African Journal of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development

African Journal of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development ISSN 2375-0693 Vol. 6 (3), pp. 612-620, March, 2018. © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Incidence, severity of food insecurity and inequalities in resource distribution in Malawi’s prisons

*Hastings Moloko¹, Davies Ng'ong'ola², Joseph Dzanja² and Thabbie Chilongo²

¹University of Malawi, Malawi.

²Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

Corresponding author's E-mail: [email protected]

Accepted 15 February, 2018

Abstract

While Malawi’s per capita cereal production may be higher than her per capita cereal consumption, Malawi is a net cereal importer and thus food insecure. The food situation is much worse in Malawi’s prisons because inmates generally eat one meal per day. The general objective of this study was to determine the extent of food insecurity in Malawi’s prisons. Specifically, the study intended to determine the incidence and severity of food insecurity, and inequalities in the distribution of food and subvention in Malawi’s prisons. Using structured questionnaires in face to face interviews, the study collected data from 1000 prisoners and 30 officers-in-charge from all prisons in the country. The data was analysed using Stata 12 and employed the Foster-Greer-Thorbecke (FGT) modeland Gini Coefficients as an analytical tools. Results from the analysis showed that practically all prisoners in Malawi’s prisons were food insecure. There existed a per capita aggregate food insecurity gap of 1,738.6 kilocalories per day or an aggregate food insecurity gap of 21,902,883 kilocalories per day or Malawi Kwacha (MK)18,932,100.00 worth of food deficit per day for the 12,598 prisoners or MK1,502.79 or USD 2.07 per prisoner per day in 2015. Prisoners in the prisons operated on 71 percentage points below the food security threshold. There were inequalities in the distribution of food and subvention in Malawi’s prisoners. Both the Watts Index and Sen Index confirmed the high levels of food insecurity in Malawi’s prisons.

Keywords: Malawi’s prisons, incidence of food insecurity, severity of food insecurity, inequalities in food and subvention.

African Journal of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development ISSN 2375-0693 Vol. 6 (2), pp. 604-612, February, 2018. © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

The decision to control cocoa capsids with capsicides: The case of cocoa producers in the Sekyere Area, Ashanti Region, Ghana

^*Eric Asare¹_, Eduardo Segarra, ²Kwasi Ohene-Yankyera³ and Gertrude Nakakeeto⁴

¹Department of Agric. & Resource Economics, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon,Canada.

 ²Texas Tech University Agricultural Sciences 205-ELubbock, TX 79409-213, USA.

³Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ashanti, Ghana.

⁴Texas Tech University, Box 42132 Lubbock, TX 79409, USA.

Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]

Accepted 11 February, 2018

Abstract

 The cocoa capsid is a critical pest in Ghana. Uncontrolled it can cause up to about 30 percent cocoa yield loss, directly affecting the livelihoods of about 800,000 cocoa farmers in southern Ghana. This study uses a logit model to estimate the magnitudes of the effects of the factors that influence the adoption of capsicide by cocoa producers in the Sekyere Area, Ashanti Region, Ghana. It uses a survey data collected by the Ghana Sustainable Cocoa Competitive Systems, Accra, Ghana, on active cocoa producers in the study area in the 2006/2007 cocoa production season. Our results show that producer’s farming experience, producer’s engagement in off-farm economic activities, producer’s access to credit, extension visit, cocoa output, producer’s age, and membership in a farmers’ group are likely to influence cocoa farmers’ decision to adopt capsicide. The results could help Ghana manage cocoa capsid efficiently

Keywords: Cocoa, Capsid Bugs, Capsicide, Chemical Control, Logit Model.

‎African Journal of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development ISSN 2375-0693 Vol. 6 (1), pp. 570-575, January, 2018. © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Effect of rhizobial inoculants on growth and seed yield of cowpea

*Onoriose B. Williams, O. A. Nnegi and Olori Matthew

Institute of Agricultural Research and Training, Obafemi Awolowo University, Moor Plantation, P. M. B. 5029, Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria.

