Sensory Quality Attributes of Tef [Eragrostis tef (Zucc.) Trotter] Injera as Influenced by Genotype and Environment

አህፅሮት ጤፍ በአብዛኛው ለእንጀራ አገልግሎት ይውላል፡፡ በመካከለኛው ኢትዮጵያ የሚመረት ነጭ ጤፍ በሌሎች ቦታዎች ከሚመረተው በጥራቱ የተሸለ ነው ተብሎ ስለሚታመን በከፍተኛ ዋጋ ይሸጣል፡፡ ስለዚህ ይህ የምርምር ስራ ያተኮረው ነጭ ቀለም ያላቸውን ሶስት የተለያዩ የጤፍ ዝርያዎቸን (ዕፀብ፣ ማኛ እና ቁንጮ) በአምስት የተለያዩ የመካከለኛውና ሰሜን ምዕራብ ኢትዮጵያ አካባቢዎች በመዝራት በእንጀራ ጥራት መስፈረቶች መሰረት በማወዳደር ያለቸውን የጥራት ልዩነታቸውን ለማወቅ እና ጥራታቸውን ከዝርያዎቹ የፍሬ እና ዱቄት ቀለም ጥራት እንዲሁም ከተመረቱበት አካባቢ የአፈርን የአየር ፀባይ ጋር ያለቸውን ዝምድና ለማጥናት ነው፡፡ በዚህ ጥናት በእንጀራ መጋገርና መብላት ጥልቅ ዕውቀት ያላቸውን 21 ሰዎችን በማስገምገም የተሰራ ስራ ነው፡፡ እነዘህ 21 የእንጀራ ጥራት ገምጋሚዎች በእንጀራ የላይ ገፅታ ቀለም የጀርባ ገፅታ ቀለም፣ የዓይን አደራደር፣ የመጠቅለል/ልስላሴ ባሀሪ እና አጠቃላይ የእንጀራ ጥረታ ላይ ሲሳተፉ ከእነዚህ ውስጥ 11 ተመርጠው የጥፍጥና ጥናት ላይ ተሳትፈዋል፡፡ የልዩነት ትንተና ስሌቱ እንደሚያሳየው የእንጀራ ጥፍጥና ጤፍ በተመረተበት አካባቢ ብቻ ካሳየው ልዩነት ውጭ ሌሎች የእንጀራ ጥራት መስፈርቶች በሙሉ በዝርያ በተመረቱበት አካባቢ እና ዝርያዎች ከበቀሉበት አካባቢ ባላቸው መስተጋብር ከፍተኛ (P < 0.05 to P < 0.001) ልነቶች እንዳላቸው ያሳያል፡፡ የእንጀራ ጥራት ማለትም የላይ ገፅታ ቀለም፣ የጀርባ ገፅታ ቀለም፣ የዓይን አደራደር፣ የመጠቅለል፣ የጥፍጥና  እና አጠቃላይ የእንጀራ ጥራት ልዩነት የመጣበትን የትንተና ልየታ ውጤት ስናይ ደግሞ፤ በበቀሉበት ቦታ ምክንያት የመጣው ልዩነት የ52.4በመቶ፣ 38.7በመቶ፣ 62.5በመቶ፣ 87.6በመቶ፣ 69.0በመቶ፣ እና 80.8በመቶ እንዲሁም ዝርያዎች ከተመረቱበት ቦታ ጋር ባለቸው መስተጋብር የ40.9በመቶ፣ 53.0በመቶ፣ 26.0በመቶ፣ 12.0በመቶ፣ 28.6በመቶ፣ እና 18.6በመቶ በተከታታይ ለልዩነታቸው ምክንያት ሲሆን በዝርያዎቹ ምክንያት የመጣው የጥራት ልዩነት ደግሞ (6.6በመቶ፣ 8.3በመቶ፣ 11.6በመቶ፣ 0.3በመቶ፣ 2.4በመቶ እና 0.6በመቶ ቅደም ተከተል) ዝቅተኛ ነበር ፡፡ የእንጀራ ጥራት ጤፍ ከሚበቅልበት የአፈር ዓይነት (መረሬ/ዋልካ)፣ ኮምጣጣነት፣ የንጥረ-ነገር ቅይይር ብቃት፣  ካልሽዬም፣ ፖታሽየም፣ ማግኒዥየም መጠን ጋር እንዲሁም ከጤፍ ቀለም ፍካት/ብሩህነት/ (brightnes) እና የተመረተበት ከባህር ጠለል በላይ ካለው ከፍታ መጨመር አወንታዊ/ቀጥተኛ የሆነ ግነኙነት አለው፡፡ የአፈር ውስጥ የናይተሮጅን እና  የሳልፈር መጠን አሉታዊ/ተቃራኒ የሆነ ትርጉማዊ ግንኙነት እንዳላቸው ውጤቱ አሳይቷል፡፡ የዝናብ መጠን መጨመር የእንጀራ ጥራትን የመቀነስና ጤፍ የተመረተበት ቦታ ከባህር ወለል እየጨመረ ሲሄድ የእንጀራ ዓይንና ልስላሴ መጨመር  ተስተውሏል፡፡  በአጠቃላይ የእንጀራ ጥራት ከዝርያ ይልቅ በሚመረቱበት አካባቢ የአፈርና የአየር ፀባይ እንዲሁም ዝርያዎች ጤፉ ከሚመረትበት ከባቢያዊ ሁኔታ ጋር ያላቸው መስተጋብር ይበልጥ ተፅዕኖ ይፈጥራሉ፡፡ ይህ ጥናት ሲደመደም መረሬ/ዋልካ አፈር የሆነና ከኮምጣጣነት ወደ አልካላይንነት የሚያደላ፣ በቤዝ ካታዮን/ብረተ-አስተኔ የበለፀገ ከሆነ የእንጀራ ጥራቱ እንደሚጨምር እና በቀይ አፈር ላይ በአንሰተኛ የአፈር በቤዝ ካታዮን/ብረተ-አስተኔ የተመረተ ጥራቱ እንደሚቀንስ አመላክቷል፡፡ ከአሁን በፊት ሰሜን ምዕራብ አማራ የተመረተ ጤፍ በእንጀራ ጥራቱ ከመካከለኛው የኢትዮጵያ ክፍል ከሚመረተው ያንሳል የሚለው አሰተሳሰብ በመረሬ/አፈር የተመረቱትን የጤፍ ዝርያዎችን አወዳድረን ስናይ ልዩነት አላቸው የሚል ድመዳሜ ላይ አያስደርስም፡፡ የበለጠ ግልፅና አስተማማኝ ውጤት ይኖር ዘንድ የአፈር ንጥረ-ነገር ማዳበሪያዎች ለጤፍ እንጀራ ጥራት ያለላቸውን ተፅዕኖ የሚዳሰስበት ጥናት በተለያዩ ስነ-ምህዳሮችና አፈር ዓይነቶች መሞከር ተገቢ ነው፡፡   Abstract  Tef is used to make injera (bubbly, pancake-like bread). It is believed that the white color tef grain produced in the central highlands of Ethiopia fetches the highest price as compared to the other areas due to its injera quality. Therefore, this experiment was conducted in the central and northwestern highlands of Ethiopia to evaluate Injera Sensory Quality Attributes (ISQA) on the three white-colored tef genotypes (Etsub, Magna, and Quncho) produced on five environments and to assess its relationship with edaphic factor, climatic factor, and grain and flour color of tef. The responses of the 21 knowledgeable consumer panelists' for top surface color, bottom surface color, malleability, eye appearance, and general rating; and 