Herders Mobility, Food Security and Covid-19 Pandemic Challenges during Lockdown in Nigeria

Climate change is one of the cores of the herders' movement in Nigeria. Some other variable is the classification of the Fulanis as indigenous peoples that have no specific abode of their own;they roam around looking for water and foliage for their animals. During the dry season, they move towards the southern part of Nigeria where they would find foliage and water for their animals because of their status under international law. A notion that in a bid to look for food for their animals, these herders sometimes feed their animals with grown corn, cassava, millet, sweet potato and even yam of the sedentary farmers. One of the geneses of food insecurity in many communities of the southern part of Nigeria. Food availability, affordability and accessibility in the country was compromised in 2020 due to these challenges by the urban dwellers which was compromised due to the activities of mobile herders. With general lockdown in Nigeria, many farmers were unable to go to farm while the Fulanis who were hardly affected by lockdown had their field-days in feeding their animals on crops planted by small scale farmers, the only source of food security in the country. The core of this paper is to interrogate Fulanis mobility as indigenous peoples based on relevant international law and its impact on small-scale farmers' sources of income and food availability for the teeming population of Nigeria. We contextualised this based on the COVID-19 pandemic that restricts the movement of people between March and December 2020. We conclude that the rights of the indigenous peoples at the domestic level need further interrogation to create an atmosphere of peaceful co-existence through aversion of herders-farmers clashes that envelope southern Nigeria.

Global modeling of the socioeconomic, political, and environmental relations of farmer seed systems (FSS): Spatial analysis and insights for sustainable development

Accessible, high-quality seed is vital to the agricultural, food, and nutrition sovereignty needed for justice-based sustainable development. Multiregion, interdisciplinary research on farmers' seed systems (FSS) can complement case-based and thematic approaches.This study's goals are to (1) provide a synthetic overview of current major FSS concepts;(2) design and evaluate a novel social- and political-ecological model of FSS using globally representative data from mountain agricultural areas of Africa, Asia, and Latin America;(3) model and evaluate FSS relations to socioeconomic, political, and environmental factors including main food crops (rice, wheat, maize, potato, and common bean);(4) generate new spatial, geographic, and demographic estimates;and (5) strengthen FSS for justice-based sustainable development of agriculture, land use, and food systems. The conceptual framework of FSS-related factors guided the global modeling of data from 11 countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. A multiple regression model explained FSS utilization (R2 1/4 0.53, P < 0.0001), specifying the significant inverse relations to mean farm area (strong), per-capita Gross Domestic Product at the district level (strong), and urban distance (moderate). FSS showed strong positive relations to aridity and topographic ruggedness. FSS were positively related to elevation in a 5-country Andean subsample. Results estimated FSS utilization by 136 million farmers within the 11 countries. Novel insights to strengthen FSS policies and programs are the importance of FSS to extremely small farm-area subgroups and other distinct FSS stakeholders, global-region geopolitical distinctness of FSS-farm area relations, multidistrict FSS concentrations that enable extralocal FSS spatial connectivity, FSS capacities in climate-change hot spots, and high FSS encompassing periurban areas. Policy-relevant results on global geographic and demographic extensiveness of FSS and key spatial, socioeconomic, political, and environment relations demonstrate that globally FSS are key to supporting agrobiodiversity, agroecology, nutrition, and the sustainability of food systems. These advise strengthening FSS through pro-poor and linked urban-rural policies at regional scales in addition to expanding local initiatives.

Application of Benford's law in agricultural production statistics

The importance of food supply throughout the world has once again shown its significance in the COVID-19 pandemic period. A continuous food supply is possible with correct agricultural programming. An effective agricultural product programming can only be possible by obtaining precise agricultural data. However, it is very difficult to gather accurate agricultural production statistics from all over the world and confirm their accuracy. In this study, the compatibility of the production statistics of six important agricultural products (wheat, rice, potato, onion, banana, apple) which had been collected from local sources, and had published as opensource by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, with Benford's law was examined for the first time. Data for the last two decades are used to ignore the impact of annual fluctuations. The compatibility of theoretically expected and observed data was tested by Chi-square (X2) and Mean Absolute Deviation (MAD) tests. Although inconsistencies were found in some data by examining the numbers in the first, second, and first two digits, in general, the MAD test results gave a mostly concordant result.

