The Koundoum sheep breed in Niger: morpho-biometric study and description of the production system

The diffusion of highly productive breeds across developing countries goes along with a neglect of indigenous breeds, which are well suited to their environment but often show low yields. Thus, in Niger, the flock of Koundoum sheep are rapidly decreasing. The Koundoum is one of the few wool sheep breeds of Africa and shows important adaptive feature to its native environment, i.e. the humid pastures on the banks of the Niger River. To characterise the breed and to understand its production context, a survey has been conducted in 104 herds in four communes along the Niger River (Kollo, Tillabery, Say and Tera). Nine body measurements, including live weight, were taken on 180 adult sheep (101 females and 79 males). The herds varied from 2 to 60 heads, with a median size of eight animals and two thirds of the herds having less than 10 animals. Mainly fed on natural pastures, 85.6% of the herds received crop residues. Only natural mating was practiced. Veterinary care was restricted to anti-helminthic and some indigenous treatments. The frequent affiliation of breeders to professional unions appeared as favourable to the implementation of a collective conservation program. The Koundoum sheep were white or black coated, with the black colour being most frequent (75.6%). Wattles were present in both sexes at similar frequencies of around 14%. All biometric variables were significantly and positively correlated between them. The thoracic perimeter showed the best correlation with live weight in both males and females. Three variables were selected for live weight prediction: thoracic perimeter, height at withers and rump length. From the present study, it is expected that the in situ conservation of the Koundoum sheep will be highly problematic, due to lack of market opportunities for wool and the willingness of smallholders to get involved in pure Koundoum rearing.

Technical and scale efficiency of cassava production system in Delta State, Nigeria: an application of Two-Stage DEA approach

The present study examines the level of pure technical and scale efficiencies of cassava production system including its sub-processes (that is production and processing stages) of 278 cassava farmers/processors from three regions of Delta State, Nigeria by applying Two-Stage Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) approach. Results reveal that pure technical efficiency (PTE) is significantly lower at the production stage 0.41 vs 0.55 for the processing stage, but scale efficiency (SE) is high at both stages (0.84 and 0.87), implying that productivity can be improved substantially by reallocation of resources and adjusting operation size. The socio-economic determinants exert differential impacts on PTE and SE at each stage. Overall, education, experience and main occupation as farmer significantly improve SE while subsistence pressure reduces it. Extension contact significantly improves SE at the processing stage but reduces PTE and SE overall. Inverse size-PTE and size-SE relationships exist in cassava production system. In other words, large/medium farms are technically and scale inefficient. Gender gap exists in performance. Male farmers are technically efficient at processing stage but scale inefficient overall. Farmers in northern region are technically efficient. Investments in education, extension services and infrastructure are suggested as policy options to improve the cassava sector in Nigeria.

Modelling and simulation of a photovoltaic fuel cell hybrid system

A stand-alone power system is an autonomous system that supplies electricity to the user load without being connected to the electric grid. This kind of decentralized system is frequently located in remote and inaccessible areas. It is essential for about one third of the world population which are living in developed or isolated regions and have no access to an electricity utility grid. The most people live in remote and rural areas, with low population density, lacking even the basic infrastructure. The utility grid extension to these locations is not a cost effective option and sometimes technically not feasible. The purpose of this thesis is the modelling and simulation of a stand-alone hybrid power system, referred to as “hydrogen Photovoltaic-Fuel Cell (PVFC) hybrid system”. It couples a photovoltaic generator (PV), an alkaline water electrolyser, a storage gas tank, a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC), and power conditioning units (PCU) to give different system topologies. The system is intended to be an environmentally friendly solution since it tries maximising the use of a renewable energy source. Electricity is produced by a PV generator to meet the requirements of a user load. Whenever there is enough solar radiation, the user load can be powered totally by the PV electricity. During periods of low solar radiation, auxiliary electricity is required. An alkaline high pressure water electrolyser is powered by the excess energy from the PV generator to produce hydrogen and oxygen at a pressure of maximum 30bar. Gases are stored without compression for short- (hourly or daily) and long- (seasonal) term. A proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell is used to keep the system’s reliability at the same level as for the conventional system while decreasing the environmental impact of the whole system. The PEM fuel cell consumes gases which are produced by an electrolyser to meet the user load demand when the PV generator energy is deficient, so that it works as an auxiliary generator. Power conditioning units are appropriate for the conversion and dispatch the energy between the components of the system. No batteries are used in this system since they represent the weakest when used in PV systems due to their need for sophisticated control and their short lifetime. The model library, ISET Alternative Power Library (ISET-APL), is designed by the Institute of Solar Energy supply Technology (ISET) and used for the simulation of the hybrid system. The physical, analytical and/or empirical equations of each component are programmed and implemented separately in this library for the simulation software program Simplorer by C++ language. The model parameters are derived from manufacturer’s performance data sheets or measurements obtained from literature. The identification and validation of the major hydrogen PVFC hybrid system component models are evaluated according to the measured data of the components, from the manufacturer’s data sheet or from actual system operation. Then, the overall system is simulated, at intervals of one hour each, by using solar radiation as the primary energy input and hydrogen as energy storage for one year operation. A comparison between different topologies, such as DC or AC coupled systems, is carried out on the basis of energy point of view at two locations with different geographical latitudes, in Kassel/Germany (Europe) and in Cairo/Egypt (North Africa). The main conclusion in this work is that the simulation method of the system study under different conditions could successfully be used to give good visualization and comparison between those topologies for the overall performance of the system. The operational performance of the system is not only depending on component efficiency but also on system design and consumption behaviour. The worst case of this system is the low efficiency of the storage subsystem made of the electrolyser, the gas storage tank, and the fuel cell as it is around 25-34% at Cairo and 29-37% at Kassel. Therefore, the research for this system should be concentrated in the subsystem components development especially the fuel cell.

