Growth and suitability of some tree species selected for planting in adverse environments in Eritrea and Ethiopia

The thesis addresses some important silvicultural issues raised in Eritrea and Ethiopia and the objective was to evaluate various tree species in terms of growth in adverse environments. Three field and two greenhouse studies were performed using the main species Eucalyptus globulus, Cordia africana, Casuarina cunninghamiana, and Acacia tortilis, A. nilotica and Leucaena leucocephala. Growth of E. globulus tree was influenced by altitude and stand density when assessed in a planted stand in Ethiopia. Decreasing altitude increased growth only up to the middle of the valley hillside. Increasing density increased growth. Soil depth had no impact on growth of E. globulus and this shows that the species is suitable for planting on shallow soils. Data from a C. africana spacing trial in Eritrea were analysed to improve the management of C. africana plantations established on degraded dry lands by evaluating the response of the species to various initial spacings. Planting C. africana trees at wider spacing can be advantageous in terms of growth, but not stem quality. Different provenances of C. cunninghamiana were tested in two field trials in Eritrea to identify the provenance matching marginal lands of the Eritrean highlands. For firewood and small pole production, the use of the fast growing provenances ‘Coonabarabran’ (CN), ‘Flag stone’ (FS), and ‘Rollingstone’ (RS) is recommended. However, the use and wide spread of the three provenances must be taken with caution due to the risks involved in the use of exotic tree species. Two greenhouse experiments investigated the suitability of A. tortilis for manure production and rehabilitating salt affected marginal lands. The species has a greater potential to produce mulch rich in nitrogen and phosphorus compared to L. leucocephala. Nevertheless, further research under field conditions would be needed to confirm the results and the sustainability of such a practice. A. tortilis and A. nilotica seem to be sensitive to salinity. However, because the two acacias have a wide distribution covering a large salinity gradient, there could be other provenances or ecotypes of both species that are more tolerant to salinity. Therefore, screening tests involving various genotypes of both species could be promising to find suitable trees for afforestation on salt affected soils in arid and semiarid Africa

Evaluation of Durum Wheat Genotypes for Grain Yield in Southern Tigray, Ethiopia

An experiment was conducted with the objective of assessing the seasonal adaptation and grain yield stability of durum wheat genotype in ofla district. In this trial, twelve durum wheat genotypes were evaluated in three consecutive cropping seasons during 2011-2013.The trial was laid out in randomized complete block design (RCBD) with two replication . The analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed that there was significant difference (P< 0.05) for genotype and genotype by season interaction. The genotypes captured (34.5%) sum of square implying the presence large differentia in the durum wheat genotypes. Using the additive main effect and multiplicative interaction biplot analysis and additive main effect and multiplicative interaction stability value, the genotypes Yerer and Kokate were with higher grain yield and stable in performance across seasons. The genotypes Tate and Local were unstable genotypes contributing more to the increased magnitude genotype by season interaction. Keywords: AMMI, ASV, Durum Wheat, Seaso

Impact of government road sector spending on economic growth in Ethiopia

This study analyzes the impact of government road spending on economic growth in Ethiopia using annual time series data for the period 1974-2010. To do so, both descriptive and econometric analyses are employed in the study. From the descriptive analysis the findings indicate that the trend of government road sector spending has increasing for the past few years. Regarding the performance of road sector, the road network is by now growing at an encouraging rate. The issue of rural accessibility still remains far from the desired level that the country needs to have. Thus, the country needs to do a lot to graduate to middle income country status in terms of road network expansion and improved accessibility. The Econometric analysis, With the help of co integration and vector error correction analysis, the impact of government road spending on economic growth was assessed in the long-run as well as in the short-run. The findings reveal that government spending on road has a significant and positive effect on the economic growth (GDP) in the short-run as well as in the long-run. By way of recommendation, the government need to strengthen its support on road infrastructure through allocate more road financing to expand the road network with the aim of increasing the current rural accessibility, thus, improving agricultural productivity and market access of the poor rural .population with the aim of boost the current economic growth.Jimma University

A Study on Accounting Practice and Financial Reporting in SMEs (In Case of Arba Minch Town, Snnpr, Ethiopia)

The research was conducted on ‘Accounting practices and Financial reporting in Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs)’ in Arba Minch Town, SNNPR, with the motive of to sort out areas of accounting practice and financial reporting information that are likely to be of significance to managers/owners of SMEs in their provision of information to users. To fulfill the objective of the study, descriptive research approach was used. Stratified sampling technique applied for the research study; in this regard out of 178 SMEs operating in Arba Minch Town 64 firms was selected. The required data were collected from primary source of data by using self-administered questionnaire and secondary source document which are available for the study including financial statement of the small enterprise. The collected data was analyzed by using different methods like tabulation and percentage code used for numerical and organizing large volume of data into homogenous group. The major finding of the study disclosed that the bookkeeping practices in SMEs are not organized to produce required information to both external and internal users for decision making purposes. Further the result shows that SMEs operating in construction sector maintained all receipts and invoices of their transaction in a systematic manner than the other sectors, while none of urban agricultural SMEs kept these activities well. However, the study show that the majority of SMEs encounters challenges in complying with accounting requirements and that most SMEs outsource the preparation of their financial statements to specialist service. One of the areas of financial reporting information that have been sorted out in this study as likely to be of significance to managers of SMEs in their provision of information to users is cash flow. Keywords: Accounting Practice, Financial Reporting, SMEs, Managers