11 of them for taste subjected to Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). The ANOVA result showed that except taste significantly (P < 0.05) different only on the environment, other ISQA were significantly (P < 0.05 to P < 0.001) different on the genotype, environment, and genotype by environment interaction effects. The variance component result revealed that the environment (52.4%, 38.7%, 62.5%, 87.6%, 69.0%, and 80.8%) and genotype (40.9%, 53.0%, 26.0%, 12.0%, 28.6%, and 18.6%) contribution to the variation of BSC, TSC, eye appearance, Malleability, taste, and general rating were high, while  the genotype was low (6.6%, 8.3%, 11.6%, 0.3%, 2.4% and  0.6%).  There were also significant positive correlations of soil properties (black color/vertisols pH, CEC, ca, Mg, and K), grain and flour color V value, and altitude; while soil total nitrogen and sulfur as well as precipitation showed an indirect significant relationship with IQSA. These results concluded that tef grown on vertisols with slightly acidic to neutral soil pH and relatively high in basic cations have a better quality of injera as compared to tef grown in nitisols with low soil pH and basic cations. Based on our results, we argued that the quality of tef injera “as low quality” grown in Vertisols of the northwestern highlands couldn’t be substantiated. A further study under controlled environment is recommended to evaluate the effects of different soil nutrients effect on ISQA under different soil types and agro-ecologies of Ethiopia

Genotypes and their Growing Environments Influence on Physicochemical Qualities of Tef Grain in the Highlands of Ethiopia

አህፅሮት  ከዋና ዋና የብርዕ አገዳ ሰብሎች መካከል አንዱ የሆነው የጤፍ ሰብል  እና ከሱ የሚሰራው እንጀራ ለአብዛኛው የኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ ዋና ምግብ ሆኖ በማገልገል ላይ ይገኛል፡፡ የጤፍ ፍሬ አካላዊ/ቅርፃዊ ይዘት በተለይም ቀለሙ የበላተኛውን ቀልብ በመሳብ፣ የገበያ ዋጋን በመወሰንና በአልሚ ምግብ ይዘቱ ላይ ከፍተኛውን ድርሻ ይወስዳል፡፡ ይሁንና የጤፍ ፍሬ አካላዊና ኬሚካላዊ ባህርያት ልዩነቶች ከጤፉ ዝርያ  ወይም ከሚበቅልበት አካባቢ ተፈጥሯዊ ሁኔታ ጋር የሚዛመድ ወይም የማይዛመድ መሆኑን እስከ አሁን በጥናት አልተረጋገጠም፡፡ በመሆኑም ይህ ጥናት የጤፍ ፍሬ አካለዊና ስነ-ምግባዊ/ኬሚካላዊ/ ይዘት በጤፍ ዝርያዎችና ጤፍ በሚበቅልበት ቦታ ያለው ከባቢያዊ ሁኔታ ሊያደርስ የሚችለውን ተፅዕኖ ውጤት ዳስሷል፡፡ በአስር የተለያዩ ሥነ-ምህዳር (የአየር ፀባይና የአፈር ዓይነት) ባላቸው የመካከለኛውና ሰሜን ምዕራብ ኢትዮጵያ አካባቢዎች እና ዘጠኝ የተለያዩ ባህርያት ያለቸው የጤፍ ዝርያዎች (የፍሬ ቀለማቸው ነጭ የሁኑ ሰባት እና ቀይ ሁለት) ለአንድ ዓመት (በ2009/10 ዓ.ም፣ የመኸር ወቅት) ተዘርተው የአካላዊና ኬሚካላዊ ባህርያታቸው ተጠንቷል፡፡ በጥናቱ መሰረት በአብዛኛው በጤፍ ፍሬ አካላዊም ይሁን ስነ-ኬሚካለዊ ባህርያት ላይ በዝርያዎች ዓይነት፣ በተዘሩበት ቦታ እና ዝርያዎች ከተዘሩበት ቦታ ጋር ባላቸው መስተጋብር መካከል ከፍተኛ ልዩነት (P ≤ 0.01)  አስመዝግበዋል፡፡ የነጭ ጤፍ ዝርያዎች በጤፍ ቀለም መለኪያ መስፈርት ማለትም የቀለም ጥግበት/ምጠት/ (saturation) እና የቀለም ፍካት/ብሩህነት/ (brightnes) ልዩነቶች የመጡት በአብዛኛው በሚበቅሉበት አከባቢ ተፅዕኖ (43.9በመቶ, እና 66.8በመቶ, በቅደም-ተከተል) እና ዝርያዎቹ ከሚበቅሉበት አካባቢ ያላቸው መስተጋበር (33.7በመቶ, እና 24.5በመቶ, በቅደም-ተከተል) ሲሆን የዝርያዎች ልዩነት በተናጥል ያመጣው ለውጥ ግን አነስተኛ (22.5በመቶ, እና 8.7በመቶ, በቅደም-ተከተል) ሆኖ ተገኝቷል፡፡ ጤፉ የተዘራበት አካባቢ የዝናብ መጠን ሲጨምር የፍሬው ቀለም ፍካት የመቀነስ ሁኔታዎች ነበሩት፡፡ በተጨማሪም ጤፍ የተዘራበቸው መሬቶች የአፈር ባህርያት ለምሳሌ ኮምጣጣነት፣ የንጥረ-ነገር ቅይይር ብቃት፣ ካልሽየም፣ ማግኒዝየም እና ፎስፎረስ የመሳሰሉት በቀለም ፍካት ላይ ቀጥተኛ/አወንታዊ እንዲሁም በቀለሙ ጥግበት ላይ አሉታዊ ተፅዕኖ ፈጥረውበታል፡፡ ይሁንና የጤፍ ፍሬ ንጥረ-ነገር ይዘት ከፍሬ ቀለሙ ጋር አጥጋቢ ተዛምዶ እንዳለው ጥናቱ አያሳይም፡፡ ጤፍ የበቀለባቸው ቦታዎች የአፈር ባህርያትና  የአየር ፀባይ ከጤፍ ፍሬ ክብደትና መጠን ጋር ግን ዝምድና እንዳለቸው ይሳያል፡፡ የዝርያዎቹ ባህሪ ከጤፍ ፍሬ ክብደት ይልቅ መጠን ላይ ያላቸው ተፅዕኖ ይጎላል፡፡ ጤፍ የተዘራበት አካበባቢ ከባህር ወለል ከፍታው እና የዝናብ መጠን በጨመረ ቁጥር የጤፍ ፍሬ ክብደት እየጨመረ የመሄድ አዝማሚያ ታይቷል፡፡ ጤፍ የተመረተበት አካባቢ ሁኔታ እንዲሁም ዝርያዎች ከተዘሩበት አካባቢ ጋር ያለው መስተጋብር በጤፍ ፍሬ ንጥረ-ነገር (ፎስፎረስ፣ ፖታሽየም፣ ካልሽየም፣ ማግኒዠየም፣ ሶዲየም፣ አይረን፣ ዚነክ፣ ማንጋኒዝ፣ መዳብ፣ እና ሞሊቢዲነም)  ላይ ያላቸው ተፅዕኖ ዝርያዎቹ በተናጥል ከሚያሳዩት ተፅዕኖ በእጅጉ በልጦ ተገኝቷል፡፡ የጤፍ ፍሬ የቃጫ፣ የቅባት፣ የፕሮቲን እና የሰታርች መጠንም ጤፍ በበቀለበት አካባቢ 70.0በመቶ, 46.9በመቶ, 70.9በመቶ, እና 20.5በመቶ, በቅደም-ተከተል) እና የጤፍ ዝርያዎች ከበቀሉበት አካባቢ ያለው መስተጋብር (28.3በመቶ, 47.3በመቶ, 27.5በመቶ, እና  67.7በመቶ, በቅደም-ተከተል) ከፍተኛውን ልዩነት ያመጡ ሲሆን ዝርያዎቹ በተናጥል (1.7በመቶ. 5.8በመቶ, 1.6በመቶ, እና  11.8በመቶ, በቅደም-ተከተል) እምብዛም ተፅዕኖ አላደረሱም፡፡ የዝርያዎች ከበቀሉበት አካባቢ ጋር ያለው መስተጋብር ለጤፍ ፍሬ ንጥረ-ነገሮች እና ለቃጫ፣ ለቅባት፣ ለፕሮቲን እና ስታርች ያበረከተውን መጠን በትንተና ሲታይ በአስሩም አካባቢዎች አንድ ዝርያ ብቻውን ከሌሎች በልዩነት ገንኖ አልወጣም፡፡ የቀይ ጤፍ ፍሬ በንጥረ-ነገር ይዘቱ ከነጭ ይበልጣል የሚለው አሰተሳሰብ በዚህ ምርምር ውጤት ተቀባይነት አላገኘም፡፡ ይለቁንም ሁለቱም ቀይ የጤፍ ዝርያዎች በስታርች ይዘታቸው ከሁሉም ያነሱ ሁነው ተመዝግበዋል፡፡ በአጠቃላይ የዚህ ምርምር ውጤት የሚያሳየው የጤፍ ፍሬ አካላዊና ኬሚካላዊ ባሕርያት ልዩነቶች የሚመጡት በአብዛኛው የተዘራበት አካባቢ እና ዝርያዎቹ ከተዘሩበት አካባቢ ያለቸው መስተጋብር የፈጠረው መሆኑን ነው፡፡ ስለዚህ በኢትዮጵያውያን ተፈላጊ የሆኑ የጤፍ ፍሬ አካላዊ ባህርያት እና ኬሚካላዊ ይዘት ማሻሻል ይቻል ዘንድ ለሰብሉ ተስማሚ የሆነ አካባቢ፣ የአፈር ኮምጣጣነትን የማስተካከል እና የአፈር ንጥረ-ነገሮችን መምረጥ አስፈላጊ ነው፡፡   Abstract Tef is one of the main cereal crops and its injera is the major staple food for the majority of Ethiopians. Tef grain physical quality especially color is an important attribute influencing preference of consumers, the market prices and nutritional quality. However, the effect of the growing environment and the genotype on its physicochemical quality is not yet investigated. The study was, therefore, aimed at assessing the effects of genotypes (G) and growing environments (E) on physicochemical quality of tef grain. Ten diverse locations and nine tef genotypes were selected based on soil and climatic variability as well as variation in grain color [seven white and two brown). Most of tef grain physicochemical contents significantly (P ≤ 0.01) different between genotype, environment and G x E interaction effects. The environment, wherein tef was grown, accounted for the greatest proportion of variation in S (saturation), and V (brightness) values of the white grain genotypes (16.8%, 43.9%, and 66.8%) and  G x E interaction effects (33.7%, and 24.5%) as compared to genotype alone (22.5%, and8.7%).  Growing areas of greatest precipitation will reduce the brightness value of tef grain.  Soil parameters such as soil pH, Ca, Mg, and P play a positive and negative roles in grain brightness and saturation values of tef, respectively. However, grain minerals had no influential role on the color of tef grain in this study. Tef growing areas tied to both climatic and edaphic factors are critical in governing both grain density and size.  