Supply Chain Response to Institutional Markets’ Demand for Healthy and Sustainable Food Options

 Institutional food buyers in the U.S. are increasingly demanding food products that are safe, traceable, healthier, local/regional, or sustainably produced and supplied. These markets consist of schools, universities, hospitals, charities, correction facilities, clubs and other similar organizations that buy goods and services to meet demands of their end-customers (students, patients, prisoners, etc.). These institutions comprise a large portion of the U.S. population. In 2008, the total number of children and adults enrolled in schools throughout the country - from nursery school to college - was estimated at 75.5 million (i.e., 18.7 million in colleges and 56.8 million in schools). This amounts to more than one-fourth of the U.S. population age three and older (U.S. Census Bureau, 2009). About 29 million children are participating each month in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP)...

Assessment of Root Causes for Development Agents’ Competency Gap: The Case of Wolmeraworeda Oromia Region, Ethiopia

Agriculture is a source of livelihood for more than 80% of the population of Ethiopia.  Even though the sector has been given due attention by the government and non-government development practitioners, the level of its growth has not been enough to meet the needs of the majority of the population. Weak agricultural extension systems among others are contributing to the low agricultural growth in the country.  This research was carried out in the central part of Ethiopia, Wolmeraworeda (district), Oromia Special Zone.  Development Agents (DAs) working in agricultural extension were the focus and unit of analysis for this study.  The research looked qualitatively at the root causes that created the low competency of DAs in agricultural extension service. This was done to deeply understand their low competency from the insider point of view.  It was revealed that the main root causes of the DAs low competencies were low-quality education/training in Agricultural, Technical, Vocational, Education and Training (ATVET) colleges, political interference, the complication of specialization, and TVET education/training policy problems among many others.  The paper recommends that given the need and urgency to improve the existing competency gap, establishing a database at the federal and regional level is necessary where DAs can refer to when the need arises. There is also a need to look into possible policy intervention to give quality training through separation of generalists for public extension service seekers and specialist DAs for private extension service seekers; better training for improving DAs perception about serving; devising policies and securing professional secularism from politics is recommended. Keywords: Competence, Development Agents, Rural Development, Agricultural Extension, Ethiopi

Effects of Seedling Type and Age on The Yield and Yield-Related Traits of Transplanted Maize (Zea mays L.) in Burie District, Northwestern Ethiopia

አህፅሮት ይህ የመስክ ሙከራ የተሰራው በቡሬ ወረዳ እንደ ጎርጎሮሲያኑ የዘመን አቆጣጠር 2018 የክረምት ወቅት ሲሆን የዚህ ጥናት ዓላማዎችም የበቆሎን ችግኝ አፍልቶ በማዛመት የዕድገትና የምርት አሰጣጡ ላይ ያለውን ተፅዕኖ ለማየት ነው። ከቅርብ ጊዜ ወዲህ በቡሬ ወረዳ ክረምቱ ቶሎ የመውጣትና ርጥበቱ ቶሎ የመድረቅ በዚህም የተነሳ የበቆሎ ምርት መቀነስ የተለመደ እየሆነ መጥቷል። ይህ ሙከራ የተለያዩ ሁለት የችግኝ አፈላል ዘዴዎች (መደብ እና በፕላስቲክ ላይ) እንዲሁም አምስት (ከ1 እስከ 5 የእውነተኛ ቅጠል) የችግኝ የዕድገት ደረጃን እና የተለመደውን በቀጥታ መዝራት እንደ ማወዳደሪያነት በማካተት ራንደማይዝድ ኮምፕሌት ብሎክ ዲዛይን (RCBD) የሚባል ቴክኒክ በመጠቀም በሶስት ድግግሞሽ ተሰርቷል። በተለያዩ የምርት መለኪያ መንገዶች እና በኢኮኖሚያዊ አዋጭነት መሰረት በቆሎን በፕላስቲክ አፍልቶ ባለ አራት ቅጠል ሲሆን ማዛመት  ከሌላው የችግኝ ዓይነት እና የዕድገት ደረጃ  ብሎም በቀጥታ ከመዝራት በተሻለ የበቆሎ ምርትን ማሳደግ እንደተቻለ ተረጋግጧል፡፡ ሆኖም ሙከራው ለአንድ ዓመት ብቻ የተሰራ በመሆኑ ድጋሜ ተሰርቶ ልዩነቱን በደንብ ማረጋገጥ ቢቻል ጥሩ ነው።   Abstract The field experiment was conducted during the rainy season of 2018 in the Burie district to evaluate the effect of types and growth stages of seedlings on yield and yield-related traits of transplanted maize (Zea mays L.). In the District, terminal moisture stress and grain yield loss become the common challenges in maize production. The experiment was conducted in factorial combinations of two types of seedlings (bare-rooted and polybagged) and five levels of seedling’s growth stages (seedlings of 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 true leaf/ves) pulse one control (direct-seeded). The treatments were laid down in RCBD with three replications. Data on yield and yield-related parameters were collected following standard procedures and subjected to analysis of variance using SAS software; and mean separation for significant treatments was done by LSD. Both main effects affected the number of grains cob-1, grain and stover yield highly significantly. Types of seedlings significantly affected the number of cobs plant-1, cob length, the number of grains row-1, and biomass yield. The number of cobs plant-1, cob length, number of grains row-1and biomass yield was also highly significantly affected by seedlings growth stages. The interaction effect was highly significant on a number of cobs plant-1, grain and stover yield and very highly significant on harvest index. The highest (10.7t ha-1) grain yield of maize was found from the transplantation of polybagged seedlings at four-leaf stages. This treatment combination also gave the highest net benefit with an acceptable range of marginal rate of return. Therefore, transplanting of polybagged seedlings at four true leaf stages is economically feasible and can be recommended tentatively for Burie District and similar agro-ecologies. However, to come up with a concrete recommendation, it is advised to repeat the study in similar agro-ecologies of maize production

