Bio-Gas Technology Adoption in Rural Ethiopia: It’s Effect on the Crisis of Deforestation

In developing countries, like Ethiopia, high population growth is the root cause of deforestation. The population has been increasing considerably since the turn of the 20th century with an annual growth rate of 2.58%. Either searching for new agricultural land or to promise the firewood demand people vastly encroached into forest land, this creates severe stress on the environment. As various figures explained, about 1.24 million ha of natural high forests cleared between 1990 and 2014. Since, nearly all of the households in rural areas and over 20 percent in urban centers depend on fire-woods, the situation leads to high rate of deforestation. To lessen the crisis of deforestation and to play down the high reliance on it the Ethiopia Alternative Energy Development and Promotion Center (EAEDPC) has launched the Biogas Plants to be reach at least 10,678 households between 2008 and 2014 in the selected Woreda’s of four regions of the country, namely, Oromia, Amhara, Tigray, and SNNPR. However, despite the provision of the technology, a study that strongly concerned and assesses about the contribution of biogas plant for the problem of deforestation in particular and its advantage for sustainable development in general was lacking. To clearly observe the effect of biogas plant for various development activities the conversion factor was employed. The results confirmed that the scattered 10,678 bio-digester plants started to bring tangible benefits. Commencing this movement about 8732 tons of charcoal 27,162 tons of fuel wood and 5336 hectare of forest was saved. Moreover, about 66,463 [t] of biomass and 485 [t] of fossil fuel was substituted with the total implemented plants. This leads to the reduction of 64,684 [t CO2eq] per year. Besides, 43,662kt of organic matter is made available as organic fertilizers. This makes farmers to be more productive within a small parcel of land. Hence, Biogas plant is environmental friendly, beneficial to a society and can augment the income of people; this lead to a sustainable way of development. Keywords: Deforestation; Biogas technology adoption; Sustainable development

Status, Challenges and Opportunities of Environmental Management in Ethiopia

Our planet’s capacity to prolong life is eroding due to the wide disparity between consumption, production and waste assimilation capacity of the environment. Ethiopia is situated in the Horn of Africa about 79% are employed in the agricultural sector.  Since the mass of Ethiopian population is totally dependent on limited natural resources as their primary source of income and strive to test nature by unlimited human growth. Looking into Ethiopian history one might come across a few stories of environmental management by the state. The easiest evidence indicating some form of protection of natural resources was found in the fourth century AD. However, the first professionally organized forest management intervention started in Ethiopia during the brief period of Italian annexation (1936–41). Yet, the country faces many environmental challenges including deforestation, soil erosion, declines in soil fertility, loss of water quality and biodiversity. Other, important environmental challenges include spread of invasive and alien species, urban outdoor air pollution (mainly in Addis Ababa), and toxic household wastes. As various figures estimated, about 1.24 million ha of natural high forests cleared for agricultural expansion between 1990 and 2014. The average annual deforestation rate is 1% which is high compared to other Sub-Saharan African countries (0.6%). It is estimated that unless action is taken to change the traditional development path, an area of 9 million ha might be deforested between 2010 and 2030. The major opportunities that obtained in environmental management includes improve governance. The Climate Resilient Green Economy (CRGE) is probably the major fundamental initiative Ethiopia adopted recently.  CRGE is attached in the GTP and designed with a vision of achieving a middle-income status by year 2025 (FDRE, 2011). It attempts to systematically combine attaining sustainable economic growth, with combating adverse impacts of climate change. Keywords: Status, challenges and opportunities, environmental managemen

Visceral leishmaniasis patients display altered composition and maturity of neutrophils as well as impaired neutrophil effector functions

Immunologically, active visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is characterised by profound immunosuppression, severe systemic inflammatory responses and an impaired capacity to control parasite replication. Neutrophils are highly versatile cells, which play a crucial role in the induction as well as the resolution of inflammation, the control of pathogen replication and the regulation of immune responses. Neutrophil functions have been investigated in human cutaneous leishmaniasis, however, their role in human visceral leishmaniasis is poorly understood. In the present study we evaluated the activation status and effector functions of neutrophils in patients with active VL and after successful anti-leishmanial treatment. Our results show that neutrophils are highly activated and have degranulated; high levels of arginase, myeloperoxidase and elastase, all contained in neutrophils’ granules, were found in the plasma of VL patients. In addition, we show that a large proportion of these cells are immature. We also analysed effector functions of neutrophils that are essential for pathogen clearance and show that neutrophils have an impaired capacity to release neutrophil extracellular traps, produce reactive oxygen species and phagocytose bacterial particles, but not Leishmania parasites. Our results suggest that impaired effector functions, increased activation and immaturity of neutrophils play a key role in the pathogenesis of VL