The role of genotype was more influential in the grain size of tef than the grain density. The raise of growing locations altitudes and precipitation increased tef grain density. The environment and genotype by environment interaction  effects accounted a greater proportion of  the variation of grain P, K, Ca, Mg, Na, S, Fe, Zn, B, Mn, Cu, and Mo minerals concentrations, while the genotype effect was relatively low.  The variability of grain fiber, fat, protein, and starch compositions were also due to environment (70.0%, 46.9%, 70.9%, and 20.5%, respectively), and genotype by environment interaction (28.3%, 47.3, 27.5%, and 67.7%, respectively), while genotype played a minor role (1.7%. 5.8%, 1.6%, and 11.8%. respectively). With location by genotype interactions, there was no consistency in the dominance of any single genotype across all 10 locations in most of the tef grain mineral concentration and proximate compositions. The brown grain color genotype superiority in grain mineral and proximate composition is not supported by this research, rather the brown color genotypes were the lowest in grain starch concentration on the majority of the locations in this study. Generally, most physical and chemical quality variables of tef grain were markedly influenced by tef growing environments and their interactions with a minuscule role of genotype. Therefore, selection of suitable teff growing environments and proper soil pH and nutrient management would be so important for harnessing the maximum potentials of tef with the desired physicochemical quality of tef grain in Ethiopia.   &nbsp

Assessment of Midwifery and Nursing Students’ Nutrition Competence in Ethiopia: A Cross Sectional Study

Background: Malnutrition is a major public health problem in Ethiopia contributing to half of infant and child mortality. The 2014 mini Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey revealed that four out of ten children under five are stunted, nearly one out of ten are wasted, and a quarter are underweight. One of the factors that contributed to the high stunting rate is the shortage of capable providers who are competent to provide nutrition services. The purpose of this study was to assess graduating midwifery and nursing students’ nutrition competence and explore the factors that influence their competence. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was employed in June 2015. Students’ knowledge was assessed using objective written assessment questions; and their skills were assessed using a five-station objectively structured clinical examination. Students’ perception of the nutrition learning environment and their learning experience was obtained by administering a structured questionnaire using interviews. Bivariate and multivariable analysis, including Chi-square test and independent sample t-test, were used to detect statistically significant associations or differences. Results: A total of 113 students from four public universities in Ethiopia participated in the study. Only 38.1% of students demonstrated adequate competency in nutrition. The mean percentage score for nutrition knowledge and skills were 63.8% and 