This study was conducted to examine the growth and immune performance of catfish (Clarias gariepinus) juveniles cultured in a biofloc fish farming system. To achieve this, 900 C. gariepinus juveniles (9.0 ± 0.23 g) were cultured in an intensive zero water exchange biofloc system for 72 days in 9 separate tanks (2 m3 each) aerated by an air blower, after which growth assessment of fish was conducted. The trial consisted of three treatments in triplicates, a control without carbon source addition, and two biofloc ...

Maize (Zea mays) is an important food and cash crop of uplands in Southeast Asia, where it is often prone to drought and heat stress associated with climate change. This study aimed at assessing the effect of heat and drought on maize performance, testing coping strategies under such weather extremes, and understanding associated mechanisms. The experiment was carried out during 2018 in Thailand, using a split-plot design with three replications. Treatments were: July-planted maize sole cropping (control), July-planted ...

Low iodine content in soils is a common feature in lowland and in mountainous regions far from oceans. The diets of the people living in these regions are often deficient in dietary iodine, resulting in chronic iodine deficiency syndrome, goiter, hearing loss and other debilitating diseases. A field experiment was conducted at the Teaching and Research Farm, University of Ilorin, Nigeria during the 2017 and 2018 cropping seasons, to evaluate the response of amaranths to iodine enrichment using an agronomic approach. ...

The present study in Quezon, Philippines, assessed the sustainability of small-scale production systems, based either on native or on exotic sow breeds, using different survey tools in a socio-economic approach. In two research periods, data sets with 49 households and 68 households, respectively, all smallholder farmers keeping ≤5 sows, were compiled. In 2016, four municipalities were purposively selected, each representing one of Quezon’s four districts. In 2017, two municipalities, both with larger populations of ...

Pig farming plays an important role in farmers’ livelihoods in many tropical countries. It contributes to food security of the poorest as well as the development of rural economy through multiplier effects. In the South Kivu province, pig farms are almost exclusively owned by smallholders. A few studies have attempted to describe thoroughly pig farming systems in this province. This study was undertaken to characterise pig production systems, in order to better understand their current situation, namely constraints ...

Russian olive (Elaeagnus angustifolia L., Elagnaceae) is a native multi-purpose medicinal shrub or tree of Asian regions and an integral component of high altitude terraced agroforestry systems of Gilgit-Baltistan, northern Pakistan. The strong increase in deforestation, urbanisation, and the loss of ethnically-based medication practices in local communities are gradually leading to depletion of its stands and knowledge of its use. In view of these circumstances, this study was undertaken to characterise Russian olive ...

Community-based livestock breeding programmes (CBBPs) have emerged as a potential approach to implement sustainable livestock breeding in smallholder systems. In Malawi and Uganda, goat CBBPs were introduced to improve production and productivity of indigenous goats through selective breeding. Scaling up CBBPs have recently received support due to evidence-based results from current implementation and results of CBBPs implemented in other regions of the world. This paper explores strategies for scaling up goat CBBPs ...

A field survey was conducted during the 2018 rainy season (June – October) in three major ginger producing Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Kaduna State, Nigeria to determine the occurrence and spread of wheat streak mosaic virus (WSMV) infecting ginger. Symptomatic and asymptomatic ginger leaf samples (n=180) and weed samples (n=45) were collected from the surveyed fields and indexed against WSMV using Double Antibody Sandwich Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay (DAS-ELISA). The results obtained showed that WSMV ...

Soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration in agricultural systems is a key indicator of soil fertility improvement and climate change mitigation at the global scale. In Madagascar, the effect on SOC sequestration of converting from traditional practices to agroecological ones remains unclear. The objectives of this study were (i) to assess the impact of agroecological practices, such as agroforestry (AF), tree plantation (TP) and improved farming practices (IFPs), on SOC sequestration at the field level; and (ii) to ...

The capacity of agriculture to provide sustainable livelihood opportunities is exceeded by the rural populations of developing countries, and with limited opportunities available in urban centres, the rural non-farm economy (RNFE) becomes pivotal in improving rural livelihoods. Within an empowerment agenda, it is important for policy makers to understand why households enter into the RNFE. We investigated participation in the RNFE of farm worker livelihoods along with the motivation for participation in RNF employment. ...