COVID-19 Outbreak Data Analysis and Prediction Modeling Using Data Mining Technique

Nowadays, sustainable development is considered a key concept and solution in creating a promising and prosperous future for human societies. Nevertheless, there are some predicted and unpredicted problems that epidemic diseases are real and complex problems. Hence, in this research work, a serious challenge in the sustainable development process was investigated using the classification of confirmed cases of COVID-19 (new version of Coronavirus) as one of the epidemic diseases. Hence, the data mining predictive modeling method of data handling and predictive or forecasting the spread of COVID-19 virus. This research work mainly works on predicting or forecasting by using fbprophet. Prophet it is a python library package used for forecasting time series data based on an additive model where non-linear trends are fit with yearly, weekly, and daily seasonally, plus holiday’s effect. It works best with time series that have a strong seasonal effect and several seasons of historical data. The model helps to interpret patterns of public sentiment on disseminating related health information and assess the political and economic influence of the spread of the virus

Apple based agroforestry in Dendi Woreda, Oromiya Region: Income contribution and determinants for adoption

A study was conducted to evaluate and compare households’ income from apple based agroforestry system and identify factors that influence its adoption by smallholder farmers in Dendi Woreda, Oromia region. Two kebeles’ were purposefully selected and from which 250 households were randomly taken, where 33 were adopters of the technology and the remaining 217 were non-adopters. To obtain the necessary information, both primary and secondary data were collected and focus group iscussion was conducted. The result revealed that farmers predominantly carry out various livelihood activities such as production of grain crops, livestock, vegetables, and apple fruit. In agri-horticulture agroforestry approach apple trees were integrated with vegetables at homesteads by adopters. The mean gross income of adopters from apple fruit was 58,234.85ETB ha-1 yr-1. Adopters’ mean annual gross income from vegetable + apple fruit was 344,602.3ETB ha-1 yr-1 and mean annual gross income of non-adopters from vegetable was 219,932.9ETB ha-1 yr-1. The income obtained from apple contributed 17 per cent to the income of the agri-horticulture system. Non-adopters annual net income from vegetables was 191,645.13ETB ha-1yr-1 and adopters’ annual net income from vegetable + apple was 312,378.79ETB ha-1 yr-1. The agri-horticulture system contributed 1.63 times higher net revenue for adopters in addition to its nutritional value. However, adoption of apple based agroforestry system was significantly influenced by different factor such as age (+), formal education levels (+), livestock holding (+), distance from market to home (+), sex (-) and total land holding (-). In order to maximize the benefits from the system land users are advised to follow integration of apple fruit trees in their food production activities incorporating their own farm resources to minimize input costs. Policy makers are also expected to advocate the systems performance in the study area and beyond.Keywords: Agri-horticulture system; Apple tree adoption; Household incom

Determinants of Value Added Tax Collection Performance in West Shoa Zone, Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia

The study was conducted to investigate the determinant factors of Value Added Tax collection performance in West Shoa Zone by giving emphasis on three selected districts i.e. Ambo city Revenues Authority, Dandi and Bako woredas Revenues Authority’s. The researchers used cross-sectional data covering a period in 2017. Since the data was survey in nature the researcher used both qualitative and quantitative (Mixed) research approaches to achieve objective of the study. The researchers used purposive and stratified sampling method to take a sample of Tax payers, Consumers and Revenues Authority Employees.  Descriptive statistics and multiple regressions were used to analyze primary and secondary data to reach the result of the study using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 20. The result of the study showed that Tax payers awareness on Value added Tax, Tax payers’ maintenance of account and Value added Tax Rate have  positively influenced Value added Tax collection performance whereas Tax Evasion, Tax avoidance and Tax non-compliance variables have negatively affected Value added Tax collection performance for tax payers. The study results also  showed that Value added Tax Assessment, Value added Tax Audit, Competence training, Adequate manpower, Tax payers identification and Penalization variables have positively influenced Value added Tax collection performance whereas External Legal Environment variable negatively affected Value added Tax collection performance for institutional variables.  Thus, it’s recommended that Revenues Authority should fulfill necessary manpower and create continuous follow up in order to improve Value added Tax collection performance. Keywords: Value added Tax, Tax avoidance, Tax Evasion, performance, Tax payers DOI: 10.7176/RJFA/10-21-06 Publication date: November 30th 201

Influence of Shade and Bed Types on Attaining Optimum Temperature for The Germination of Peach (Prunus Persica L. Batsch) Seeds at Holetta, Central Ethiopia