Horizontal nutrient fluxes and production efficiencies in urban and peri-urban crop and livestock husbandry of Niamey, Niger

Urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) increasingly supplies food and non-food values to the rapidly growing West African cities. However, little is known about the resource use efficiencies in West African small-scale UPA crop and livestock production systems, and about the benefits that urban producers and retailers obtain from the cultivation and sale of UPA products. To contribute to filling this gap of knowledge, the studies comprising this doctoral thesis determined nutrient use efficiencies in representative urban crop and livestock production system in Niamey, Niger, and investigated potential health risks for consumers. Also assessed was the economic efficiency of urban farming activities. The field study, which was conducted during November 2005 to January 2008, quantified management-related horizontal nutrient flows in 10 vegetable gardens, 9 millet fields and 13 cattle and small ruminant production units. These farms, selected on the basis of a preceding study, represented the diversity of UPA crop and livestock production systems in Niamey. Based on the management intensity, the market orientation and especially the nutrient input to individual gardens and fields, these were categorized as high or low input systems. In the livestock study, high and low input cattle and small ruminant units were differentiated based on the amounts of total feed dry matter offered daily to the animals at the homestead. Additionally, economic returns to gardeners and market retailers cultivating and selling amaranth, lettuce, cabbage and tomato - four highly appreciated vegetables in Niamey were determined during a 6-months survey in forty gardens and five markets. For vegetable gardens and millet fields, significant differences in partial horizontal nutrient balances were determined for both management intensities. Per hectare, average annual partial balances for carbon (C), nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) amounted to 9936 kg C, 1133 kg N, 223 kg P and 312 kg K in high input vegetable gardens as opposed to 9580 kg C, 290 kg N, 125 kg P and 351 kg K in low input gardens. These surpluses were mainly explained by heavy use of mineral fertilizers and animal manure to which irrigation with nutrient rich wastewater added. In high input millet fields, annual surpluses of 259 kg C ha-1, 126 kg N ha-1, 20 kg P ha-1 and 0.4 kg K ha-1 were determined. Surpluses of 12 kg C ha-1, 17 kg N ha-1, and deficits of -3 kg P ha-1 and -3 kg K ha-1 were determined for low input millet fields. Here, carbon and nutrient inputs predominantly originated from livestock manure application through corralling of sheep, goats and cattle. In the livestock enterprises, N, P and K supplied by forages offered at the farm exceeded the animals’ requirements for maintenance and growth in high and low input sheep/goat as well as cattle units. The highest average growth rate determined in high input sheep/goat units was 104 g d-1 during the cool dry season, while a maximum average gain of 70 g d-1 was determined for low input sheep/goat units during the hot dry season. In low as well as in high input cattle units, animals lost weight during the hot dry season, and gained weight during the cool dry season. In all livestock units, conversion efficiencies for feeds offered at the homestead were rather poor, ranging from 13 to 42 kg dry matter (DM) per kg live weight gain (LWG) in cattle and from 16 to 43 kg DM kg-1 LWG in sheep/goats, pointing to a substantial waste of feeds and nutrients. The economic assessment of the production of four high value vegetables pointed to a low efficiency of N and P use in amaranth and lettuce production, causing low economic returns for these crops compared to tomato and cabbage to which inexpensive animal manure was applied. The net profit of market retailers depended on the type of vegetable marketed. In addition it depended on marketplace for amaranth and lettuce, and on season and marketplace for cabbage and tomato. Analysis of faecal pathogens in lettuce irrigated with river water and fertilized with animal manure indicated a substantial contamination by Salmonella spp. with 7.2 x 104 colony forming units (CFU) per 25 g of produce fresh matter, while counts of Escherichia coli averaged 3.9 x 104 CFU g-1. In lettuce irrigated with wastewater, Salmonella counts averaged 9.8 x 104 CFU 25 g-1 and E. coli counts were 0.6 x 104 CFU g-1; these values exceeded the tolerable contamination levels in vegetables of 10 CFU g-1 for E. coli and of 0 CFU 25 g-1 for Salmonella. Taken together, the results of this study indicate that Niamey’s UPA enterprises put environmental safety at risk since excess inputs of N, P and K to crop and livestock production units favour N volatilisation and groundwater pollution by nutrient leaching. However, more detailed studies are needed to corroborate these indications. Farmers’ revenues could be significantly increased if nutrient use efficiency in the different production (sub)systems was improved by better matching nutrient supply through fertilizers and feeds with the actual nutrient demands of plants and animals.

