A concept guide for the Sub-Saharan African Challenge Program (SSA CP)

Describes the concept of innovation platforms and how to create them, with a focus on the Sub Saharan Africa Challenge Programme

Roles of age and gender in the attainment of sustainable governance in Africa

The study set out to investigate how gender and age influence democratic governance in selected Sub-Saharan African countries. How well age and gender influence democratic governance in Africa has remained grossly understudied in extant literature of public sector and welfare economics. Based on panel data and illustrations from seven Sub-Sahara nations (Cameroun, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania), this paper discussed the need for full participation of women in democratic governance in Africa. The findings advocated that gender and age have significant effects on democratic governance in Africa. While there is the need for more qualitative research on gender and age indicators for good governance on more countries in Africa, this paper suggested that African governments must continuously introduce gender-friendly policies that will enhance women participation in economic activities for a more equitable and egalitarian society that has eluded us years gone.Keywords: Democratic Governance, Age, Gender, Panel Estimation, Sub-Saharan Afric

Identification of Methicillin Resistance Staphylococcus aureus From Clinical Samples and Environments of a General Hospital in Osogbo

Infections associated with Staphylococcus aureus (S.aureus) have high mortality rate and lead to economic loss with a long stay in the hospital. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is one of the major nosocomial pathogens which are acquired in the health care facilities. The objective of the study is to investigate the presence of methicillinresistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in clinical sources and hospital environments. Samples were collected, cultured and identified morphologically. Likewise, the antibiotic susceptibility profile was done. Identification was also done molecularly using PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) method. Sixty-three isolates were positive for S. aureus out of 370 clinical samples (urine, wound, nasal swabs and pus) and 37 positives out of 262 samples from hospital environments. Majority of the isolates were sensitive to cefoxitin, novobiocin and majority were resistant to ceftazidine, cloxacillin and augmentin. Seventy-one to ninety- five percent and 51-72% exhibited multi-drug resistance among clinical samples and hospital environments respectively. Both samples were positive for nuc and mec A genes. The detection of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) in hospital environments may pose a great danger to patients especially those of compromised status

Bio-preservation Potential of Leaf Extracts of Ocimum gratissimum L. on Fresh-Cut Fruits of Citrullus lanatus (Thunb)

This study was conducted to assess the retail market edibility quality of Citrullus lanatus fresh-cut fruits enhanced with the extracts from the leaves of Ocimum gratissimum. Analytical graded ethanol and hexane were used to extract O. gratissimum leaves differently. The fresh-cut fruits were dipped in the extract obtained from the leaves and reconstituted with Tween 80, fruits treated with Tween 80 and untreated fruits were used as controls. The treated fruits with the extracts, fruits treated with Tween 80 and fruits without treatment were analysed for quality test using the following parametres: carotenoids, ascorbic acids, total phenolic acid, pH, total soluble solids, microbial loads and moisture contents at day 0 and at an interval of 3, 5 and 9 days. The quantitative estimations of the phytochemicals in the extracts were determined and the constituents in the essential oil of the hexane extracts were established with the use of GC-MS system, and the data generated from the study were analysed with SPSS 20.0. This study showed that there was lower reduction in moisture content, pH, ascorbic acid and potential browning values of the treated fresh-cut fruits of C. lanatus, compared to higher reduction in untreated and tween 80 treated fresh-cut fruits during the storage intervals for nine days. The treated fresh-cut fruits had higher Brix values of TSS, total phenolic acid and carotenoids contents, compared with the untreated fresh-cut fruit, which was low during the period of storage for nine days. The microbial loads in the untreated fresh-cut fruit of C. lanatus were higher than what was obtained in the treated fresh-cut fruits of C. lanatus after nine days of storage. The yield of Alkaloids from ethanol and hexane extracts were 54.25±0.09 mg/100g and 51.86±0.06mg/100g respectively. γ-Terpinene (17.21 %) and (E)-9-Octadecenoic acid (11.848 %) had the highest percentage composition of phytoconstituents present in the essential oil from Citrullus lanatus. This study was able to establish the preservation potential of Ocimum gratissiumum on fresh-cut fruits of Citrullus lanatus.Keywords: Citrullus lanatus; Food Safety; Ocimum gratissiumum; Quality parametre

Effect of Social Capital Endowment on the Welfare of Farming Households in Kwara State, Nigeria