Poor germination of peach seeds is the major limiting factor for rootstock production under the Holetta condition because of the seed dormancy problem. Stratification plays an important role in shortening the dormancy and increasing the germination of peach seeds. The study aimed to find easy stratification techniques for the germination of peach seeds using shade and different bed types. The experiment was carried out at the Holetta Agricultural Research Center in two successive years of 2017 and 2018. We got seeds used for this study from peach trees, which were well adapted for the Holetta area. It was arranged in a completely randomized design with five treatments of under tree shade on a flatbed, under tree shade in sunken bed, out of tree shade on a flatbed, out of tree shade in sunken bed and refrigerator as a standard check. They put all treatments except the refrigerator under the grass shade constructed 1 m3 wide. The treatments replicated four times, and each replication contained 200 seeds. The results showed that temperature is the most important factor affecting the germination percentage of the peach seeds. Seeds sown under the temperature close to 8 0C which is in the refrigerator found to have better germination percentage (47.1%) followed by the seeds sown in the grass shade under the tree shade both on sunken (35.8%) and flatbeds (34.9%). Peach seeds stratified in the refrigerator had good germination percentage whereas survival of the seedling was better at out of tree shade in sunken bed and out of tree shade on the flatbed. Even though the germination percentage was lower and the germination speed index was higher than the refrigerator. Seeds stratified at a temperature of above 17 OC experienced a poor germination percentage

Growth, Yield, and Fruit Quality Performance of Peach Varieties

አህፅሮትይህ ጥናት የተካሄደው ከውጪ የገቡ ስድስት የኮክ ዝርያዎችን ማክሬድ የተባሇውን ቀደም ሲል ገብቶ በመመረት ላይ ያሇ ዝርያን እንደ ማወዳደሪያ በመጠቀም በደጋማ የሀገሪቱ ክፍል በተሇይም በሆሇታና አካባቢው ያላቸውን የዕድገት፣ ምርት እና ጥራት ሁኔታ ሇመገምገም ነው፡፡ እያንዳንዱ ዝርያ ሶስት ጊዜ በተሇያየ ረድፍ ተተክሇው አስፈላጊው እንክብካቤ እየተደረገላቸው አድገዋል፡፡ የተገኘው መረጃ እንደሚያመሇክተው እ.ኤ.አ 2006 እና 2007 ዓ.ም በስተቀር በዛፉ ቁመት ላይ ምንም አይነት ልዩነት አሇመኖሩን ሲሆን ትሮፒክ ቢዩቲ፣ 9A-35C፣ ማክሬድ፣ 88-18W እና 90-19H የተባለት ዝርያዎች የተሻሇ ቁመት አስመዝግበዋል፡፡ በተጨማሪም እ.ኤ.አ ከ 2010 ዓ.ም በስተቀር ሁለም ዝርያዎች ተመሳሳይ የቅርንጫፍ ስፋት አሳይተዋል፡፡ መረጃው እንደሚመሇክተው የግንድ ውፍረትን በተመሇከተ በዝርያዎች መካከል መረጃ በተወሰደባቸው አመታት በሙለ ልዩነት አሳይተዋል፡፡ በዚህም መሰረት ትሮፒክ ቢዩቲ እና 90-19H ከሌሎች ዝርያዎች የተሻሇ የግንድ ውፍረት አስመዝግበዋል፡፡ አማካይ ሇሽያጭ የሚቀርብና ጠቅላላ ምርት እንዲሁም ከአንድ ዛፍ ላይ በሚገኝ የፍሬ ቁጥር እና አማካይ የፍሬ ክብደት ላይ በዝርያዎች መካከል ከፍተኛ ልዩነት ተመዝግቧል፡፡ ዝርያዎቹ እድሜአቸው እየጨመረ ሲሄድ የምርት መጠናቸውም እንደሚጨምርና ያላቸውን የምርት አቅም እንዳሳዩ ሇመረዳት ተችሏል፡፡ በተገኘው መረጃ መሰረት የትሮፒክ ቢዩቲ አማካይ ጠቅላላ ምርት 110.4 ቶን በሄ/ር ሲሆን የ90-19H ኤች ደግሞ 89.67 ቶን በሄ/ር ነው፡፡ እነዚህ ዝርያዎች ከማወዳደሪያ ዝርያው (ማክሬድ) የ 45 እና 32% ብልጫ አሳይተዋል፡፡ ከአንድ ዛፍ ላይ የሚመረት አማካይ የፍሬ ቁጥር 90-19H፣ ትሮፒክ ቢዩቲ እና 88-22C ከሌሎች የተሻሇ ሲሆን የፍሬ ክብደታቸው ደግሞ በተከታታይ 78.12፣ 76.06፣ እንዲሁም 76.06 ነው፡፡ የድህረ-ምርት ጥራትን በተመሇከተ በጠቅላላ ስኳርና የአሲድ መጠን፣ የፍሬ ዲያሜትር እንዲሁም የብስሇት አመላካች መረጃ ላይ ልዩነት ተመዝግቧል፡፡ በመሆኑም የ9A-35C ጠቅላላ የስኳር መጠን 13.67% ሲሆን የ88-18W የአሲድ መጠን 1.03% ከሌሎቹ ዝርያዎች ሲነጻጸር ከፍተኛ እንደሆነ ሇመረዳት ተችሏል፡፡AbstractThe study was conducted to evaluate peach varieties for their growth, yield and quality performance under Holetta condition. The treatments consisted of six peach varieties including McRed (standard check). The trial was laid in randomized complete block design with three replications. The result indicated statistically similar tree height across the growing seasons except in 2006 and 2007. Tropic beauty, 9A-35C, McRed, 88-18W and 90-19H showed better plant height in their order. All varieties had statistically significant parity in canopy spread in all growing seasons except in 2010. However, there was a significant difference in trunk cross-sectional area across all seasons. Tropic beauty and 90-19H exhibited better trunk cross-sectional area. Highly significant differences in mean marketable and total fruit yield, fruit number per tree and average fruit weight were observed. The mean total fruit yields of Tropic beauty and 90-19H were 69.03 and 56.23 t ha-1, respectively. These varieties had 45.0 and 32.5% yield advantage over the standard check, McRed. Moreover, varieties 90-19H, Tropic beauty and 88-22C had better mean fruit numbers per tree and fruit weight (78.12, 76.06, and 76.06 g in the aforementioned order) as compared to others. In terms of fruit quality, there were significant differences among varieties regarding total soluble solids, titratable acidity, fruit diameter, and ripening index. Variety 9A-35C has the highest TSS (13.67%) while variety 88-18W has the highest TA (1.03%) and fruit diameter (5.76 cm) and followed by Tropic beauty (0.95% and 5.46 cm, respectively). Variety 90-19H exhibited superior ripening index and the least was obtained from 88-18W