Partial replacement of maize with cassava root-moringa leaf and vegetable oil concentrates in broiler finisher diets

Context. Roots and leaves have potential as feed ingredients for poultry, but antinutritional factors (ANFs), high fibre and low energy may limit their efficient utilisation. There is need to improve processing methods and diet formulation for maximum utilisation of these readily available resources and reduce feed cost. Aim. To investigate the replacement of maize with cassava root, moringa leaf meal and vegetable oil blend in finisher broiler diets. Methods. In total, 160 male broiler chickens aged 30 days were weighed and allotted randomly to 20 deep litter pens containing eight birds of similar individual weight (1500 g +/- 16.11). Four broiler finisher iso-energetic and isonitrogenous diets were formulated for the experiment. Diet 1 was based on maize and in Diets 2, 3 and 4, 15%, 30% and 45% of maize was replaced respectively, by a concentrate of cassava root meal, moringa leaf meal and vegetable oil combination (CMOC). Each diet was given to five pens in a completely randomised design for a period of 12 days. Key results. There were no significant differences in the growth parameters of birds among treatments. Except for drumsticks of birds on the 30% CMOC diet, there were no significant effects of diet on carcass components or digestive organ weights (P > 0.05). Gizzard pH was higher in the control birds than in the test groups. Feed cost per kilogram of carcass weight was significantly (P < 0.05) lower with the dietary inclusion of CMOC. Conclusion. Replacing up to 30% of the maize with CMOC is beneficial and replacement up to 45% is not detrimental. However, the economic benefits of maize replacement with CMOC need to be re-evaluated with ingredient costings less affected by the present COVID-19 pandemic. Implications. Maximum utilisation of cassava root and moringa leaf meal in the diet will reduce cost and improve income of small-to medium-holder broiler producers.

Comparative assessment of three storage methods for preserving maize grain to enhance food security post COVID-19. (Special Issue: Technology and innovation for a post COVID recovery and growth: the contribution of industry and academia.)

Cold storage is expensive for smallholder farmers and seed processors in developing countries. Smallholder farmers continue to resort to traditional storage methods such as polypropylene (PP) bags for maize grain storage. They often dose the grains with chemicals to preserve them. However, hermetic bags have proven to provide superior protection to grains during storage without chemical treatment. With the advent of the COVID-19 virus which distorted many food systems across continents, stakeholders in the grain industry need to adopt better systems to reduce post-harvest food loss and improve food security. In this study, maize grain quality, nutritional content and viability were compared under three storage methods (PP bags with Phostoxin treatment, cold storage, and hermetic bag) over a storage period of four months. The results showed that the hermetic bag maintained the moisture content (MC) of the stored grains with 0.40% variations from the initial MC of 13% at the end of the storage period compared to 0.70% and 1.10% for grains stored under cold storage and in PP bags, respectively. Grain damage after the 4th month of storage in the hermetic bag had only increased by 0.40% from an initial 13.3% before storage compared to an increase of 6% for cold storage, which was attributed to unstable power during the storage period, and 4.30% for grains stored in the PP bag. Carbon dioxide concentration in the hermetic bag was maintained at about 11% throughout the storage period indicating low microbial activity. The hermetic bag technology was identified as the best option for quality preservation during storage of maize grain over the other methods, and its adoption by smallholder farmers in Ghana should be considered.

