successful formulation, adoption, and implementation of HTA policies and practices in Ethiopia, based on a review of international evidence and published normative principles and guidelines. Stakeholder engagement, transparent policymaking, sustainable financing, workforce education, and political economy analysis and power dynamics are critical factors that need to be considered when developing a national HTA roadmap and implementation strategy. To ensure ownership and sustainability of HTA, effective stakeholder engagement and transparency are crucial. Regulatory embedding and sustainable financing ensure legitimacy and continuity of HTA production, and workforce education and training are essential for conducting and interpreting HTA. Political economy analysis helps identify opportunities and constraints for effective HTA implementation. By addressing these considerations, Ethiopia can establish a well-designed HTA system to inform evidence-based and equitable resource allocation toward achieving UHC and improving health outcomes.publishedVersio

Population genomics of Mediterranean oat (A. sativa) reveals high genetic diversity and three loci for heading date

KEY MESSAGE: Genomic analysis of Mediterranean oats reveals high genetic diversity and three loci for adaptation to this environment. This information together with phenotyping and passport data, gathered in an interactive map, will be a vital resource for oat genetic improvement. ABSTRACT: During the twentieth century, oat landraces have increasingly been replaced by modern cultivars, resulting in loss of genetic diversity. However, landraces have considerable potential to improve disease and abiotic stress tolerance and may outperform cultivars under low input systems. In this work, we assembled a panel of 669 oat landraces from Mediterranean rim and 40 cultivated oat varieties and performed the first large-scale population genetic analysis of both red and white oat types of Mediterranean origin. We created a public database associated with an interactive map to visualize information for each accession. The oat collection was genotyped with 17,288 single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) loci to evaluate population structure and linkage disequilibrium (LD); to perform a genome-wide association study (GWAs) for heading date, a key character closely correlated with performance in this drought-prone area. Population genetic analysis using both structure and PCA distinguished two main groups composed of the red and white oats, respectively. The white oat group was further divided into two subgroups. LD decay was slower within white lines in linkage groups Mrg01, 02, 04, 12, 13, 15, 23, 33, whereas it was slower within red lines in Mrg03, 05, 06, 11, 21, 24, and 28. Association analysis showed several significant markers associated with heading date on linkage group Mrg13 in white oats and on Mrg01 and Mrg08 in red oats. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00122-021-03805-2