This study examines the effect of social on welfare of farming households in Kwara state, Nigeria. It focused on household food security status and nutritional status of under-five children as measure of household welfare. A three stage random sampling was employed to collect primary data from 160 farming households in Kwara State. The data was analysed using descriptive statistics, ordinary least square regression (OLS) and probit regression analyses. The regression analysis result shows that educational level, household size, household monthly income, dependency ratio and social capital index were significant in explaining variation in household food security status and in addition, number of friends of household head and status of household members in social groups are also significant in explaining nutrition status of under-five children in the households. The study showed that household’s per capital calories intake increases with increase decision making index and heterogeneity index. Children nutrition status increase as density of membership and heterogeneity indices increase. The study concludes that social capital has a positive effect on household food security and children nutrition status thereby improving household welfare. The study therefore recommended that farmer should be encouraged to join social group so as to increase their social capital endowment. Also, social groups need to be strengthened and supported to improve household social network so as to improve household welfare

Sustainable locally sourced materials for small-scale paint production

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and other unsafe chemicals are used in producing chemical paints which releaseharmful gases within the interior spaces where they have been used, whereas, these hazardous elements or components can be removed and replaced with safer and local materials. The aim of this study is to produce a paint product using sustainable locally sourced materials in a small-scale production. Using an experimental approach, a milk-based and clay-based paint were prepared in the laboratory, while physical and chemical tests were carried out such as adhesion test, application test, opacity, drying test, viscosity test and pH test. Clay, Edible starch, Local pigment (Lamp black and local talc), Dry milk and Lime were used as constituent materials in the preparation of the paint products with water as the solvent. Some of the physical and chemical tests carried fell within reasonable PMAN standards for chemical paints. The study recommendsthat more environmental friendly and sustainable materials should be used to replace hazardous materials used in chemical paints for safe environmen

Effect of food expenditure on farming households’ welfare in Osun state, Nigeria

Food and nutrition security remain Africa’s most fundamental challenge for human welfare and economic growth. In this study, recent survey data from Osun State, Nigeria, was used to examine the effect of food expenditure on farming households’ welfare in Nigeria. Logistic and OLS regression models were the analytical tools used. Food Insecurity Gap (FIG) and Squared Food Insecurity Gap (SFIG) were used to capture the severity of food insecurity among the households. The results showed that, all households sampled consume rice, beans, vegetable, fish and oil as basic food items, while only 32% of them consume potatoes. The regression results showed that the household size, per capita income, dependency ratio and age were the highly significant factors influencing food expenditure. However, the coping strategy that was mostly adopted by the farmers in the study area was to cut down on the numbers of food items consumed. Therefore, it was recommended that farm mechanization should be encouraged for optimal land use and productivity. In all, promoting agricultural policies with appropriate price incentives that focus on intensification, diversification and resource-stabilizing innovations will create more wealth for all categories of farming households and this in turn will ensure food security, especially in an era of economic deregulation

A review of biofuel and biochemical production from forest and agricultural wastes

Utilization of fuels and chemicals from fossil fuel and its derivatives have some disadvantages. Forest and agricultural wastes such as wood wastes are potential resources for the production of chemicals and biofuels. These wastes are lignocellulosic materials which are cheap, renewable and their conversion to bio-based chemicals contributes to resource and environmental conservation. Application of various conversion methods could convert these wastes to myriad of industrial chemical products, platform chemicals, biofuel and other products. The major obstacle in processing these wastes into chemicals is the recalcitrant nature of lignin and the compact structure of these materials. Pretreatment of these waste materials remains a valid option to fracture their recalcitrance and improve the yield of products obtainable from their conversion. In this article, the sources of wastes useable for production of biofuel and biochemicals were discussed. The article also x-rayed the mode of conversion and the types of biofuel and biochemicals obtainable from these wastes. Notably, conversion of these wastes encourages greener environment and lessens the effect of fossil fuel and its derivatives on climate change. Keywords: Wastes, pretreatment, biofuel, fossil fuel, lignin