Economics of Hybrid Photovoltaic Power Plants

The global power supply stability is faced to several severe and fundamental threats, in particular steadily increasing power demand, diminishing and degrading fossil and nuclear energy resources, very harmful greenhouse gas emissions, significant energy injustice and a structurally misbalanced ecological footprint. Photovoltaic (PV) power systems are analysed in various aspects focusing on economic and technical considerations of supplemental and substitutional power supply to the constraint conventional power system. To infer the most relevant system approach for PV power plants several solar resources available for PV systems are compared. By combining the different solar resources and respective economics, two major PV systems are identified to be very competitive in almost all regions in the world. The experience curve concept is used as a key technique for the development of scenario assumptions on economic projections for the decade of the 2010s. Main drivers for cost reductions in PV systems are learning and production growth rate, thus several relevant aspects are discussed such as research and development investments, technical PV market potential, different PV technologies and the energetic sustainability of PV. Three major market segments for PV systems are identified: off-grid PV solutions, decentralised small scale on-grid PV systems (several kWp) and large scale PV power plants (tens of MWp). Mainly by application of ‘grid-parity’ and ‘fuel-parity’ concepts per country, local market and conventional power plant basis, the global economic market potential for all major PV system segments is derived. PV power plant hybridization potential of all relevant power technologies and the global power plant structure are analyzed regarding technical, economical and geographical feasibility. Key success criteria for hybrid PV power plants are discussed and comprehensively analysed for all adequate power plant technologies, i.e. oil, gas and coal fired power plants, wind power, solar thermal power (STEG) and hydro power plants. For the 2010s, detailed global demand curves are derived for hybrid PV-Fossil power plants on a per power plant, per country and per fuel type basis. The fundamental technical and economic potentials for hybrid PV-STEG, hybrid PV-Wind and hybrid PV-Hydro power plants are considered. The global resource availability for PV and wind power plants is excellent, thus knowing the competitive or complementary characteristic of hybrid PV-Wind power plants on a local basis is identified as being of utmost relevance. The complementarity of hybrid PV-Wind power plants is confirmed. As a result of that almost no reduction of the global economic PV market potential need to be expected and more complex power system designs on basis of hybrid PV-Wind power plants are feasible. The final target of implementing renewable power technologies into the global power system is a nearly 100% renewable power supply. Besides balancing facilities, storage options are needed, in particular for seasonal power storage. Renewable power methane (RPM) offers respective options. A comprehensive global and local analysis is performed for analysing a hybrid PV-Wind-RPM combined cycle gas turbine power system. Such a power system design might be competitive and could offer solutions for nearly all current energy system constraints including the heating and transportation sector and even the chemical industry. Summing up, hybrid PV power plants become very attractive and PV power systems will very likely evolve together with wind power to the major and final source of energy for mankind.

