In Kenya, beekeeping offers benefits which could make it attractive to smallholder farmers as a possible strategy for making their livelihoods more sustainable. However, its potential remains largely unexploited and the lack of new entrants is thought to be one key reason for a decline in beekeeping. This paper reports on a study that examined the factors affecting beekeeping adoption in Baringo County, Kenya with a focus on three smallholder farming communities. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 90 ...

Potassium (K) is an essential macronutrient needed in large amounts by oil palm as it is directly involved in physiological processes. This research focused on the influence of K fertiliser on the vegetative growth of oil palm and determined the optimum rate of K fertiliser for immature plants (aged 1 to 3 years). The study was conducted at IPB-Cargill Oil Palm Teaching Farm, Jonggol, Bogor, Indonesia, from March 2013 to March 2016. The application rates were 0, 196, 392, 588, and 784 g K_2O plant^(−1) year^(−1) ...

The main focus of most programmes in developing countries carried out by NGOs is to develop small-scale farmers’ capacities. One approach hereby is to use multi-stakeholder innovation systems, such as the ‘Nicaraguan Learning Alliance’ (NLA). However, tools for the evaluation of multi-stakeholder innovation systems are rare. This paper reports on the implementation of a conceptual framework to carry out an impact evaluation of multi-stakeholder innovation systems using the NLA as the object of study. The assessment ...

This study evaluated nutrient utilisation and blood chemistry of Red Sokoto bucks fed a 10 and 20 % inclusion level of raw, water- and lime-soaked Hibiscus sabdariffa L. seeds in rice bran based diets. 21 Red Sokoto bucks aged 8–10 months and weighing 9–13 kg were randomly allotted into six treatments with three bucks each, while a seventh dietary treatment with zero inclusion of seeds served as control in a 2 × 3 factorial arrangement using a complete randomised design. The results indicated that increase in dietary ...

The objective of this study was to determine the dietary protein and apparent metabolisable energy (AME) requirements of local chickens. Freshly laid eggs of scavenging chickens collected in rural villages were hatched and randomly distributed to 27 floor pens, 10 chicks per pen. Chicks were fed 9 experimental diets that were combinations of three CP levels (140, 170 and 190 g kg−1 DM) and three AME levels (11.0, 11.7 and 12 MJ kg−1) during the starter phase (0–6 weeks) and combinations of three CP levels (120, 150 ...

Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.) is an important staple food crop in sub-Saharan Africa. A limiting production factor is infestation by the sweet potato weevil Cylas puncticollis (Boheman) (Coleoptera: Brentidae). The use of host plant resistance is an essential component of Integrated Pest Management (IPM). Therefore, the bionomic parameters of C. puncticollis were studied under laboratory conditions (30 ± 1 °C and 75 ± 5 % RH) on four sweet potato varieties commonly grown in Ghana (Apumoden, Ligri, Bohye, ...

The study was conducted on indigenous scavenging chickens under village management firstly, to evaluate the early development of the digestive tract to 28 days of age and secondly, to determine the growth performance of these chickens up to 20 weeks of age. One hundred and seventeen chicks, 13 chicks per age class (day 1, 4, 7, 10, 14, 17, 21, 24, 28) were randomly purchased from six rural villages in the Vhembe District, Venda, South Africa. The chickens were weighed and sacrificed for measurement of the different ...

The main objective of this study was to evaluate intensification pathways for groundnut production in the marginal rain-fed environment of North Kordofan State, Sudan. The effect of intensification on yields was assessed in three different experiments. In the first experiment, the treatments were organised according to increasing level of intensification from the traditional production package to the improved production package (the ladder experiment). The complete improved package in the ladder approach consisted ...

Spot blotch caused by Bipolaris sorokiniana (Sacc.) Shoem. is the most devastating disease limiting wheat productivity in warm and humid environments. One hundred and fifty wheat genotypes were evaluated under field conditions in 2013 and 2014 in six different locations in Zambia. The genotypes showed different levels of resistance to spot blotch. Genotypes 19HRWSN6 (Kenya Heroe), 19HRWSN7 (Prontia Federal) and 19HRWSN15 (BRBT2/METSO) were resistant lines across environments. The genotype plus genotype by environment ...

Best management practices at watershed scale are essential to mitigate water pollution. The objectives of this study were: (1) to estimate the P-index in a small watershed with intensive agricultural use applying five P-index versions at three scales (watershed, sub-basin and agricultural field); (2) to assess the effect of the connectivity factors (distance between the agricultural field and the stream and width of riparian native vegetation) in estimating the risk of P loss. The five P-index versions resulted in a ...