Genomic analysis of 10 years of artificial selection in community-based breeding programs in two Ethiopian indigenous sheep breeds

In recent times, community-based breeding programs (CBBPs) have been advocated as the best strategy for genetic improvement of local breeds in smallholder farms in developing countries. Since 2009, CBBPs have been implemented for Ethiopian Bonga and Menz sheep to improve growth rates resulting in significant genetic gains in 6-month weights. With the hypothesis that selection could be impacting their genomes, we systematically screened for possible genome changes in the two breeds by analyzing 600K BeadChip genotype data of 151 individuals (with the highest breeding values for 6-month weights) from CBBP f locks against 98 individuals from non-CBBP f locks. We observed no differences in genetic diversity and demographic dynamics between CBBP and non-CBBP f locks. Selection signature analysis employing ROH, logistic regression genome-wide association study, FST, XP-EHH and iHS revealed 5 (Bonga) and 11 (Menz) overlapping regions under selection, that co-localized with QTLs for production (body size/weight, growth, milk yield), meat/milk quality, and health/parasite resistance, suggesting that the decade- long selection has likely started to impact their genomes. However, genome- wide genetic differentiation between the CBBP and non-CBBP f locks is not yet clearly evident

Awake prone positioning for COVID-19 patients at Eka Kotebe General Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: A prospective cohort study

Objectives: The objectives of the study were to evaluate the benefit of awake prone positioning in COVID-19 patients hospitalized at Eka Kotebe General Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.Materials and Methods: Consecutive patients with COVID-19 who require supplemental oxygen to maintain oxygen saturation of ≥90% during the month of October 2020 were enrolled. Structured questionnaires were employed to collect data. Admission oxygen saturation was recorded for each patient before and after their first proning session. Analysis of descriptive and comparison statistics was done using SPSS version 25.Results: A total of 61 patients were included in the study. The mean age (+SD) for the cohort was 55.4 (+16.9) years. The average duration of proning was 5+2.5 h/session and 8+6 h/day. The average oxygen saturation before proning was 89% (SD 5.2) and 93% (SD 2.8) 1 h after proning (P < 0.001); supplemental oxygen requirements significantly decreased with prone ventilation, before proning: FiO2 0.33 (+0.14) versus 1 h after prone ventilation: FiO2 0.31 (+0.13) (P < 0.001). Oxygen improvement with prone ventilation was not associated with duration of illness or total prone position hours. When assessed at 28 days after admission, 55.7% (n = 34) had been discharged home, 1.6% (n = 1) had died, and 42.6 (n = 26) were still hospitalized.Conclusion: Awake prone positioning demonstrated improved oxygen saturation in our oxygen requiring COVID-19 patients. Even though further studies are needed to support causality and determine the effect of proning on disease severity and mortality, early institution of prone ventilation in appropriate oxygen requiring COVID-19 patients should be encouraged

Optimization of community-based breeding programs

Any breeding program undergoes numerous stages of improvement and adjustment and is never completely flawless from the beginning. Initial selection in the community-based breeding programs (CBBPs) were made only based on phenotypic performance, disregarding the relationships between individuals. Following the accumulation of pedigree and performance data, the BLUP animal model has now been employed. Significant genetic gain for selection qualities were achieved in Ethiopian sheep CBBPs. However, there are still ways to maximize genetic advancement and overall advantages of the breeding programs. A method to maximize the current CBBPs was studied, which included increasing selection intensity and sire use strategy, index-based selection, enhancing breeding females' reproductive productivity, and connecting CBBPs with the production unit. The researchers attended planning and training sessions regarding CBBP optimization. The researchers later returned to their respective villages and implemented CBBP optimization as appropriate

Proceeding Report of the 40th Anniversary of National Meteorological Agency, Official endorsement of the National Framework for Climate Services an International Scientific Conference

