Foodborne pathogen such Salmonella enterica is a leading cause of
human gastroenteritis worldwide. The potential to cause more
severe and prolonged infection increases when the bacteria
harbour resistant gene. In this dataset, S. enterica PCR confirmed
isolates recovered from the formal (n ¼ 33) and informal (n ¼ 15)
meat sector were further tested against 15 antimicrobials and 20
resistance determinants using the disc-diffusion method on
Muller-Hinton agar and the genotypic antimicrobial resistance
determinants by PCR. In addition, multiple antimicrobial resistance
phenotype and the multiple antimicrobial resistance indexes were
shown. The data suggest that meat from the formal sector harbour
resistance capacity than meat from the informal sector.
© 2019 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. This is an open
access article under the CC BY license
Commercialization of smallholder agriculture in South Africa is underpinned by reforms to improve livestock off-take in communal areas and engage smallholder farmers with formal markets. To achieve this, Custom Feeding Programmes (CFPs) were established to improve the condition of communal cattle prior to their sale into formal markets and to ‘systematise’ the informal marketing of cattle in communal areas by enabling participants to achieve higher informal market prices. We evaluate the sustainability of eight CFPs located in Eastern Cape Province in terms of their ability to add value to smallholder cattle production and encourage market participation. Communities with CFPs achieved a 16.6% mean cattle off-take rate, substantially higher than in most communal systems. Furthermore, cattle sold through CFPs attained a 17% higher mean selling price than those sold through other marketing channels. However, these benefits were mainly realized by better-off farmers with larger cattle herds and greater ability to transport animals to and from CFPs. More marginalized farmers, particularly women, had low participation. CFPs also face challenges to their sustainability, including inconsistent feed and water supplies, poor infrastructure and high staff turnover. Key to enhancing participation in CFPs, will be improving the way they are supported and embedded within communities.
Despite the significant attention paid to inequities in national development, they persist
in Ghana. Social services such as health,
education, water and sanitation exhibit differentials depending on where citizens live.
Decentralisation has often been proposed
as a means of making these services more
equitable. Examining the case of the health
sector, this paper contends that the nature of
health sector decentralisation coupled with
funding inequities among districts sustains
health inequities in Ghana’s decentralised
units. In-depth interviews are conducted in
four districts in the Northern and Greater
Accra regions in Ghana, alongside national
level officers within the decentralised and
health system. As part of the analysis, tapes
were transcribed and coded, and data generated were analysed for themes and patterns.
Findings reveal that funding inequalities, as
well as the concurrent existence of multiple
strands of decentralisation in the health
sector, result in persistence of inequities. If
decentralisation is to positively impact on
inequities in the health system, there must be
clarity and a streamlining of the cooperation
and coordination between and at all levels
of the health sector and the districts
Graduation model programmes deliver a package of support to poor households, including cash and asset transfers, training and coaching, and access to savings facilities. They have been shown to reduce extreme poverty but evidence for their impacts on household food security is limited. Drawing on multiple-round evaluations of graduation projects in Burundi and Rwanda, this paper demonstrates statistically significant impacts on several food security indicators, including months of hunger, meals per day and dietary diversity. Importantly, positive impacts were sustained for households that were re-interviewed 2 years after they exited the programme.
Salmonella enterica is a leading cause of human gastroenteritis in both developed and developing countries, causing significant economic losses on humans and animals worldwide. There are several routes for contracting salmonellosis, but the consumption of contaminated foods is by far the most frequent cause of human infections. This study aimed to assess the prevalence and resistance determinants of S. enterica isolates obtained from meat. Swab samples from meat were cultured for the identification of Salmonella spp., and 239 presumptive S. enterica isolates were recovered, purified and kept in glycerol stocks. The S. enterica. confirmed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) were further tested against 15 antimicrobials using the disc-diffusion method on Muller-Hinton agar and the genotypic antimicrobial resistance determinants by PCR. Resistance among tetracyclines, bêta-lactams, and 3rd generation cephalosporins was found to be most frequent with a noticeable rise in the number of multi-drug resistance ranging from two to seven antimicrobials. A total of 20 resistance determinants were assessed with their prevalence and distributions obtained as follows; [aminoglycosides: aadA (89%), aacC2 (100%), aphA1 (38%), aphA2 (0%) and strA (7%)], [β-lactams: (ampC 100%), blaTEM, (33%), blaZ (17%) and blaOXA (10%)], [Chloramphenicol: catI (9%), catII (7%), and cmIA1 (10%)] and [tetracyclines: tetA (57%), tetB (30%), tetC (11%), tetD (73%), tetK (20%) and tetM, (43%)], and [sulfonamides: sulI (82%), sulII (7%)]. The findings signify a high prevalence of multidrug-resistant (MDR) S. enterica isolates and resistance determinants indicating increased public health risks associated with the consumption of contaminated meat.
This paper explores the short and medium term impacts of unconditional cash transfers on school-related choices for children of beneficiary households in Rwanda. We draw on an independent evaluation of the Concern Worldwide Graduation Programme, which supported beneficiaries with monthly cash transfers and livelihood training. Our study finds that the programme enabled poor households to overcome income constraints and, consequently, allowed them to make investments in education. However, since school attendance already exceeded 80 percent at baseline due to the government’s focus on universal access to basic education, the programme was unable to induce additional educational access. Thus, for children who remain out of school, income effects and policy efforts were found to be ineffective.
The superior agronomic and human nutritional properties of grain legumes (pulses) make them an ideal foundation for future sustainable agriculture. Legume‐based farming is particularly important in Africa, where small‐scale agricultural systems dominate the food production landscape. Legumes provide an inexpensive source of protein and nutrients to African households as well as natural fertilization for the soil. Although the consumption of traditionally grown legumes has started to decline, the production of soybeans (Glycine max Merr.) is spreading fast, especially across southern Africa. Predictions of future land‐use allocation and production show that the soybean is poised to dominate future production across Africa. Land use models project an expansion of harvest area, whereas crop models project possible yield increases. Moreover, a seed change in farming strategy is underway. This is being driven largely by the combined cash crop value of products such as oils and the high nutritional benefits of soybean as an animal feed. Intensification of soybean production has the potential to reduce the dependence of Africa on soybean imports. However, a successful “soybean bonanza” across Africa necessitates an intensive research, development, extension, and policy agenda to ensure that soybean genetic improvements and production technology meet future demands for sustainable production.
Duodu, K.G. and Emmambux, M.N., 2018. Starch–Protein and starch–lipid Interactions and their effects on the digestibility of starch. In Beta, T. and Camire, M. E. (eds) Cereal Grain-based Functional Foods: Carbohydrate and Phytochemical Component, pp. 218-234.
Thipe, V.C., Keyster, M. and Katti, K.V., 2018. Sustainable Nanotechnology: Mycotoxin Detection and Protection. In Nanobiotechnology Applications in Plant Protection, pp. 323-349. Springer, Cham.