Ukraine's market of certified seed: current state and prospects for the future

The production of high-quality seeds and planting material is the basis for increasing the efficiency and sustainability of crop production. The main aim of this article is to develop proposals to ensure that supply meets the demand in the seed and planting material market Ukraine. The future prospects are also discussed. The paper uses statistical and comparative analysis. The patterns of foreign trade in seeds and planting material to and from Ukraine are analyzed. The high level of import dependence of Ukraine leads to excessive exposure to instability in the world seed market. The development of seed production in Ukraine is discussed and analyzed along with the ways for improving commercial circulation of seeds and planting materials. The export volumes of grains and oilseeds in 2020 were the highest of those over the last three decades and amounted to USD 18.7 million, which is almost twice more than in 2019. Corn seeds dominate in exports (72%). The volume of imports of seeds of grains and oilseeds exceeded exports by 22 times in value and, in 2020, amounted to USD 409.4 million. In the total volume of imports, imports of sunflower seeds accounted for 53%. The upward trend of seed imports has been maintained since 2010. It was the result of increased demand for imported seeds by large- and medium-sized agricultural producers. In 2020, COVID-19 gave impetus to the development of domestic seed production and foreign breeding companies within the country. Prospective ways to accelerate the development of the organization of the Ukrainian seed and planting material market are outlined. Ukraine has prospects for increasing the export of seeds of grains and oilseeds by expanding its production by foreign companies operating in Ukraine. Solving problems of competitiveness seed production in Ukraine will make it possible to strengthen the role of domestic breeding in the seed market, as well as to use the best foreign varieties through their commercial circulation.

Successful Outpatient Transition to Extended-Release Cornstarch in Patients with Glycogen Storage Disease

Background: The use of uncooked cornstarch every four hours remains the most efficient treatment to prevent recurrent hypoglycemia in individuals with glycogen storage diseases (GSD). However, children must wake up overnight for therapy, and delayed administration of cornstarch can be associated with hypoglycemia, seizures, neurologic injury, and death. Since the introduction of extended-release, waxy maize cornstarch (ER-CS) Glycosade as a medical food, patients and families have benefited from ER-CS by avoiding the overnight dose while maintaining metabolic control. It is recommended that individuals with GSD transitioning to ER-CS be admitted to the hospital for two nights for initial evaluation of the ER-CS dose. This recommendation was made to minimize the risk of hypoglycemia. During this hospitalization, it is recommended glucose levels be measured hourly. The ER-CS package insert states that outpatient transition may be considered if the patient has history of adherence to recommendations, good metabolic control, and the calculated dose falls within the recommended range. Detailed guidance of home transition was not provided. During the COVID-19 pandemic, our clinic developed an outpatient protocol for ER-CS transition. The goal of this protocol was to prevent unnecessary hospitalizations while safely transitioning individuals with GSD to ER-CS. Method(s): We identified patients followed in the Metabolic Genetics Clinic at Texas Children's Hospital with liver GSD who require overnight uncooked cornstarch, have a history of adherence to recommendations, and good metabolic control. Each had a working glucometer, test strips for three nights of hourly blood glucose tests, emergency rescue glucose products, and a personalized hypoglycemia action plan. The trial took place over three nights. During the first 24 h of the trial, the patient followed their previous uncooked cornstarch regimen and feeding schedule with pre-prandial glucose measures. If euglycemia was documented, ER-CS was subsequently used on nights #2 and #3. Patients were monitored with hourly blood glucose measurements and hourly ketones in GSD III or IX. ER-CS doses were calculated following the standard insert packet recommendations. If hypoglycemia was detected on either night, the dose of ER-CS was increased prior to continuing the trial. Families communicated the results of nightly blood glucose logs with the metabolic dietician on the subsequent mornings. Result(s): Three patients with GSD III and one patient with GSD Ia attempted the home ER-CS trial. All patients passed the trial. All glucose levels and ketone levels were obtained as directed. One patient had a documented blood glucose level of 69 at hour eight on the third night of the trial. The dose of ER-CS was subsequently increased. The trial was extended to a fourth night and euglycemia was maintained. No further side effects were reported in the other patients. Conclusion(s): We report successful outpatient ER-CS transitions of multiple patients with GSDs. No adverse events or significant hypoglycemic episodes were recorded during at-home trials. Thus, in patients with GSDs who are compliant with medical recommendations and under good metabolic control, at-home transition to ER-CS can be done safely and effectively without need for hospitalization.Copyright © 2023

On entropy measures of polycyclic hydroxychloroquine used for novel coronavirus (COVID-19) treatment