*Corresponding Author. E-mail: [email protected]

Accepted 25 January, 2017

Abstract

The effect of separately inoculating cowpea cultivars, ‘Ife brown” (IF) and “Owode” (OW) with Cowpea aphid-borne mosaic virus (CABMV), Cowpea yellow mosaic virus (CYMV) and Rhizobium IRc 284(RH-284) on nodulation was investigated. Also, the effect of inoculating the cowpea cultivars with RH-284 on the severity of infection caused by the viruses was studied. The interactive effects of inoculating cowpea with RH- 284 and each of CABMV, CYMV, Southern bean mosaic virus (SBMV) and Blackeye cowpea mosaic virus (BICMV) on nodulation, growth and yield of IF and OW were also investigated. The results showed that infection by CYMV and CABMV significantly reduced nodulation by about 20-30% and 40-45% in IF and OW, respectively. Inoculating with RH-284 alone significantly increased nodulation by about 20% in both cowpea cultivars. In the interactive study involving virus-RH 284 inocula, slight but non-significant increases of 22, 2 and 9% in nodule number were observed in IF inoculated with RH-284 and SBMV, CYMV and CABMV, respectively. The differences observed in the nodule, shoot and seed weights were not significantly different from those of the control. There was a negative correlation between nodule number and severity of symptom. BICMV caused the most severe effect on the two cowpea cultivars. It reduced the number of nodules by 55-66% with or without RH-284. It also caused significant reductions of over 80% in nodule and seed weights of OW. In conclusion, increase in nodulation reduced viral disease severity, the slight but non-significant increases observed in the growth and yield parameters suggest that improved nodulation can be advantageous to cowpea.

Key words: Blackeye cowpea mosaic virus, cowpea aphid-borne mosaic virus, cowpea yellow mosaic virus, southern bean mosaic virus.

‎African Journal of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development ISSN 2375-0693 Vol. 6 (1), pp. 576-588, January, 2018. © International Scholars Journals 

Full Length Research Paper

A study of the profitability of growing improved maize OPVs compared with hybrids

*Oscar C. Gordimer, Steve Thabo Tambo and Jonty Gabriel Verwoerd

Department of Agriculture, University of Zululand, P. Bag X1001, KwaDlangezwa, 3886, South Africa.

Accepted 12 July, 2017

Abstract

This study examined the profitability of growing Open Pollinated Varieties (OPVs) of maize against hybrids in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. Studies have shown that improved OPVs of maize can be a valuable step for smallholder farmers in semi-arid areas as they are relatively drought tolerant when compared to hybrids. Thirteen maize varieties were evaluated extensively by on-farm trials in selected areas under dry land and irrigated conditions. Nine were newly introduced and improved Open Pollinated Varieties (OPVs), while four were locally grown varieties. Among the locally grown varieties, one was a hybrid-check, while the remaining three were improved OPVs. The objective of this study was to assess the profitability of growing improved maize OPVs compared with hybrids. The Gross Margin analysis was employed to compute the gross margins of improved maize OPVs and hybrids. Results show that the hybrid PAN 6479 variety in general performed better than improved maize OPVs across all environments whereas in some areas, the improved maize OPVs had better gross margins and gross profit margins than the hybrid variety. The indicated genotypes however did not show specific adaptation to selected environments. From the results of the study, it could be put into perspective that it would be profitable to grow improved maize OPVs in the Eastern Cape Province by smallholder farmers given that the Province is semi-arid and farmers are resource-poor. On the other hand, hybrids require high-level use of inputs that could be costly for smallholder farmers.

Key words: Gross margins (GM), gross profit margins, hybrids, open pollinated varieties (OPVs), profitability, smallholder farmers.

‎African Journal of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development ISSN 2375-0693 Vol. 6 (1), pp. 562-569, January, 2018. © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Functionality and efficiency in the analyses of experimental data for Agricultural research

*Anderson Inacio, Dilma Ribeiro and Philippe Firmino

Department of Food Engineering, Federal University of Campina Grande, Campina Grande, Paraíba, Brazil.

*Corresponding Author. E-mail: [email protected]

Accepted 18 February, 2017

Abstract

Statistical programs are essential tools for those who deal with scientific research and need to analyze experimental data. In agriculture, there are often uncontrolled factors, which determine the necessity of statistical analyses of the data. The Assistat software version 7.7 is one of these tools and this study aimed to demonstrate its functionality and efficiency in the analyses of experimental data of agricultural research and evaluate its acceptance. In order to exemplify its utilization, data of agricultural experiments were analyzed using the models of analysis of variance for randomized block and factorial experiments. In addition, the regression was used in the analysis of variance for quantitative treatments. It was concluded that the software was used in many papers published in journals and that it is functional and efficient in the analysis of experimental data of agricultural research.

Key words: Analysis of variance (ANOVA), statistical software, Tukey's test.