46.6% respectively. There was no statistically significant difference between midwifery and nursing students’ nutrition competence (P\u3e0.05). Both cadres scored a mean value above 50% in the knowledge assessment, except in the competency areas of nutrition and HIV. However, both showed lesser competence in performing basic nutrition skills such as anthropometry. Midwives scored higher than nurses on counseling mothers on optimal breast feeding (p=0.001). The majority (98.2%) of students reported that they had no access to nutrition skills laboratory when they took the nutrition course. In multivariable analysis, students who perceived the practice sites as conducive for nutrition skills learning achieved higher levels of competence. Conclusions: The target students were deficient in nutrition competencies. The study suggests revision of midwifery and nursing curricula for adequacy and relevance of nutrition contents, learning and assessment techniques. Nutrition skills learning both in skills lab and at clinical and practical settings need to be strengthened

Phosphorus status, inorganic phosphorus forms, and other physicochemical properties of acid soils of Farta District, Northwestern Highlands of Ethiopia

Soil acidity and low availability of P limit crop production in the highlands of Ethiopia. The objective of this study was to determine the P status, distribution and forms of inorganic P and relate them to selected chemical properties of eight representative acidic surface soil samples from Farta District. Soil pH (H2O) varied between 4.74 and 5.50. The moderate to high CEC suggests that besides kaolinite, the soils also contain expandable 2 : 1 clay minerals. Though the total P content was high, the available Olsen P content was very low or low in all soils except one. In most soils, the abundance of inorganic P fractions was as follows: P bound by oxalate extractable iron (-P) reductant soluble Fe-P occluded Al-Fe-P P bound by oxalate extractable aluminum (-P) calcium bound P (Ca-P). Olsen P had a very strong positive correlation () with -P (), -P (), and oxalate extractable P (). Though Fe bound P reserves were quite abundant and the degree of P saturation of + (median 3.3%) was moderate, the extremely low P saturation of (median 0.5%) explains the P deficiency of the soils.Peer reviewe

An Assessment of Regional Development Banks in Sub-Saharan Africa

A Research Project Report Submitted to the Chandaria School of Business in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Global Executive Degree of Masters in Business Administration (GEMBA)The purpose of this study was to assess development banking in Sub-Saharan Africa specifically focusing on the EAC, COMESA and SADC economic regions. The study focused on the following specific objectives: to determine the impact of RDBs on GDP Growth and to assess the changes in RDBs affecting the region of operation. For the purposes of this study, descriptive research design was used. The total population of the study consisted of four development