FOOD SECURITY IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA: EVIDENCE FROM THE "UNION ECONOMIQUE ET MONÉTAIRE OUEST-AFRICAINE (UEMOA)"

In Sub-Saharan Africa food security will remain a major issue as cereals production is decreasing and their import prices are increasing. If food security involves food availability, accessibility, stability and the utilization of food in a nutritious manner by households, it is important to examine food production stability and consumption diversification as important determinants of food security. This paper examines these relationships in the UEMOA countries. The results indicate relatively stable food productions and weak consumption diversification. As a result the food security levels in the union are overall moderate or low. Thus agricultural policies should focus on existing and potential opportunities that enhance food production and consumption diversification and competitiveness in the Union.Food Security and Poverty,

Revisiting Estimation of Agricultural Production Function for Sustainable Agricultural Policies in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA): Evidence from Togo.

In Sub-Saharan Africa, the bulk of agricultural output is produced by small holder farmers who continue to depend on rainfall. As such, agricultural economists often use average rainfall as a summative environmental indicator in estimating agricultural production function. This methodology is flawed. A close scrutiny of agricultural practices /agronomic sciences reveals that agricultural output is more determined by rainfall distribution than average rainfall. This relationship is explored in the Togolese context. The conclusion reached is that, between 1965 and 1992, intra-annual rainfall distribution measured by its standard of deviation has not been relevant in explaining the variation of food production in Togo due to the continuous degradation of the ecosystems. This result provides additional information for improved decision making and calls for urgent account of environmental aspects in the formulation of sustainable agricultural policies in SSA.Environmental Economics and Policy, Productivity Analysis,

RISK COSTS AND THE CHOICE OF MARKET RETURN INDEX

Six measures of returns are used to estimate the most "“appropriate"” market index for southeast Kansas farms. Results suggest that localized indices are more appropriate than state indices for use as the market index. The appropriate index was used to estimate systematic and nonsystematic risk and risk costs for farm planning. Estimated risks depend on the choice of market index, whereas risk costs depend on the index choice and the risk aversion are considered. More risk-averse specialized farmers are not completely compensated for risk.Farm Management, Risk and Uncertainty,

Assessing Environment in Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA): A Time Series Estimation

Within a context of global trade liberalisation and constrained national budgets, agriculture in many countries has proved incapable of sustaining household livelihoods an d socio-economic development in rural areas. The post-war industrial success of several Asian countries has suggested various alternatives for rural development, including tourism for domestic and possibly foreign visitors. After outlining the economic characteristics of rural tourism and its policies, this paper reviews the evolution of government policies in this area in East Asia, including the establishment of "tourist farms" and "pilot scheme" villages in Korea since the 1980s. A field survey of some 200 Korean village leaders and others, undertaken in 2004, is reported as to the attitudes of this policy clientele towards the tourist potential of their own villages, and ways of exploiting this potential. On this basis, conclusions are drawn as to future policies in this area, taking into account the capabilities of the rural population in East Asian countries, and the need for and scope of governmental action.rural tourism, Korea, East Asia, tourism policy, Environmental Economics and Policy, O18, Q26, Q28,

Systematic and Unsystematic Risk Costs for Southeastern Kansas Farm Enterprises

Six measures of farm returns are used to estimate the most "appropriate" market index for southeastern Kansas farms. Systematic and nonsystematic risks and risk costs are estimated for farm planning. Results suggest that regional indices are more appropriate for use as the market index than state indices.international trade, vector autoregressions, wheat markets, Farm Management,

Structure, Coûts Des Transactions Et Integration Spatiale Des Marches Des Produits Alimentaires Au Togo