Management practices and challenges in smallholder indigenous chicken production in Western Kenya

The potential benefit of indigenous chicken (Gallus domesticus) production is still under-exploited in Kenya despite the efforts by different stakeholders to mainstream this production system as a pathway to rural development. The production system is often characterized by low input-low output productivity and low commercialization of the enterprise. This study which dwells on the current management practices and challenges faced by smallholder indigenous chicken farmers was conducted to gain insights into the underlying causes of production constraints. In Western Kenya women (76%) dominate the indigenous chicken production system. The flock composition consists mainly of chicks, hens and pullets (80%) which reflects their retention for production purposes. Less than half of the farmers access institutional support services such as extension, training, credit and veterinary services. In addition, indigenous chicken is largely reared in a low input-low output free-range system with only few farmers (24.2%) adopting management interventions as disseminated by extension service. To improve production and attain increased productivity, policy should focus on repackaging extension messages that considers farmers economic situations and strengthens collective action initiatives. Accessing joint input purchase and collective marketing of chicken products may further assist the farmers to increase profit margins.

Rural households’ social capital and welfare: A case study of Msinga, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

In a household or nations production system, social capital has been recognized as an input having major implications for project design as well as policy development. Using a structured questionnaire, household level data was obtained from a representative sample of 300 rural households in Msinga, KwaZulu-Natal. This study employed the conventional household economic behaviour model under constrained utility maximisation to examine the effect of social capital on the welfare of household, testing the hypothesis that the possession of social capital improves household welfare. The result shows that social capital endowments have a statistically significant positive effect on household welfare, in addition to the some household’s demographic and socio-economic characteristics. The study concluded that, access to social capital among other factors, is very crucial for improved rural household welfare and poverty reduction. It is therefore important for government to have knowledge of existing social groups and networks as this will improve the effectiveness of the present strategies aimed at reducing poverty.

Urban and peri-urban agricultural production along railway tracks: a case study from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region

Urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) contributes to food security, serves as an opportunity for income generation, and provides recreational services to urban citizens. With a population of 21 Million people, of which 60 % live in slums, UPA activities can play a crucial role in supporting people’s livelihoods in Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). This study was conducted to characterize the railway gardens, determine their role in UPA production, and assess potential risks. It comprises a baseline survey among 38 railway gardeners across MMR characterized by different demographic, socio-economic, migratory, and labour characteristics. Soil, irrigation water, and plant samples were analyzed for nutrients, heavy metals, and microbial load. All the railway gardeners practiced agriculture as a primary source of income and cultivated seasonal vegetables such as lady’s finger (Abelmoschus esculentus L. Moench), spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.), red amaranth (Amaranthus cruentus L.), and white radish (Raphanus sativus var. longipinnatus) which were irrigated with waste water. This irrigation water was loaded with 7–28 mg N l^(−1), 0.3–7 mg P l^(−1), and 8–32 mg K l^(−1), but also contained heavy metals such as lead (0.02–0.06 mg Pb l^(−1)), cadmium (0.03–0.17 mg Cd l^(−1)), mercury (0.001–0.005 mg Hg l^(−1)), and pathogens such as Escherichia coli (1,100 most probable number per 100 ml). Levels of heavy metals exceeded the critical thresholds in surface soils (Cr, Ni, and Sr) and produce (Pb, Cd, and Sr). The railway garden production systems can substantially foster employment and reduce economic deprivation of urban poor particularly slum dwellers and migrant people. However this production system may also cause possible health risks to producers and consumers.

An integrated assessment of resource use strategies in the Borana pastoral system of southern Ethiopia

