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) ...

The international trade market of halal food products is huge and has become a fast-growing segment. People that consume food and beverage will also consider if it is good for health, well-being, nutrition, and physical fitness. Nowadays, halal products are requested by Muslim and non-Muslim customers due to safety and quality concern. Even though several studies have been conducted for Muslim customers, but there is a lack of data by foregoing studies which exploring non-Muslim customers about their intention in ...

As concerns about food safety and environmental issues gain more attention in the public eye, organic labels are growing in popularity, being presented as the solution for a more sustainable and conscious food system. Yet, organic certificates did not manage to actively change the food system but merely created a niche to be exploited, thus many of the environmental-friendly practices being co-opted by corporations without addressing the larger issues of concern. This paper looks at how small producers, who are ...

The quinoa is pseudocereal plant that has nutritional value. Recently, It was cultivated in iran because of water crisis. This study aimed to assess the physicochemical and antioxidant properties of quinoa cultivated in Iran for the first time. The macronutrients and energetic value, polyphenol, total phenol content and DPHH of quinoa were measured. Some B group vitamin, the free fatty acid profile was assessed by HPLC and GC-mass separately. The trace elements were also evaluated by ICP. The amounts of dry matter, ...

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 ...

The objective of this study was to evaluate proximal chemical analysis, oil and fatty acids in escamol dehydrated and butter-fried that are commercially available in Mexico. In order to measure the escamol and oil quality, a chemical analysis were performed. The identification fatty acids was by refractive index. The proximal chemical analysis results in escamol fresh and deshydrated indicated that moisture (56.00-1.89 %), protein (15.30-34.78 %), lipids (20.05-45.57 %), ash (1.91-4.35 %) and carbohydrates (6.73-13.41 ...

A household survey and focus group discussions were conducted to quantify the general determinants of an index-based crop insurance adoption under limited liabilities in Burundi, and specifically the effect of existing Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs). The survey sample comprised of 40 crop insurance adopters, 40 non-adopters and 40 drop-outs in Bukirasazi and Makebuko communes of Gitega province. The results indicated that saving money (by VSLAs) for upcoming premium payments and regularly VSLA ...

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 ...