ABSTRACT Food security is a major concern of the world, especially among the poor in developing countries. Pulses, including dry beans, play a crucial role in ensuring food security, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa where over 200 million people depend on beans as part of their main diet. In Rwanda, dry beans are an important staple food and constitute the primary source of protein for about 90% of Rwandan households. Unfortunately, dry beans are a slow-cooking food, requiring a lot of time...
The potential of sorghum to meet food, feed and farm income needs of smallholder farmers in arid areas of Kenya relies on the identification and cultivation of appropriate varieties. Sorghum cultivation for food grain and quality fodder from the same crop is not well established among varieties in Kenya. The fodder– cum–grain yield potential of important varieties required to be identified to enable farmers in semi-arid areas to select appropriate varieties and crop management progra...
ABSTRACT Botswana is classified as an upper middle income country and despite having attained such economic growth, the country still faces socio-economic challenges such as poverty. The current poverty rate is 20.7% while rural poverty is 24.7% which is relatively higher for an upper middle income country. In order to address this problem, the government introduced the Poverty Eradication Programme. This study therefore, sought to assess the income, expenditure and consumption dimensions of ...
Farm diversification is considered an optimal farm plan decision for mitigatingvarying degrees of risks and uncertainties which surround agricultural production, and also has a benefit of stabilizing or increasing income. Diversified agriculture is widely practicedin Konoin district but smallholder farmers earn low incomes asevidenced by poor living standards amongst the smallholders. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the role of on-farm diversification in poverty alleviation amon...
ABSTRACT The agriculture sector supports the livelihoods of the majority of the population in Rwanda. Currently, the sector is dominated by smallholder farmers most of whom are women. In order to modernize and transform agriculture to market orientation, the government has put in place agriculture sector development programs for instance the Crop Intensification Program. One of the targeted crops in the program is the common bean. Nearly all households in Rwanda produce the common bean. Thoug...
The use of mineral and organic fertilizer to produce maize in Malawi is essential to ensure high yields, due to a decline in soil fertility. Smallholder farmers however, apply sub-optimalamounts of inorganic fertilizers to produce maize due to high prices. The objective of the study was to evaluate effect of integrating chicken manure and mineral fertilizer on nitrogen uptake, growth and yield of hybrid maize in Malawi as a low cost measure. Field experiments were done in Lilongwe and Z...
ABSTRACT In South Sudan livestock is an important source of livelihood however, animal productivity is very low due to lack of adequate feed particularly in dry season. In this study five objectives were carried out. In objective 1, a questionnaire survey was conducted amongst livestock keepers and generally 25 most commonly browsed species were identified. The study indicate that, there is a wide range and diversity of browse species that could serve as important livestock feed. The study ev...
ABSTRACT Arid and Semi-Arid Lands are faced with environmental challenges which affect the productivity of their agricultural enterprises and consequently the level of food security and livelihoods of people. Tambach Ward in Kerio Valley of Elgeyo-Marakwet County is an ASAL area and Households living face similar challenges. The major farm enterprises practiced are maize, Drought-tolerant crops and livestock. Despite the support provided to households by Government and Non-Governmental Organi...
Agricultural production plays an important role in food security in many African countries. The main challenge of policy makers in these countries is how to attain food self sufficiency, and increased farm productivity and incomes. In Kenya, greenhouse production is among technologies promoted to improve farm output and income among smallholder farmers. Greenhouse production technology in Kenya has, until recently, been the confine of large scale export-oriented flower farmers. The techn...
ABSTRACT Limited access to accurate and timely information by farming communities is perceived as a major drawback in the development of agriculture in Kenya. Subsequently, the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries (MoALF) has promoted the integration of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) to improve farmers‟ access to information and rapidly transform the delivery of agricultural extension services to them. The initiatives promoted include; mobile telephony, web b...
ABSTRACT Rodents are the greatest vertebrate pest problem in developing countries causing substantial damage to structures, food, crops, industrial and domestic property. They also act as reservoirs and vectors of zoonotic diseases. The current method for controlling rodents is the use of rodenticides which are toxic to non target organisms, pollutants to environment and trigger resistance. In an effort to find eco-friendly alternatives to synthetic rodenticides, reproductive inhibition of Ri...
ABSTRACT A study was conducted to evaluate the physical changes that occur in the soil due to conversion of forest to arable land. Six locations in Enugu State that were selected for this purpose include Ugbo-Okpara (Li), Ugbo-nabo (L2), Ugwogo-Nike (L3), Iyi- Ukwu (L4), Edem (L5) and Ugwo (L6). Soil parameters determined include bulk density, saturated hydraulic conductivity, macro porosity, micro porosity, total porosity, organic carbon, pH, Dithionate citrate bi-carbonate (DCB) Iron oxide...
Since 1931, Rift Valley fever (RVF) epidemics have recurred in Kenya at an average inter epidemic period of up to 10 years. The most recent epidemic occurred in 2006/2007. It resulted in losses. Estimated as KES 2.1 Billion. A post epidemic assessment recommended adoption of One Health (OH) approach to RVF management as well as implementation of livestock control strategies that offer highest benefits to both the livestock and public health sectors. Evidence to guide such decisions was i...
Aflatoxins (AFs) are some of the toxic and carcinogenic mycotoxins. Due to the high cost of most cereals and its competition for human food, chicken feeds are often formulated with mouldy and broken grains which are easily contaminated with mycotoxins. Kenya Bureau of Standards recommended 20ppb total AFs as the permissible level in poultry feed. The first objective of this study evaluated the effects of fermentation on the detoxification of AF contaminated maize flour using S. cerevisia...
The objective of this study was to contribute to dairy cattle improvement in Kenya through optimization of breeding systems that incorporate reproductive technologies and milk quality traits in the dairy cattle breeding programme. Specifically, the study: 1) compared response to selection realized in a closed two-tier nucleus breeding system utilizing different reproductive technologies, 2) estimated the economic values for milk protein yield and mastitis resistance, and 3) compared resp...