MEMBERSHIP TO INNOVATION PLATFORMS AND GENDER IN OWNERSHIP OF PRODUCTIVE ASSETS IN THE SAVANNAS OF WEST AFRICA

Access to productive assets is a major issue in the gender empowerment discourse. Asset accumulation is a pre-condition for economic empowerment, and sustainable accumulation of assets is key to upward mobility beyond survival, and towards economic empowerment. The objective of this study was to examine the role that participation in the Integrated Agricultural Research for Development (IAR4D)\u2019s Innovation Platform \u201cIP\u201d \u2013 (social capital) play in empowering rural women to acquire productive assets using the case of the sub-Saharan Africa Challenge Programme (SSA-CP). We utilised panel data from baseline and midline data obtained from the Kano-Katsina-Maradi Pilot Learning Site (KKM PLS) of the SSA CP in West Africa. The data were obtained from twelve IPs of the three Task Forces (TFs) that made up the KKM PLS of the SSA CP. Altogether, the analysis involved 600 households in the PLS. Both descriptive analysis and the probit regression models showed that women who were inferior to men in productive asset ownership at the inception of the project improved with participation in the innovations of the project, in terms of human asset, input resource, durable business asset and household good.The value of women\u2019s asset index was 21.78 compared to that of men at 18.33 at the end of the project. Probit regression results suggest that membership to IP, female education level, age of female spouse and household size are determinants of asset ownership by women in the study area. The results confirm that social capital in the form of membership of IP enhances accumulation of productive assets for women.L\u2019acc\ue8s aux ressources de production est un probl\ue8me majeur dans les discours sur l\u2019autonomisation des femmes. L\u2019accumulation des biens est un pr\ue9-requis pour l\u2019autonomisation \ue9conomique, et l\u2019accumulation durable des biens est \ue9ssentielle pour une mobilit\ue9 sociale au del\ue0 de la subsistance, et pour une automisation \ue9conomique. L\u2019objectif de cette \ue9tude \ue9tait d\u2019examiner le r\uf4le que la participation \ue0 la Plate-forme d\u2019Innovation \u201cIP\u201d en Recherch\ue9 Agricole Int\ue9gr\ue9e pour le D\ue9velopppement (IAR4D)- (Capital social) joue dans l\u2019automisation des femmes en milieu rural pour acqu\ue9rir des biens de production en se basant sur le cas du programme des d\ue9fis de l\u2019Afrique Sub-Saharienne (SSA-CP). Nous avons utilis\ue9 les donn\ue9es de base et les donn\ue9es de la ligne m\ue9diane venues du site Pilot d\u2019apprentissage de Kano-Katsina-Maradi (KKMPLS) de SSA en Afrique de l\u2019Ouest. Les donn\ue9es \ue9taient obtenues des douze IPs des trois groupes de travail (TFs) qui formaient les KKMPLS de SSA CP. Ensemble, l\u2019analyse implique 600 m\ue9nages dans les PLS. L\u2019analyse descriptive et les mod\ue8les de r\ue9gression de Probit \ue0 la fois ont montr\ue9 que les femmes qui \ue9taient inf\ue9rieures aux hommes dans l\u2019acc\ue8s aux ressources de production au d\ue9but du projet se sont vues am\ue9lior\ue9es avec la participation aux innovations du projet, en termes des ressources humaines, intrants, actif commercial durable et bien familial. La value de l\u2019indice d\u2019acc\ue8s aux biens des femmes \ue9tait 21,78 compar\ue9e \ue0 celle des hommes qui \ue9tait de 18,33 vers la fin du projet. Les r\ue9sultats de la r\ue9gression de Probit sugg\ue8rent que l\u2019appartenance \ue0 l\u2019IP, le niveau d\u2019\ue9ducation de la femme, l\u2019\ue2ge de la femme et la taille du m\ue9nage sont les d\ue9terminants d\u2019acc\ue8s aux propri\ue9t\ue9s par les femmes dans le mileu d\u2019\ue9tude. Les r\ue9sultats confirment que le capital social en forme d\u2019appartenance aux IP augmente l\u2019accumulation des propri\ue9t\ue9s productives des femmes

Ethnomedicinal Uses and Therapeutic Activities of Piper Guineense: A Review

The use of medicinal plants in most developing countries as therapeutic agents for the maintenance of good health is a widespread practice. One of such plant products is Piper guineense, which is a West African spice used in many folklore medicines and has a number of verified pharmacological activities. Proximate analysis reveals that the plant contains crude protein, fat, carbohydrate, vitamins and minerals while preliminary phytochemical screening and gas chromatography-mass spectrophotoscopy of the methanol leaf and seed extract of Piper guineense revealed the presence of several constituents such as alkaloids, glycosides, tannins, flavonoids, terpenes; sesquiterpenoids and monoterpenoids, saponins and secondary metabolites such as Aromadendrene, 1,6,10- Dodecatriene,7,11-dimethyl-3-methylene and piperine, piperidine amongst other secondary metabolites. Studies have revealed that Piper guineense possess several pharmacological and therapeutic properties such as anti-oxidant, anti-microbial, aphrodisiac, anti-parasitic, antiinflammatory, anti-convulsant, molluscicidal, oestrogenic and oxytocic properties. This paper provides a review on the morphology, physicochemical and phytochemical constituents, ethnomedicinal and scientifically proven therapeutic activities of Piper guineense