finance institutions operating in the specified area. Being that the total pollution was relatively small, a census was carried out. The data was collected using data collection forms. The data analysis for this study was done using descriptive statistics. The data was analyzed and the results presented thought averages and percentages using graphs and tables to as to clearly correlate the relationships between variables. Microsoft excel was used as a tool of analysis for the data gathered for this study. In the determination of the impact regional development banks have on GDP growth in the region, the study found that regional development banks’ interventions had a positive impact on the GDP growth rate of the region. In each of the years covered in this study, countries who did not record any intervention from RDBs showed lower cumulative average in GDP Growth rates than the average GDP growth rates of the countries that had an intervention from one of the four regional development banks. In determining the operational changes in RDBs in response to the region’s needs, the results of the research showed that there was a clear correlation between a slowdown in GDP growth and an increase in RDBs intervention into the financial sector. It was noted that in 2009 and again 2011 when the GDP growth rate of the region slowed there was in increase in financial sector interventions. It was also noted that throughout the focus time period the percentage sectorial focus intervention in industry and mining as well as infrastructure remained relatively constant. The conclusion of this study was that regional development banks have a significant impact on the countries they operate in both thought overall impact on economic growth as well as targeted sectorial development. Being that most African nations do not have a sovereign credit rating, access to finance in the international markets was difficult and relatively expensive. Regional development finance institutions provided services to fill the gap in international financial markets. They were based close to their area of operation and thus could react quickly to the needs of the region while also understanding the unique needs of the region. On the bases of the results of this research, sub-Saharan countries benefit from membership to regional development banks as was noted, countries that had interventions from RDBs had higher economic growth than those that did not. It is thus the recommendation of this study that countries asses their needs and get membership to regional development banks so as to take advantage of the products and services they provide. Furthermore it is the recommendation of this research that further study into the level of impact different sectorial interventions have on economic growth in the African continent. Furthermore, it would be of interest to the academic fraternity to compare and contrast regional development banks around the world and their impact as well as the sectorial distribution of their interventions