Exploring the lived experiences, challenges and opportunities of female’s primary school principals in Ilu Aba Bor zone

The study observed into the lives of females primary school principals in the Ilu Aba Bor zone. The title of this thesis was Exploring the lived experiences, challenges and opportunities of female’s primary school principals in Ilu Aba Bor zone The objective of this study was to explore the lived experiences, challenges and opportunities of female’s primary school principals in Ilu Aba Bor Zone. This study used a qualitative research design that focused on female principals' lived experiences. Purposive sampling technique was chosen to gain a thorough understanding of the issue. Data was collected using a qualitative research method study that was directed by four research questions. Ten female school principals in the Ilu Aba Bor zone provided the data. They were also interviewed in their schools' natural settings. In this qualitative research study, ten females’ primary school principals were participated. And also this study used Purposive sampling technique was chosen to gain a thorough understanding of the issue. The study's target population was female primary school principals from ten primary schools. The data collection tools used were only interview. Interview was carried out with ten principals. The interviews were recorded and transcribed. Data analysis involves preparing and organizing, then reducing the data into themes. There were four main themes that emerged. They are: first experiences as initially challenging, work and home responsibility, networking as a means of dealing with challenges Mothering as a leadership style. Finally, when researcher summarized the study revealed that there are several different barriers that hinder women from accessing principal positions, also concluded that female do not make themselves noticeable for raise for principal ship by applying for the positions and recommended as Females need to be also take the initiative to learn new skills and advance professionally by working closely with the principal

Quality of Peach (Prunus persica L.) Genotypes Packed in LDPE Plastic Packaging under Different Storage Conditions

Peach Marketing in Ethiopia is complicated by postharvest losses like other horticulture produce. Although peach varieties have been introduced and studied for their productivity, their postharvest quality has not been evaluated at Holeta. Therefore, the experiment was done to assess influence of polyethylene plastic packaging and storage conditions on postharvest quality and storage life stability of peach genotypes. It was conducted at Holeta agricultural research center from January to February, 2018. Peach genotypes ‘Bonnigold, Early Grande, 90-19H and Topic Beauty’ packed in perforated and non-perforated low density polyethylene plastic (LDPE) and stored under two storage conditions i.e. ambient (6.4°C to 20.2 °C; 40%–71 % RH) and cold storage (-1°C to1 °C; 85–99 % RH). Genotypes had different response to packaging materials and storage conditions. Perforated bag packaging with cold storage was found more effective as compared to non-perforated and the control fruits in maintaining firmness. Non-perforated bag packaging’s combined with cold storage extended shelf life of peach fruits 10 – 20 days compared to other treatment combinations. The non-perforated plastic packaged fruits stored in the cold storage also maintained more TSS, AA, TA, TSS/TA, pH, marketability and specific gravity content and lowered weight loss and decay. Therefore, non-perforated plastic packaging with cold storage condition can be considered in maintaining its quality and extending the shelf life of peaches mainly for commercial producers, traders as well as research stations