Abstract/Overview Background For most rural households in sub-Saharan Africa, healthy livestock play a key role in averting the burden associated with zoonotic diseases, and in meeting household nutritional and socio-economic needs. However, there is limited understanding of the complex nutritional, socio-economic, and zoonotic pathways that link livestock health to human health and welfare. Here we describe a platform for integrated human health, animal health and economic welfare analys...
Abstract/Overview Developing countries are endowed with abundant natural resources. They are also more reliant on natural resources given their limited technology and inadequate infrastructural development. Despite the abundance of such resources, many rural communities are struggling over access to natural resources including fish. Fishing households are faced with ever-declining fish catches and combined effort of overexploitation. The impacts have been severe, especially among small sc...
Abstract/Overview Different scholars have looked at the general economic impacts of the land reforms and legal implications at national level. However, a few studies have been done on economic history in Gusiiland. This study aimed at analyzing the impact of the colonial land tenure reforms on the Abagusii customary land tenure practices in Gusii, Kenya. This study used the articulation of modes of production theory to analyze the effects of land reforms on the Abagusii community from 189...
Abstract/Overview A number of scholars agree that farms which are cropped more frequently tend to exhibit lower levels of soil erosion than those that are cropped less frequently or left fallow. However, the effects of physiographic units on this relationship are not known. Most methods used to assess land degradation ignore the use of indicators of agricultural land use intensity and land degradation. They are too complex and ignore the role of physiography. This research looked at the e...
Abstract/Overview Globally, land tenure comes in different methods such as inheritance, renting, purchasing and land being offered as gift. Such practices have so far encouraged land fragmentation leading to small holdings which are uneconomical in terms of land use practices resulting into low yields. Such low food productions from small holdings in Ugunja coupled with poor food access from other sub-counties cannot sustain households up to the next harvest hence the problem of severe pe...
Abstract/Overview ABSTRACT: Soil has influenced progression of civilization in many regions because it supports food production. Growth in world population has been met by intensification of soil utilization which in turn has caused diverse changes in physical, biological and chemical properties of soil resource. In Nyakach Sub-county in western Kenya intensified agricultural production and soil degradation have proceeded hand-in-hand. This area portrays a mismatch between agricultural pr...
Abstract/Overview In developing countries, artisanal fisheries occupy a critical position in rural livelihoods. This is because fishing as an activity offers great opportunities for rural communities who have minimal resource endowment. In order to understand the diversity in artisanal fisheries communities’ livelihoods, analysis of socio-economic characteristics is important. This can help in designing appropriate strategies that are informed and knowledge based. In this paper, artisan...
The study examined smallholder yam farmer’s perception and response to climate variability and change. A multistage sampling technique was used to select the study districts, study communities and the sample size of four hundred respondents. Questionnaires, key informant interviews and focus group discussions were conducted to elicit relevant information from the respondents. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, qualitative narratives, community resource maps, seasonal calendars...
Smallholder commercialization becomes a necessary driver for poverty alleviation and food security in agriculturally driven economies in Sub-Saharan Africa considering rising population growth with increased competition for access to resources. However, commercializing smallholder farming in agriculturally driven economies vary in scales, institutional arrangements and labour regimes as well as socio-economic, environmental and political influence with varying policy initiatives towards incor...
Fall armyworm (FAW), still remains an important pest of many agricultural crops including corn. There is the need to use environmentally friendly to address this current menace. Field experiment was laid in randomized complete block design with three replications, using nine different fertilization regimes to evaluate the influence of enhanced efficiency fertilization on FAW infestations and agronomic performance of maize. Data were collected on FAW larval abundance, damage incidence and impa...
Artisanal small-scale mining activities are on the rise with several concerns. Whiles these are issues of concern, farmers in the mining communities are providing labour services to ASM for wages. This study investigated the determinants of farmers’ decision to provide labour services to ASM. It also assessed the welfare effects of providing labour services to ASM operations. Multi-stage sampling technique was employed to collect cross-sectional data from 200 farm households in two district...
Abstract Declining soil fertility poses a serious threat to food production and food security to most farming households. Integrated Soil Fertility Management (ISFM) comprising the combination of organic and mineral fertilizer and other practices such as cereal-legume intercropping, diversified crop rotation and farmers’ knowledge has been promoted in various countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) including Kenya. This study aimed at evaluating adoption, productivity and return to investmen...
Abstract Illicit brew accounts for 60% of alcohol drunk in Kenya, with detrimental effects on health and food security. This study aimed to determine health consequences of illicit local brews on household food security was conducted in Bumula and Kanduyi Sub-Counties, Kenya. Correlational survey research design was used. The 726 respondents were sampled by stratified random sampling where household heads and key informants were purposefully sampled. Interviews, structured questionnaires, an...
Abstract Chronic stress poses a challenge to aquaculture, with cortisol and glucose traditionally used as stress markers. Recent doubts about the reliability of scale cortisol as a chronic stress determinant have surfaced due to its role in calcium homeostasis. While cortisol affects gene expression in stress responses, its impact on metabolic pathways in cultured Nile tilapia remains understudied. We explored the connection between cortisol signatures of chronic stress in Nile tilapia and t...
Abstract/Overview Background: Natural forest succession often affects soil physical and chemical properties. Selected physical and chemical soil properties were studied in an old-growth forest across a forest successional series in Dinghushan Nature Reserve, Southern China. Methodology/Principal Findings: The aim was to assess the effects of forest succession change on soil properties. Soil samples (0–20 cm depth) were collected from three forest types at different succession stages, na...