Back to Reality: A Critical Review of Performance of the Export Oriented Manufacturing in Ethiopia

This article critically reviews the performance of the export oriented manufacturing industry in Ethiopia and its role in deriving the industrial development and structural transformation of the economy. Detail analysis of available panel of data indicates that overall performance of the manufacturing sector, as measured from plan targets and the move towards structural transformation, is not promising. The more export promotion deepens, the weaker is the overall industry performance and fate of moving to economic structural transformation is meagre. More importantly, it is a contradiction to find weakening performance of sectors dedicated to exports production while the country deepens the efforts to export manufacturing. Thus, the article argues that export lead industrialization is counterproductive in Ethiopia. Despite this fact, production for local market has not been adequately surfaced in to the intention of the government. The experiences of Latin America and South East Asian countries prove that production for local market is critical for a successful industrialization and ensuring economic structural transformation. Therefore, Ethiopia’s industrialization needs to back in to reality of the economic life. The export lead industrial development should be replaced by a comprehensive industrialization where export oriented production and producing for national consumption are implemented simultaneously and one is complementing the other. Keywords: Export lead industry, import substitution, industrialization, structural transformatio

Divorce: Common Causes and Socio-Economic Costs – A Survey of Divorced Individuals in Mekelle City

Divorce is acknowledged to be the most traumatic event on divorced individuals exposing them in to a variety of tribulations. Hence, this study’s’ main objective is to discover the common causes and socio-economic costs of divorce in Mekelle city. The study has employed both quantitative and qualitative data types with primary and secondary sources. As a data collection method, a structured questionnaire was administered to 125 divorced individuals and an interview was conducted with five key informants in courts, case study was also included. For the data analysis, descriptive statistics such as frequency distributions, percentages, mean, minimum and maximum were used to describe and explore the responses. The identified variables which are considered to be the common causes are found to be momentous causes of divorce in Mekelle city in which majority of the respondents 65.6% agreed and strongly agreed as being the common causes of divorce laying the ground for the various socio-economic costs. Hence, It was found that lack of communication (too much arguing and nagging) is the number one cause with the average mean response of 4.64 followed by lack of commitment to the marriage 4.32 and lack of communication (not talking, not discussing) with the average mean response of 4.13. The results for the social costs also dictate that divorce affects the social life of divorced individuals, Hence, majority of the respondents 66.4% agreed and strongly agreed on the variables that most of them except suicide and violence are the social costs that divorced individuals face after divorce. The variables identified as economic cost are agreed and strongly agreed with majority of the respondents 80%, which confirm that the economic consequence identified in this study are considerable. The result of the study also shows that female’s standard of living decreases after divorce by about 51.74% whereas for male’s it decreases by 12.24% compared to pre divorce period. Thus, the future well-being of any family depends a great deal on what mother and father do in the home and how they deal with good and bad circumstances. Recommendations are also forwarded such as Social workers and NGO’s because of their emphasis on system/ecological perspective should play an important role in this shift in focus from individual to family in counseling, increase the public awareness about the benefits of relationship skills training. The religious institutions should also play a noteworthy role in creating awareness about peaceful family life compared to disrupted ones interacting the sort of counseling with religious laws. Besides, the government and law makers should be aware of the ease of the divorce law and reform to rectify the family law in a way that gives more time for divorcing couples to think over their disrupted family life

Examining the Need for Comprehensive Refugee Protection and Asylum Seekers Policy in Ireland today

Asylum seekers and refugees are one of the most demonised and marginalised social groups in Europe. Ireland's current agenda for dealing with refugees and asylum seekers is inadequate. The government of Ireland is aware of the inadequacy of response and has proposed to make a number of changes that will improve the standard of living for those who chose to apply for inclusion in Ireland. However, many of the issues that are discussed in the Core Policy Objective: Intercultural & Migration Issues have already been addressed in the set of directives, regulations, and guidance provided by the EU on the topic of immigration and refugee policy. Ireland has opted out of participating in several of these programs, choosing instead to establish its own policies of caring for the disenfranchised who seek refugee status. While change in legislation in Ireland is taking place, it is evolving slowly, and many of today‟s greatest issues are being addressed very cautiously. As a result, many of the humanitarian provisions adopted by the EU are just now being considered by Ireland. This project examines the need for Comprehensive Refugee Protection and Asylum Seekers Policy in Ireland today