Le présent travail évalue d'une part la structure des coûts de transaction des principaux produits commercialisés au Togo (maïs, sorgho, oignon, gari, tomate, poisson, volaille et gros bétail), et d'autre part le niveau de l'intégration du marché de maïs qui est devenu le produit dominant dans le système de production, de consommation et de commercialisation au Togo. L'analyse des coûts de transaction réalisée à partir des données primaires a débouché sur le constat global que les coûts de transport représentent le facteur le plus déterminant dans les coûts de transaction. L'analyse de l'intégration du marché de maïs réalisée au moyen de la technique de co-intégration et du modèle de Ravallion appliqués sur des séries de prix a permis de dresser trois constats: 1) il existe un équilibre de long terme stable entre les marchés de Lomé et les autres marchés; 2)Lomé joue le rôle de marché de référence dans le réseau; 3)un retard dans la transmission des changements des prix. Il importe, pour garantir la sécurité alimentaire au Togo d'entreprendre les actions visant:1)à réduire le coût du service transport des produits alimentaires en milieu rural; 2)à améliorer la disponibilité et l'accessibilité de l'information pour l'ensemble des acteurs du marché céréalier (producteurs, consommateurs et commerçants). La mise en œuvre de ces politiques permettra alors d'améliorer la sécurité alimentaire à travers une meilleure disponibilité et accessibilité des produits alimentaires aux consommateurs.marche, couts transaction, integration, co-integration, securite alimentaire, Agricultural and Food Policy, Consumer/Household Economics, Demand and Price Analysis, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty, Industrial Organization, International Relations/Trade, Labor and Human Capital, Land Economics/Use, Production Economics, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

Molecular characterization of intestinal protozoan parasites from children facing diarrheal disease and associated risk factors in Yamoussoukro, Côte d’Ivoire

Diarrheal diseases are very common in children under 5 years and may lead to a delay of physical and mental development. Despite this knowledge, data on diarrheal diseases and socioeconomic determinants are still scarce in Côte d’Ivoire. This study is then conducted with the objective to fill part of this gap and specifically assess link between infant diarrhea occurrence and some major socioenvironmental factors. Stool samples were collected from children less than five suffering from diarrhea at Yamoussoukro Regional Hospital in central Côte d’Ivoire. Molecular species specific diagnosis was used to detect Cryptosporidium parvum, Giardia intestinalis and Entamoeba histolytica, three major protozoan parasites which cause diarrhea. Out of 306 stool samples examined, 62.75% were detected as positive at least for one of the protozoan parasite studied. Species specific prevalence was 36.93% for C. parvum, 20.92% for G. intestinalis and 22.55% for E. histolytica. Infection was more prevalent in children whose mothers were not educated although the difference was not statistically significant. No link was found between gender and infection while sanitation infrastructures, mother and children ages and water sources were found significantly associated with diarrhea occurrence. Awareness is then needed for women on lack of hygiene rules that could lead to diarrheal diseases burden.Key words: Diarrheal diseases, children development, parasitic protozoan, molecular characterization, socioenvironmental factors

On the numerical solution of Fisher’s equation with coefficient of diffusion term much smaller than coefficient of reaction term

Abstract Li et al. (SIAM J. Sci. Comput. 20:719–738, 1998) used the moving mesh partial differential equation (MMPDE) to solve a scaled Fisher’s equation and the initial condition consisting of an exponential function. The results obtained are not accurate because MMPDE is based on a familiar arc-length or curvature monitor function. Qiu and Sloan (J. Comput. Phys. 146:726–746, 1998) constructed a suitable monitor function called modified monitor function and used it with the moving mesh differential algebraic equation (MMDAE) method to solve the same problem of scaled Fisher’s equation and obtained better results. In this work, we use the forward in time central space (FTCS) scheme and the nonstandard finite difference (NSFD) scheme, and we find that the temporal step size must be very small to obtain accurate results. This causes the computational time to be long if the domain is large. We use two techniques to modify these two schemes either by introducing artificial viscosity or using the approach of Ruxun et al. (Int. J. Numer. Methods Fluids 31:523–533, 1999). These techniques are efficient and give accurate results with a larger temporal step size. We prove that these four methods are consistent for partial differential equations, and we also obtain the region of stability