BSTRACT This study aimed at assessing the impact of climate change on traditional irrigation farming systems and adaptation strategies was conducted in Lushoto District. The specific objectives were to establish the trend and magnitude of climate change in the study area for the past 30 years (1985-2014), to assess the impact of climate change on crop yield in Ndiwa and Chamazi traditional irrigation farming systems, to analyse the way traditional irrigation farmers‘ adapt to climate change...
Abstract Marketing of crops in Tanzania has been undergoing change. Direct sales from farmers to traders and delivery to the Primary Cooperative Societies (PCS) were in practice at different points of time. Since 2007, the warehouse receipt system was introduced in Tanzania. The warehouse operators accept the deposit of crops in the warehouses and provide a receipt to the farmers through PCS and the farmers receive a part of the payments through bank financing based on these receipts. This s...
ABSTRACT Determination of correct stocking rate based on current rangeland condition still remains a big challenge to livestock farmers. Assessment of vegetation diversity and current rangeland condition was carried out in four communal rangelands, namely Siphocosini, Hawane, Motshane and Nkhaba. The rangeland condition assessment method employed in this study was the ecological condition index (ECI) method. Grass species composition and dry matter were estimated using the point-intercept me...
Abstract Surveillance and monitoring of emerging drug resistance are important as Namibia moves towards malaria elimination. In 2005 artemisinin combination therapies (ACT) were introduced as a first-line treatment for uncomplicated falciparum malaria in Namibia. However, reduced ACT efficacy has been reported in Asia and in some parts of Western Africa, raising concerns around the efficacy of artemisinin. This study aimed to identify the different Plasmodium species found in the Zambezi re...
ABSTRACT About 70 million hectares of land in Namibia is suitable for agriculture, of which approximately 71% is utilized by livestock farmers. Namibia’s Livestock Producers are faced with bush encroachment that reduces the carrying capacity of agricultural land due to the suppression of perennial grasses and herbs thus limiting rangeland productivity. Namibia can stand to make about N$734.7 million annually from bush-based feed production which could reduce the current feed cost. Thus, th...
ABSTRACT The black mongoose (Galerella nigrata) (Carnivora: Herpestidae) is a diurnal predator that favours rocky habitats. It is endemic to southwest Africa. Due to its elusive behaviour, the ecology of the black mongoose has not been studied and only little ecological information is documented about this species. The general objective of this study was to determine the diet of the black mongoose from Erongo, north-central and Hobatere in northwest Namibia through a faecal analysis. Seventy...
ABSTRACT The potential of the Marama bean plant, Tylosema esculentum (Burch.) Schreiber, a drought-tolerant, bean–bearing legume, native to Southern Africa, was investigated to potentially form part of a food-based approach in rural agricultural extension programmes. Nutrient content and sensory attributes of roasted Marama beans were determined as well as the potential of the Marama plant as fodder for cattle. Chemical analyses were performed on roasted Namibia and Botswana Marama beans t...
ABSTRACT The relationship among animal nutrition, soil ingestion and the seasonality of anthrax occurrence in zebra and springbok in the Etosha National Park of Namibia was examined. The nutrient content of zebra and springbok faeces was determined in wet and dry seasons for a period of two years. Nutrient content was also determined for a dominant grass species (Enneapogon desvauxii) eaten by zebra. Faecal Crude protein (FCP), faecal phosphorus (FP) and faecal crude fibre (FCF) were assesse...
ABSTRACT Bacillus anthracis, a soil-borne pathogen, causes the deadly zoonotic disease anthrax. Anthrax outbreaks occur frequently in Etosha National Park (ENP). ENP has nine major soil types and a distinct rainfall gradient decreasing from east to west. The sporulation success of B. anthracis is believed to be influenced by soil type, but the influence of soil type and site along a rainfall gradient on the persistence of B. anthracis in the soil is unknown. The present study investigated th...
ABSTRACT A new revision of the genus Pentatrichia Klatt is presented here. Morphological data from previously described taxa: P. alata S.Moore, P. avasmontana Merxm., P. petrosa Klatt and P. rehmii (Merxm.) Marxism. were subjected to both univariate and multivariate statistical methods. Both herbarium material and voucher specimens collected during fieldwork were examined. Morphological character data were analysed by Unweighted Pair-group Method Arithmetic Average (UPGMA) clustering algorit...
ABSTRACT Feed shortage, especially during dry seasons, is a critical threat to livestock production in Namibia. Innovative feed production from encroacher bush species has the benefits of increasing fodder availability and controlling bush encroachment. Bush-based feed is characterized by high fibre and low protein content which makes it less palatable and digestible to livestock; hence often requires supplementation with commercial feed ingredients which increase bush feed production costs...
Abstract The savanna biomes are characterised by a coexistence of two antagonist – woody plants and herbaceous plants in defiance of competing theories. Scientific efforts to understand this unique coexistence are still largely inconclusive; various theories have been proposed, but no unanimous theoretical framework exists to date. Among these theories, the root niche-partitioning model offers the most popular, yet the most controversially debated viewpoint. It argues that this coexistence...
ABSTRACT Cancer incidences are on the rise in Namibia, because of late diagnosis, cancer cases often have poor prognosis and treatment options are limited especially in resource poor rural settings. Ethnomedicinal plants present a treatment option which is used in such settings, is accessible and inexpensive. However evidence on safety and efficacy of these traditional medicinal plants is lacking, which prevents mainstream use. This study evaluated two Namibian indigenous plants, Schinzioph...
ABSTRACT This study was undertaken to determine the performance and meat sensory attributes of broiler chickens fed with Pearl Millet (Pennisetumg laucum) as a replacement for maize, as well as the potential of tanniferous Acacia karroo (A. karroo) leaf meal as an additive on broiler leanness. The optimum level at which maize can be replaced by pearl millet was also determined. Nutritional compositions of pearl millet and A. karroo leaf meal were determined using the standard Association of...
ABSTRACT Globally, floodplains have experienced floods of different magnitudes at different times. As such the inundations of floodplains affect agricultural activities and such impact is evident. In Namibia, the Zambezi Region has experienced high variability in rainfall patterns, extreme rainfall and flood in space (spatial) and time (temporal) more than any other region as a result of climate variability. The non-flooded landscape units consequently become the only available opti...