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Commercialization of Coffee Production in Coffee-Based Farming Systems in Ethiopia
Get PDFCommercialization of agriculture is an important part of the agrarian transformation of low-income economies and a means of ensuring food security, enhanced nutrition, and incomes. This study was designed to examine coffee commercialization in the coffee-based farming system of Ethiopia. It was conducted in two regional states, namely, Oromia and Southern Nation, Nationalities and Peoples (SNNP) which constitute 95% of coffee production in the country. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire from a total of randomly selected 953 households. The Tobit model is used to identify factors affecting farmers' coffee commercialization in major coffee-producing areas. The results of the study showed that 89% of coffee-producing households supply coffee to the market. Coffee is more commercialized (76%) compared to other staple foods (such as maize) in the area. The econometric result also showed positive effects of access to key public services (education and extension services) and the adoption of improved coffee varieties on the commercialization level of coffee. The positive effect of radio ownership on coffee market participation also suggests the need for more farm-based tailored radio programs that can provide market information for the farmers. Diversification through intercropping is a method to promote the marketing of cash crops, which necessitates wider diffusion of enhanced climate-smart practices. Moreover, research, extension, and other development partners must pay due attention to any barriers/drivers that encourages the access and use of the improved varieties
Adoption of Improved Tef Technology Packages in Northern Ethiopia: A Multivariate Probit Approach
Get PDFThis study was initiated to understand the adoption level and factors governing the adoption of improved tef technology packages in the northern part of Ethiopia. A multistage sampling procedure was used to select sample households from Amhara and Tigray region in 2018. A multivariate probit (MVP) model involving a system of five equations for the adoption decision of improved tef technologies and practices was estimated using data collected from 484 sample farm households covering ten districts- two from Tigray and eight from Amhara regional states. The result showed that the adoption level of certified tef seed, row planting, recommended weeding frequency, the recommended rate of Urea and recommended rate of DAP/NPS were 40.2%, 35.7%, 69.1%, 65.0%, and 47.5%, respectively. The model results attested that most improved tef production technology packages are complementary; this implies that farm-level policies that affect the use of one improved agricultural technology can have spillover effects on the other technologies. The various demographic, socio-economic, and institutional variables were found to exhibit variable effects on the decision to adopt the different technology components of the improved tef technology package. The unexpected relationship between the frequency of extension contact and application of recommended fertilizer rate requires further investigation which the available data can’t answer. The overall finding of the study underlined the high importance of information related services and institutional support services in the study area to enhance adoption of improved tef technology packages. Therefore, the government should work with development partners and NGOs for the improvement of such services and ease the accessibility and availability of certified seeds and fertilizers as well as the introduction of labor-saving technologies so as to achieve wider adoption of the technologies
Chrysoritis Butler (Papilionoidea: Lycaenidae: Aphnaeinae) – Part I: Molecular phylogenetic analyses of a South African genus of myrmecophilous butterflies
Get PDFThe molecular data of Talavera et al. (2020) is re-analysed to provide a foundation for a taxonomic revision of Chrysoritis. A COI phylogeny recovers most of the Chrysoritis species as monophyletic, and a few as polyphyletic but supported by the CAD gene. In the thysbe clade, most species, despite occurring in sympatry with at least one other species in the clade, maintain distinctive wing facies and ecological identity without intermediate forms. Within the thysbe clade, which contains the majority of species, sister taxon comparisons based on the COI phylogeny suggest speciation has been predominantly allopatric and accompanied mostly by minor morphological change and sometimes also a change in male patrolling terrain and/or host ant species. The diversification of the thysbe clade and the taxonomic implications of our results are discussed
Best Practice for Administering Low Molecular Weight Heparin (LMWH) Injection: An Evidence-Based Practice Project
No full textContext: Anticoagulation with subcutaneous heparin is the most common treatment for thromboembolic illnesses. LMWH is currently the most popular parenteral anticoagulant drug. Low molecular weight heparins are given by subcutaneous injection. This form of administration frequently results in adverse reactions, such as pain at the injection site, bruising, pain, sclerosis, and the development of hematomas.
Aim: Determine the best practice for administering low molecular weight heparin.
Methods: A total of 60 patients were included in the incremental rollout stage. The evidence-based practice team used a data collection tool to assess the incidence of bruising and pain. After appraising and synthesizing the evidence, the practice changes to use the abdomen as the first choice for injection of low-molecular-weight heparin was rolled out in the cardiac ward from OCT 2021 to NOV 2021.
Results: Highly statistically significant was found between both groups regarding injection site and incidence of pain P=0.000. Regarding the incidence of bruising, a statistically significant difference was found between both groups, p=0.004.