The molecular structure of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) used in the treatment of malaria is recently suggested for emergency used in COVID-19. The chemical compound of HCQ is produced by chemical alteration of ethylene oxide from human products, such as waxy maize starch. The molecular graph is a graph comprising of atoms called vertices and the chemical bond between molecules is called edges. A topological index is a numerical representation of a chemical structure which correlates certain physico-chemical characteristics of underlying chemical compounds besides its numerical representation. To distinguish the creation of entropy-based measures from the structure of chemical graphs, several graph properties have been utilized. For computing the structural information of chemical graphs, the graph entropies have become the information-theoretic quantities. The graph entropy measure has attracted the research community due to its potential application in discrete mathematics, biology, and chemistry. In this paper, our contribution is to explore graph entropies for molecular structure of HCQ based on novel information function, which is the number of different degree vertices along with the number of edges between various degree vertices. More precisely, we have explored the degree-based topological characteristics of hydroxyethyl starch conjugated with hydroxychloroquine (HCQ-HEC). Also, we computed entropies of this structure by making a relation of degree-based topological indices with the help of information function. Moreover, we presented the numerical and graphical comparison of the computed results.

COVID-19 pandemic: impact of agricultural labour migration on income levels of farmers in Telangana

The present study was undertaken during 25th March 2019 to 25th March 2021 to examine the impact of agricultural labour migration due to COVID-19 pandemic on the income levels of farmers. Both primary and secondary data were used in the study, multistage sampling technique was used in selection of district, mandals and villages. Tools and techniques like tabular analysis, gross returns and net returns were used. Economic impact on farmers in the study area was studied by selecting three major crops viz., Paddy, Cotton and Maize. During the COVID-19 pandemic, in the kharif and rabi season, in all the three major crops, the labour availability was increased when compared with the period of before the pandemic. This situation was appeared due to reverse migration during pandemic. The average wage rates received by the agricultural labourers for almost all farm operations in case of paddy, maize and cotton crops were decreased due to increase in labour supply due to reverse migration. The available man days also clearly got increased for almost all the operations except harvesting of paddy and cotton crops. In case of paddy and cotton crops, net returns were found to increase. In case of Maize crop, the gross and net returns were decreased due to increase in total operation costs and decrease in price per quintal during rabi season of the pandemic period respectively.

Comparative assessment of three storage methods for preserving maize grain to enhance food security post COVID-19

Cold storage is expensive for smallholder farmers and seed processors in developing countries. Smallholder farmers continue to resort to traditional storage methods such as polypropylene (PP) bags for maize grain storage. They often dose the grains with chemicals to preserve them. However, hermetic bags have proven to provide superior protection to grains during storage without chemical treatment. With the advent of the COVID-19 virus which distorted many food systems across continents, stakeholders in the grain industry need to adopt better systems to reduce post-harvest food loss and improve food security. In this study, maize grain quality, nutritional content and viability were compared under three storage methods (PP bags with Phostoxin treatment, cold storage, and hermetic bag) over a storage period of four months. The results showed that the hermetic bag maintained the moisture content (MC) of the stored grains with 0.40% variations from the initial MC of 13% at the end of the storage period compared to 0.70% and 1.10% for grains stored under cold storage and in PP bags, respectively. Grain damage after the 4th month of storage in the hermetic bag had only increased by 0.40% from an initial 13.3% before storage compared to an increase of 6% for cold storage, which was attributed to unstable power during the storage period, and 4.30% for grains stored in the PP bag. Carbon dioxide concentration in the hermetic bag was maintained at about 11% throughout the storage period indicating low microbial activity. The hermetic bag technology was identified as the best option for quality preservation during storage of maize grain over the other methods, and its adoption by smallholder farmers in Ghana should be considered.

Informality and the impact of COVID-19 on maize value chains in Uganda: key findings and policy implications (Policy Note)

This policy note summarizes results of a study on the impact of COVID-19 on maize value chains in Uganda, which are characterized by a high degree of informality. We use a stack survey consisting of 1525 smallholder maize farmers, 341 informal traders, and 174 millers that were surveyed in-person in 2019 as the basis for follow-up telephone interviews in 2020 and 2021. We find that the impact of COVID-19 and associated measures manifests itself more downstream the value chain (at the level of the traders and particularly the millers). Closures and reductions in volumes passing through the chain seemed limited but worsen as the pandemic persists. Government measures such as a reduction of interest rates seemed to have brought some relief for traders and millers. However, all value chain actors report substantial reductions in maize revenues, household income and food security, as actors in informal value chains seem to rely on various activities to make ends meet. As a result, informal value chains such as maize in Uganda may be less able to adapt to common shocks in the long run. The appropriate policy response therefore would be to supplement some of the mitigating policies targeting businesses with more long run social protection policies to also benefit value chain actors upstream.