Determinants of Gender Differences on Soybean Production in Bambasi District, Benishangul Gumuz National Regional State, Ethiopia

The study was undertaken to examine the determinants of gender difference in soybean production among male and female headed soybean producer households at Bambasi District, Benishangul Gumuz Regional State, Ethiopia. Multi stage, sampling procedure was used to select sample respondents. In the district, ten kebeles were selected purposively according to the intensity of soybean production. Out of ten kebeles, five kebeles were selected by simple random sampling technique. Based on the list of the beneficiaries, households were selected using probabilities proportional to sample size procedure. A total of 136 households of soybean producer farmers (78 Male headed household (MHH) and 58 Female headed household (FHH)) were selected; and data was collected using semi structured questionnaire, interview and focus group discussion. Descriptive statistics, Ordinary Least Square Regression were used for the analysis of the data. The analysis of the data showed that 34.62% male headed and 67.24% female headed households were illiterate.  The average land owned by MHH and FHH was 2.28 ha and 1.83 ha respectively,  and the total of  58.97% MHH and 32.76% FHH had got credit service. As far as input utilization the majority of the respondents (56.41, 75.64% MHH and 72.41, 82.76% FHH) did not used fertilizer and pesticides, respectively. OLS estimation revealed that education of household head, household labour force, cultivated land size, tropical livestock unit, access to credit, frequency of extension contact, fertilizer application, hired labour, membership in social organization significantly affected the production of soybean in both men and female headed households; while pesticide application significantly affected MHH only.  The study revealed men headed households have got higher production of soybean by utilizing the accessible input than FHH. Hence, similarly FHH should be encouraged and supported to access inputs for improving soybean productivity, and to increase the level of food security in the area. Keywords: Determinants, Gender difference, Soybean production DOI: 10.7176/JAAS/55-01 Publication date:May 31st 201

The Global Response to the Darfur Crisis

This paper examines the global response to the Darfur crisis. The term global refers to non-Sudanese actors in Darfur crisis including but not limited to: international and multilateral governance institutions such as United Nations and its family agencies (hereafter UN), International Criminal Court (hereafter ICC), African Union (hereafter AU), European Union (hereafter EU), North Atlantic Organization (hereafter NATO), and the Arab League; countries such as United States of America (hereafter USA), Peoples Republic of China, Chad, and Central African Republic; and international NGOs such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, International Crisis Group and many other relief and humanitarian organizations, countries. It has five parts. Part I provides brief history of Sudan, present situation of Darfur and the magnitude of the humanitarian crisis and its causes. Part II discusses the actors actively involved in the Darfur crisis. It also offers analysis of the interest of the main actors; and their role in the global response to Darfur crisis. This is vital input in the formulation of recommendation and a strategy as it considers ways for addressing the legitimate interests, provides ways to tackle those that are illegitimate, and means to remove the binding constraints. Part III looks at the Darfur Peace Processes and their shortcomings. The last part of the paper forwards recommendations on how to solve the Darfur crisis

Gender Role and Decision Making in Soybean Production and Management Practices in Bambasi District, Benishangul-Gumuz Regional State, Ethiopia

The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of men and women on soybean production, household and community management; and decision making in soybean production at Bambasi District, Benishangul Gumuz Regional State, Ethiopia. A multi-stage sampling procedure was used to select sample respondents in the study area. Out of thirty eight kebeles (the smallest administrative unit) in the district, ten kebeles which involved in soybean production were selected purposively. Similarly five kebeles were selected by simple random sampling technique. Based on the list of the beneficiaries, households were selected using probabilities proportional to sample size procedure. A total of 136 households of soybean producer farmers (78 male headed household (MHH) and 58 female headed household (FHH)) were selected for the study. Primary data were collected through the aid of semi-structured questionnaire, interview and focus group discussion. Descriptive statistics was used to summarize and compare the information obtained in both households. The findings of the study revealed that women and men play a key role in all types of soybean production activities. In FHH women took the lion share of the activities. In MHH, many numbers of men (2.9 on average) were devoted much time (12.5hrs) to clear the land. Preparing the land using oxen was entirely men’s activity in both MHH and FHH, while weeding activity was carried out by women. Men were devoted 9.6hrs in harvesting activity in MHH; however women also virtually share more time in these activities. In FHH more labour and time were devoted by women. Threshing the produce using animal was carried out by men in both households. In equine transport men were the chief of the activity in MHHs and FHHs. Women were over burden in reproductive activities. The result indicated that in MHH, men took the higher position in making the decision of the household. In the same manner in FHH, women made the major decision of the household. Women often work longer hours (15hrs/day in MHH and 16hr/day in FHH) than men (11hrs/day) in the households. In conclusion the role of men and women are different, and the significance of women role is not equally valued. Hence, it is recommended to improve gender specific issues and disparities to soybean producers in particular, and to women farmers in general. Keywords: Decision making, Gender role, Soybean production DOI: 10.7176/IEL/10-1-05 Publication date: January 31st 202