In the pastoral production systems, mobility remains the main technique used to meet livestock’s fodder requirements. Currently, with growing challenges on the pastoral production systems, there is urgent need for an in-depth understanding of how pastoralists continue to manage their grazing resources and how they determine their mobility strategies. This study examined the Borana pastoralists’ regulation of access to grazing resources, mobility practices and cattle reproductive performances in three pastoral zones of Borana region of southern Ethiopia. The central objective of the study was to contribute to the understanding of pastoral land use strategies at a scale relevant to their management. The study applied a multi-scalar methodological approach that allowed zooming in from communal to individual herd level. Through participatory mapping that applied Google Earth image print out as visual aid, the study revealed that the Borana pastoralists conceptualized their grazing areas as distinctive grazing units with names, borders, and specific characteristics. This knowledge enables the herders to communicate the condition of grazing resources among themselves in a precise way which is important in management of livestock mobility. Analysis of grazing area use from the participatory maps showed that the Borana pastoralists apportion their grazing areas into categories that are accessed at different times of the year (temporal use areas). This re-organization is an attempt by the community to cope with the prevailing constraints which results in fodder shortages especially during the dry periods. The re-organization represents a shift in resource use system, as the previous mobility practice across the ecologically varied zones of the rangelands became severely restricted. Grazing itineraries of 91 cattle herds for over 16 months obtained using the seasonal calendar interviews indicated that in the areas with the severest mobility constraints, the herders spent most of their time in the year round use areas that are within close proximity to the settlements. A significant change in mobility strategy was the disallowing of foora practice by the communities in Dirre and Malbe zones in order to reduce competition. With the reduction in mobility practices, there is a general decline in cattle reproductive parameters with the areas experiencing the severest constraints showing the least favourable reproductive performances. The study concludes that the multi-scalar methodology was well suited to zoom into pastoral grazing management practices from communal to individual herd levels. Also the loss of mobility in the Borana pastoral system affects fulfilment of livestock feed requirements thus resulting in reduced reproductive performances and herd growth potentials. While reversal of the conditions of the situations in the Borana rangelands is practically unfeasible, the findings from this research underscore the need to protect the remaining pastoral lands since the pastoral production system remains the most important livelihood option for the majority of the Borana people. In this regards the study emphasises the need to adopt and domesticate regional and international policy frameworks such as that proposed by the African Union in 2010.

Optimising contributions of goat farming to household economic success and food security in three production systems in Ethiopia

The study aims to analyse factors affecting contributions of goat farming to household economic success and food security in three goat production systems of Ethiopia. A study was conducted in three districts of Ethiopia representing arid agro-pastoral (AAP), semi-arid agro-pastoral (SAAP) and highland mixed crop-livestock (HMCL) systems involving 180 goat keeping households. Gross margin (GM) and net benefit (NB1 and NB2) were used as indicators of economic success of goat keeping. NB1 includes in-kind benefits of goats (consumption and manure), while NB2 additionally constitutes intangible benefits (insurance and finance). Household dietary diversity score (HDDS) was used as a proxy indicator of food security. GM was significantly affected by an off-take rate and flock size interaction (P<0.001). The increment of GM due to increased off-take rate was more prominent for farmers with bigger flocks. Interaction between flock size and production system significantly (P<0.001) affected both NB1 and NB2. The increment of NB1 and NB2 by keeping larger flocks was higher in AAP system, due to higher in-kind and intangible benefits of goats in this system. Effect of goat flock size as a predictor of household dietary diversity was not significant (P>0.05). Nevertheless, a significant positive correlation (P<0.05) was observed between GM from goats and HDDS in AAP system, indicating the indirect role of goat production for food security. The study indicated that extent of utilising tangible and intangible benefits of goats varied among production systems and these differences should be given adequate attention in designing genetic improvement programs.

Impact on Policy Responses to Food Price Crisis and Rural Food Security in Sri Lanka

In Sri Lanka policy responses have direct impacts on rural dwellers. Over 80% of Sri Lanka’s population live in rural areas and 90% of them represent low income dwellers. Their production system may be hampered by fragmented landholding, poor economics of scale, low investment levels resulting from poor financial services as well as inappropriate or limited technology. They are vulnerable to price hikes of basic foods and food security issues due to fragmented landholding and poor financial services. Policy measures to reduce the transmission of higher international prices in domestic markets exist to protect the food security of the vulnerable population. This paper will discuss the food policy and strategies implemented by the government and outside to the above facts this paper also describes the effectiveness of the policies forwarded by the government. The objective of this study is to analyse the impact of policy responses to the food price crisis and rural food security in Sri Lanka. Outside of the above facts this study also treats the impact of policies and decisions on the nutritional condition of rural dwellers. Furthermore this study is to analyse the fluctuation of buying power with the price hikes and the relation of above facts with issues like malnutrition. This paper discusses why policy makers should pay greater attention to rural dwellers and describes the multiple pathways through which food price increases have on rural people. It also provides evidence of the impact of this crisis in particular, through hidden hunger, and discusses how current policy responses should adjust and improve to protect the rural dwellers in the short and long term.