Jelly seed is a major challenge in mango production leading to enormous losses in the value chain. This internal fruit disorder is characterised by disintegration of cells, consistency of jelly and broken cells. Calcium plays an important role in enhancing tissue stability and firmness thus reducing cell disintegration. A two-year field study was conducted in Embu County, Kenya using ‘Van Dyke’ cultivar trees of approximately 10 years old. The objective of the study was to investigate the effect of varied sources of ...

The current cross-sectional study aimed at characterising the productivity and diseases affecting dairy goats kept by smallholder farmers in three sub-counties in Thika Region, Kenya. Standard questionnaires were administered to 240 farmers through face-to-face interviews and the outputs were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The farmers mainly kept crosses of Toggenburg (45.9 %), Kenyan Alpine (29.5 %) and Saanen (17.4 %) dairy goats. The average dairy goat flock size was 4.5 (range 1–23) and ...

Development partners and donor agencies often target programs and projects in poverty stricken and vulnerable regions around the world. However, there is paucity on economic and financial analysis of such investments. This study contributes to the literature by assessing financial internal rate of return (FIRR) and economic internal rate of return (EIRR) of livestock agribusiness, a vital component of ‘High Mountain Agribusiness and Livelihood Improvement’ (HIMALI) project supported by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) ...

Women lag in the adoption of agricultural innovations compared to men, mainly due to gender inequalities in access to complementary inputs, capital, and knowledge/information. The Infection-and-Treatment-Method (ITM) is considered a safe and effective method of controlling East Coast fever. However, since its commercialisation in Kenya differences in demand for this vaccine among smallholder men and women dairy cattle keepers have not been assessed. Using a sample of 448 respondents, we used an Average-Treatment-Effect ...

To better understand susceptibility and/ or tolerance of locally adapted turkey to salmonellosis, we compared bodyweight, antibody titres and physiological traits based on genotype and sex of salmonella-infected turkeys. Three hundred poults from two genotypes (160 local and 140 exotic turkeys) were raised for twenty weeks. Bodyweight (BW), rectal temperature (RT), pulse rate (PR) and respiratory rate (RR) were measured weekly. Blood samples were collected from each turkey before and after inoculations at week 8 and ...

Farmers in developing economies often struggle to adapt to climate change and their decisions to adapt usually hinges on perception and prevailing socio-economic factors. This study examines factors controlling farmers’ decision to adapt to climate change and evaluate the impact of such decisions on farm output. Using primary data from 138 rice farming households in Ndop-Cameroon, we employ the probit model with endogenous switching regression to investigate the impact of the farmers’ adaptation decisions on output. ...

In order to promote cocoa agroforestry by encouraging cocoa farmers to integrate fruit trees inside their cocoa orchards, cocoa certification was initially launched since 2012 in Cameroon. Nowadays, cocoa certification is adopted by a few farmers and makes up only 3% of the national cocoa production. Using the most predominant Fairtrade certification in the South-West region, this study compared certified and non-certified cocoa production via a cost-benefit analysis. The results indicated that, in spite of its ...

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. ...

The African baobab (Adansonia digitata L.) is a multipurpose fruit-producing tree that is indigenous to the African savannahs. Commercial interest in the species has grown in recent years. The major obstacle of seed-based propagation of baobab is its inherent seed dormancy. Therefore, in this study the effects of different mechanical seed scarification methods on seed germination parameters and seedling development of A. digitata were tested. The results show that mechanical scarification had a significant effect on ...

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 ...