Ethiopia is located in the Horn of Africa within 3–15° N and 33–48° E, bordered by Eritrea to the north and northeast, Djibouti to the east, Sudan to the west, Kenya to the south, and Somalia to the south and east. It covers an area of about 1.14 million square kilometers. The country's topography consists of high and rugged plateaus and peripheral lowlands. Elevations in the country range from 160 meters below sea level (northern exit of the Rift Valley) to over 4600 meters above sea level (of northern mountainous regions). The highest mountains are concentrated on the northern and southern plateaus of the country. A large percentage of the country consists of high plateaus and mountain ranges, dissected by major rivers such as Blue Nile, Tekeze, Awash, Omo, Wabi Shebelle, etc. Overall, Ethiopia consists of 9 major rivers and 19 lakes. The Blue Nile, the chief headstream of the Nile, rises in Lake Tana in northwest Ethiopia. The meteorological observation started in the 1890s with few meteorological stations. In 1951, meteorological services were established as a small unit in the then Civil Aviation Department to render aeronautical services. Since then, meteorological observation has been expanding over Ethiopia. As the importance of meteorology was realized by other economic sectors, National Meteorological Services Agency (NMSA) was established by the Government Proclamation Number 201/1980. Besides, NMA started seasonal forecasting and advisory service in 1987 for three seasons, namely Belg (February - May), Kiremt (June-September), and Bega (October-January). The primary duty of NMA is to support all country's socio-economic developments by delivering climate services. Moreover, NMA has more than one thousand three hundred conventional Meteorological stations, three hundred automatic weather stations, five AWOS, three air pollution monitoring stations, three upper air stations, one radar, and eleven satellite receiver stations. The government of Ethiopia is determined to eradicate poverty and become a prosperous country by 2030. In this regard, addressing climate variability and change play a pivotal role in achieving this goal. To this effect, NMA is equipping with modern weather observing and monitoring capabilities and improving processing, analyzing, interpreting, and forecasting weather and climate capabilities at a high resolution and accuracy to meet the end-user's demands and effectively support all socio-economic developments of the country. NMA collaborates with all key stakeholders and partners through continuous engagement on climate services. The NFCS, endorsed during the NMA 40th Anniversary, is envisaged to strengthen collaborative co-production between climate services provider (NMA) and climate service beneficiaries institutions (MoWIE, EFCCC, MoA, MoH, and NDRMC). To commemorate its 40th anniversary, NMA has organized a conference with a theme of "Forty Years of Climate and Weather Services in Ethiopia" on May 25-26, 2021, at Skylight Hotel, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Generally, three main sessions were held during the conference. These include; Session one: panel discussion and opening ceremony; session two: presentations on the history of NMA and NFCS Ethiopia, official endorsement of NFSC Ethiopia, and certificate wards; and session three: parallel session of four groups and paper presentations on different thematic areas were made. The 40th anniversary was attended by ministers, commissioners, heads of organizations, and representatives from the WMO Africa regional office, international institutes representatives, experts from different organizations, lecturers, researchers, and NMA officials and staff. This document is proceedings of the 40th anniversary, including summaries of the opening session and the presentations

The Reproductive Platform to Deliver Genetic Gain in Sheep and Goats

The Reproductive Platform to Deliver Genetic Gain in Sheep and Goats presentation

How to succeed in implementing community-based breeding programs: Lessons from the field in Eastern and Southern Africa

Breeding programs involving either centralized nucleus schemes and/or importation of exotic germplasm for crossbreeding were not successful and sustainable in most Africa countries. Community-based breeding programs (CBBPs) are now suggested as alternatives that aim to improve local breeds and concurrently conserve them. Community-based breeding program is unique in that it involves the different actors from the initial phase of design up until implementation of the programs, gives farmers the knowledge, skills and support they need to continue making improvements long into the future and is suitable for low input systems. In Ethiopia, we piloted CBBPs in sheep and goats, and the results show that they are technically feasible to implement, generate genetic gains in breeding goal traits and result in socio-economic impact. In Malawi, CBBPs were piloted in local goats, and results showed substantial gain in production traits of growth and carcass yields. CBBPs are currently being integrated into goat pass-on programs in few NGOs and is out-scaled to local pig production. Impressive results have also been generated from pilot CBBPs in Tanzania. From experiential monitoring and learning, their success depends on the following: 1) identification of the right beneficiaries; 2) clear framework for dissemination of improved genetics and an up/out scaling strategy; 3) institutional arrangements including establishment of breeders’ cooperatives to support functionality and sustainability; 4) capacity development of the different actors on animal husbandry, breeding practices, breeding value estimation and sound financial management; 5) easy to use mobile applications for data collection and management; 6) long-term technical support mainly in data management, analysis and feedback of estimated breeding values from committed and accessible technical staff; 7) complementary services including disease prevention and control, proper feeding, and market linkages for improved genotypes and non-selected counterparts; 8) a system for certification of breeding rams/bucks to ensure quality control; 9) periodic program evaluation and impact assessment; and 10) flexibility in the implementation of the programs. Lessons relating to technical, institutional, community dynamics and the innovative approaches followed are discussed