Financial Issues Faced by the Industrial Labours during Covid-19 in District Faisalabad

COVID-19 was traced on 17th November 2019 in China the first case was reported on 31st December 2019 in the China city of Wuhan province of Hubei. The COVID-19 pandemic is a worldwide pandemic virus which is severely affected on acute respiratory system in human beings. The pandemic has raised several issues in Pakistan but the major issue faced the socio-economic issues. The outbreak disease of COVID-19 has severely affected Pakistan's economy. On a large scale Industries were closed and labour was unemployed. The major victim of the COVID-19 outbreak is micro small and medium size industries. Many employed of the industries administrator and labourers are unemployed. COVID-19 has created negative impacts on the livelihood of the Pakistani population. Many employed labourers lost their job. The purpose of the study finds the economic issues of industrial labour in the period of COVID-19 in the District of Faisalabad Punjab. The data was collected from different industrial labourers in District Faisalabad. 150 respondents were selected from the different industries of Faisalabad. The research planned to analyze the study of socio-economic impacts of covid-19 on industries' labour in District Faisalabad. Three industries were selected from these industries area Sheikupura Road and canal road Faisalabad. The areas of industries are Masood textile mills Chenab textile and Rafhan maize mill Faisalabad. Then 50 respondents were selected from each area through a purposive sampling technique. Data was gathered through interviewing schedule. Data were analyzed by using statistical techniques. The majority of my respondents were male and these are the head of the family that age is under 25-30 and 35-35. The data include 22.7% of respondents having 1-2 rooms 42.7% of respondents having 2-4 rooms 24% of respondents having 4 to 6 4ooms and 10.7% of respondents having above six rooms. This indicates that 83.3% of respondents lost their jobs during COVID-19 and 16.7% of respondents did not lose their job and continued their work as before during COVID-19. Copyright © 2022, Anka Publishers. All rights reserved.

Feed outlook: special article: ethanol markets in 2020

U.S. Ethanol Market Faced Shock in 2020: The US. ethanol market faced pandemic-related shocks in 2020, as COVID-19 reduced driving miles and demand for transportation fuel. These shocks ultimately impacted U.S. feed-grains markets, particularly corn. Since the creation of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) in 2005, and the subsequent passage of RFSZ in 2007, the use of corn for ethanol fuel has created a link between US. feed grain markets and transportation fuel use. As a result of this linkage, the sudden change in social and economic behaviors caused by COVID-19 led to changes in US. com markets. The following is a broad summary of the pre-pandemic state of the ethanol market, the 2020 ethanol market, and the identification of certain market factors that are expected to be important for the outlook of the US. ethanol market. Ethanol Market Trends and Conditions Prior to COVID-19: For the 4 years spanning 2016-2019, the US. motor gasoline product supplied was quite stable. According to US. Energy Information Administration data (EIA), monthly gasoline product supplied averaged about 11.9 billion gallons between 2016-2019. Deviations generally followed seasonal patterns. Gasoline supply levels began 2020 up slightly from their 2016-2019 averages: 11.4 billion gallons in January, compared to an average January-supply level of 11.3 billion gallons and 10.9 billion gallons in February, compared to an average of 10.7 billion gallons.

Underreported Human Exposure to Mycotoxins: The Case of South Africa.