Conclusion: The abdomen should be the first choice for injection of low-molecular-weight heparin
The Fourth Industrial Revolution has arrived. Comments on Moll (S Afr J Sci. 2023;119(1/2), Art. #12916)
No full textSignificance:This Commentary is a response to Moll (S Afr J Sci. 2023;119(1/2), Art. #12916) who refutes the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) and its impact. As this Commentary demonstrates, there is a case to be made that the 4IR constitutes a revolution and that the limitation at the level of pure technology can be refuted as a revolution is based on its wider impact. While the 4IR can be classified as an evolution of the Third Industrial Revolution, its scale, scope and complexity denote a revolution of its own
Comparison of phosphorus-based extractants on manganese separation from citrate leach solutions for recycling of lithium-ion batteries
No full textThe performance requirements of modern lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) necessitate the use of a number of scarce and strategically sensitive metals such as lithium and cobalt. Recycling end-of-life LIBs reduces the demand on the primary sources of these metals and helps reduce the environmental impact of LIB waste. Citric acid has proven to be an effective environmentally friendly and sustainable lixiviant; however, the formation of metal citrate complexes complicates subsequent metal separation processes such as solvent extraction. This study enhances the understanding of LIB metal separation from citric acid media by comparing the metal separation performance of phosphorus-based liquid-liquid extractants from a citric acid leach. The optimum Mn(II) extraction pH decreases as the extractant’s phosphorus oxidation state increases from phosphinic to phosphonic to phosphoric, due to the oxygen atoms that surround the central phosphorus atom. The maximum Mn(II) separation with Cyanex 272, PC-88A, and D2EHPA was observed at pHs of 6, 3, and 3, respectively. D2EHPA further provided the best separation of Mn(II) over Al, Co, Li, and Ni with separation factors of 137, 191, 118, and 601, respectively. No research is currently available on the metal separation performance of phosphonic (PC-88A) or phosphinic (Cyanex 272) organic extractants from citric acid media.
Significance:• This study is the first to investigate the use of phosphonic and phosphinic extractants for metal separation from citric acid leach solutions, towards using citric acid as an environmentally friendly lixiviant.• The phosphoric extractant, D2EHPA, enabled successful and sequential separation and extraction of aluminium, manganese and lithium, making the process technologically feasible and attractive
Guidance counselling and social studies education: impetus for national rebirth in the wake of social milieu in Nigeria
No full textThis paper discusses Guidance and counselling; and Social Studies Education in relationship to national rebirth and nation building viz their roles in sensitizing the Nigerian students on the need for behaviour modification and general attitudinal restructuring for the main purpose of nation building and national transformation. In the context of this, the paper is centred on the concept of guidance and Counselling, Social Studies Education national rebirth, nation building, behavioural factors that negate nation building and the place of Guidance Counselling and Social Studies as well as the various strategies applicable to the two subject areas in preparing the learners nation building. On the basis of the issues discussed, the paper made recommendations that Government at all levels should be committed to education development through the employment of qualified counsellors and social Studies educators for effective citizenship orientation in Nigeria to achieve the desired result, provision of office accommodation and other working tools to the counsellors, adequate funding of education by government at all levels, etc
Correlational analysis of parental occupation on students’ agripreneurial competency skills and choice of agribusiness after graduation in Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Bauchi, Nigeria
No full textThe broad objective of the study is to determine the relationship of parental occupation on students’ agripreneurial competency skills and choice of agribusiness after graduation. The study adopted a descriptive survey design with a population of 196 final year agricultural technology students of 2018/2019 session of the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa university, Bauchi. The sample size for the study was one hundred (100) students that were randomly selected. A self-developed questionnaire was designed and administered for data collection. The questionnaire was validated by three lecturers from the Faculty of Technology Education and Faculty of Agriculture and Agricultural Technology. The Alpha Cronbach’s reliability coefficient was 89.56% which was highly reliable. Data obtained was subjected to descriptive statistics and cross-tabulation. The frequency result indicated that majority of the students do not possess agribusiness skills. There was a significant association between parental occupation and agribusiness competency skills possessed by the students, i.e., students’ whose parents are civil-servants wants to be civil-servants and students whose parents are full-time farmers does want to be farmers
Effect of blended learning on teaching large classes in Faculty of Education University of Maiduguri
No full textThe aim of this study is to examine the effect of blended learning on the teaching and learning large classes in among ore-service teachers in a Nigerian University. The study adopted Ex-Post Factor design to determine the effect of blended learning on teaching a large class size among pre-service teachers at the University of Maiduguri. A purposive sampling technique was to draw a sample of 1,608 from the two separates test. The data obtained were analyzed using descriptive statistics (mean and median) and an independent sample t-test to analyzed the results. The results of the study show that there is a significant difference in the mean scores of pre-service teachers taught through blended learning and those taught with the conventional approach in large classes. Similarly, there is not much difference between the mean scores of male and female pre-service teachers taught with blended learning in a large class. The findings of the study revealed that blended learning enhances the management of large classes and improve pre-service teachers’ achievement test. Therefore, blended learning integrated pedagogy is the effective strategy to manage large classrooms. The study recommends that there is a need to deploy teachers with adequate skills of handling large classes through the application of blended learning instructional strategies. Also, lecturers should be trained to develop skills and master the arts of integrating technology into their classroom teaching and management of classrooms with large population