South Africa (SA) is a leading exporter of maize in Africa. The commercial maize farming sector contributes to about 85% of the overall maize produced. More than 33% of South Africa's population live in rural settlements, and their livelihoods depend entirely on subsistence farming. The subsistence farming system promotes fungal growth and mycotoxin production. This review aims to investigate the exposure levels of the rural population of South Africa to dietary mycotoxins contrary to several reports issued concerning the safety of South African maize. A systematic search was conducted using Google Scholar. Maize is a staple food in South Africa and consumption rates in rural and urban communities are different, for instance, intake may be 1-2 kg/person/day and 400 g/person/day, respectively. Commercial and subsistence maize farming techniques are different. There exist differences influencing the composition of mycotoxins in food commodities from both sectors. Depending on the levels of contamination, dietary exposure of South Africans to mycotoxins is evident in the high levels of fumonisins (FBs) that have been detected in SA home-grown maize. Other potential sources of exposure to mycotoxins, such as carryover effects from animal products and processed foods, were reviewed. The combined effects between FBs and aflatoxins (AFs) have been reported in humans/animals and should not be ignored, as sporadic breakouts of aflatoxicosis have been reported in South Africa. These reports are not a true representation of the entire country as reports from the subsistence-farming rural communities show high incidence of maize contaminated with both AFs and FBs. While commercial farmers and exporters have all the resources needed to perform laboratory analyses of maize products, the greater challenge in combatting mycotoxin exposure is encountered in rural communities with predominantly subsistence farming systems, where conventional food surveillance is lacking.

38th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Tucuman Biology Association

The proceedings contain 62 papers. The topics discussed include: antifungal activity of plant extracts on pathogenic fungi of cereals;activity of extracts from Justicia xylosteoides and Astronium balansae on pathogens responsible of maize ear rot;characterization of starch extracted from rhizomes of Sechium edule (JACQ.) SWARTZ;evaluation of physical, chemical and microbiological parameters in yogurts with added coconut and its derivatives;purification of anti-RBD antibodies obtained from llama (Lama glama) for potential COVID-19 therapy;water quality assessment of the Miraflores River, using the benthic entomofauna as bioindicators;altitudinal distribution of scorpiones, pseudoscorpiones, solifugae and opiliones (arthropoda: arachnida) in the Ambato Department, Catamarca;and phytochemical analysis, antioxidant activity and cytotoxicity of phenolic fraction from Geoffroea decorticans stem bark.

Seasonal activity of Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith) in maize agroecosystem of South India

The fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith), was first detected in India in 2018 and seriously threatened the maize crop. In South India, we studied the population dynamics of FAW moths and the damage caused by the larvae in maize fields from 2019 to 2020. In the kharif season, the highest male moth catches occurred in July while in rabi season, the highest catches occurred in November. It was found that the early whorl stage (EV-V6) of maize crop was susceptible to FAW due to its high larval load, whereas the late whorl stage (V7-VT) of the crop showed greater leaf damage in both years. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Current Science (00113891) is the property of Indian Academy of Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

17th Symposium on Insect-Plant Relationships (SIP-17), Online, 25-30 July 2021

Originally, the 17th Symposium on Insect-Plant Relationships (SIP-17) was scheduled to take place in Leiden, The Netherlands, in July 2020. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the symposium was postponed to July 2021 and held in an exclusively online format. This exceptional edition has resulted in four strong contributions to the journal. It is with great pleasure that we now present a themed issue including the proceedings of SIP-17, supplemented with eight regular articles within the subject of insect-plant relationships.

COVID-19 and the political economy of tobacco and maize commodity circuits: Makoronyera, the 'connected' and agrarian accumulation in Zimbabwe

This paper analyses the global commodity circuits (value chains) for maize and tobacco in Zimbabwe, in the context of a reconfigured agrarian economy and COVID-19 induced shocks. The study focuses on the political economy dynamics of agricultural commodity circuits to reveal how they can contribute to understanding the drivers and constraints of agricultural commercialisation in Zimbabwe. This paper traces the circuits of maize and tobacco, the two major crops for food security and foreign currency earnings in Zimbabwe.

USDA outlook for 2021 shows healthy recovery

It is reported that the USDA outlook for US agriculture in 2021 is generally positive. Most agricultural markets, including the major markets for Iowa, have recovered from the depths of the price declines that struck during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Some of the basic statistics (such as production, exports, imports, and prices) for cattle/beef, pigs/pigmeat, maize and soyabeans are presented.