Different groups' grazing technique preferences in the Miombo woodlands of Eastern Tanzania.

Grazing in Miombo woodlands is essential for the livelihoods of the pastoral and agropastoral communities that live adjacent to these fragile ecosystems. However, Miombo woodlands offer not only fodder for livestock but also fertile land for crop farming; hence, they are equally important to the farmers residing in these areas. Due to the importance of the Miombo woodlands for the livelihoods of several groups, the consumption of and competition for Miombo resources has increased over time and now threatens the overall health of the ecosystem. This study aimed to identify the grazing techniques practiced by different livelihood groups in Miombo woodlands; their preferences for different practices, as well as the factors that influence these preferences, so as to understand how sustainable grazing can be achieved for better ecosystem health. The study was conducted in Handeni, Kilombero, and Kilosa districts and covered pastoralists, agropastoralists, and farmers. We carried out focus group discussions, key informant interviews, and a survey of 246 respondents. Un-patterned rotational grazing was the most preferred grazing technique by all three groups, and the only technique the three groups shared a preference for. All the groups took a neutral stance in relation to continuous grazing. Their preferences for other grazing techniques differ. The study highlights the need to raise awareness amongst pastoralists about land ownership and management and recommends enhancing land property rights for all groups in order to harmonize livestock keeping and other land uses for achieving sustainable grazing and overall ecosystem health in the fragile Miombo woodlands of Tanzania.

Characterisation of complementary feeding practice and locally available climate-resilient crops for complementary food among agro-pastoralists of Ethiopia: a qualitative study.

The current study aims to characterise the complementary feeding practice and identify locally available climate-resilient crops that can be used for complementary feeding among agro-pastoralists in Ethiopia. A phenomenological study in Benna-Tsemay district, comprising focused group discussions, key informant interviews, and household observations, was conducted. A pretested guide was used to capture information regarding types of complementary food, lists of food items, and ingredients included in their complementary formulation. A thematic analysis for emerging points of discussion was carried out. Three major themes, including infant and young child feeding practices, food items included in complementary food, and their consumption frequencies, as well as the incorporation of climate-resilient crops into complementary foods as coping mechanisms, emerged. Breastfeeding was common and regarded as essential. Gruel and porridge from grains, roots, and tubers were regular parts of complementary foods in the study area. Moringa and sorghum were dominantly identified as climate-resilient crops regularly grown and used in complementary foods. Growing these crops was regarded as a coping strategy for drought and seasonal constraints. The district is one of the most drought-prone areas in Ethiopia, compromising the quality of complementary food. Unlike the World Health Organization recommendation, the grains, roots, and tubers-based diet formed the basis of complementary food lacking flesh foods, eggs, pulses, and other fruits and vegetables. Thus, it is recommended to improve complementary food quality through value-addition using locally accessible crops.

Community-based symptom reporting among agro-pastoralists and their livestock in Chad in a One Health approach.

One Health Syndromic Surveillance has a high potential for detecting early epidemiological events in remote and hard-to-reach populations. Chadian pastoralists living close to their animals and being socio-economically unprivileged have an increased risk for zoonosis exposure. Engaging communities in disease surveillance could also strengthen preparedness capacities for outbreaks in rural Chad. This study describes a retrospective cross-sectional survey that collected data on clinical symptoms reported in people and livestock in Chadian agro-pastoral communities. In January-February 2018, interviews were conducted in rural households living in nomadic camps or settled villages in the Yao and Danamadji health districts. The questionnaire covered demographic data and symptoms reported in humans and animals for the hot, wet, and cold seasons over the last 12 months. Incidence rates of human and animal symptoms were comparatively analyzed at the household level. Ninety-two households with a homogeneous socio-demographic distribution were included. We observed cough and diarrhea as the most frequent symptoms reported simultaneously in humans and animals. In all species, the incidence rate of cough was significantly higher during the cold season, and diarrhea tended to occur more frequently during the wet season. However, the incidence rate of cough and diarrhea in animals did not predict the incidence rate of these symptoms in humans. Overall, the variations in reported symptoms were consistent with known seasonal, regional, and sociological influences on endemic diseases. Our retrospective study demonstrated the feasibility of collecting relevant health data in humans and animals in remote regions with low access to health services by actively involving community members. This encourages establishing real-time community-based syndromic surveillance in areas such as rural Chad.

Participatory survey of risk factors and pathways for Rift Valley fever in pastoral and agropastoral communities of Uganda.

To assess pastoralists' and agropastoralists' knowledge on Rift Valley fever (RVF), participatory epidemiological studies were conducted with 215 livestock keepers and 27 key informants in Napak, Butebo, Isingiro and Lyantonde districts, Uganda, between January and February 2022. Livestock keepers in all four districts had knowledge of RVF and even had local names or descriptions for it. Pastoralists and agropastoralists possessed valuable knowledge of RVF clinical descriptions and epidemiological risk factors such as the presence of infected mosquitoes, living in flood-prone areas, and excessive rainfall. RVF was ranked among the top ten most important cattle diseases. Pastoralists called RVF Lonyang, symbolizing a disease associated with jaundice, high fever, abortions in pregnant cows, and sudden death in calves. Key informants identified infected domestic animals, the presence of infected mosquitoes, livestock movement and trade, and infected wild animals as risk pathways for the introduction of RVF into an area. Drinking raw blood and milk was perceived as the most likely pathway for human exposure to RVF virus; while the highest consequence was high treatment costs. The results indicate that pastoralists provided key epidemiological information that could be essential for designing an effective national RVF surveillance and early warning system.

The Sidama Model of Human Development.

Human ontogeny has been shaped through evolution, resulting in markers of physical, cognitive, and social development that are widely shared and often used to demarcate the lifespan. Yet, development is demonstrably biocultural and strongly influenced by context. As a result, emic age categories can vary in duration and composition, constituted by both common physical markers as well as culturally meaningful indicators, with implications for our understanding of the evolution of human life history. Semi-structured group interviews (n = 24) among Sidama adults and children, as well as individual interviews with children (n = 30), were used to identify age categories across the lifespan and to specifically investigate acquisition of sociocultural skills and cognitive development. Ten major age categories were identified, covering birth through death. These largely map onto patterning of human universals, but specific cultural beliefs and behaviors were indicated as important markers of development. Adults and children are oriented toward the dynamic relationships between physical development and acquisition of skills tied to social and cultural success. Culture, ecology, and ontogeny are co-determinants of human development, and the interactions among them should be considered in studies examining human life history and its evolution.

Effects of Family Demographics and Household Economics on Sidama Children's Nutritional Status.

Weight- (WAZ), height- (HAZ), and BMI-for-age (BMIZ) are frequently used to assess malnutrition among children. These measures represent different categories of risk and are usually hypothesized to be affected by distinct factors, despite their inherent relatedness. Life history theory suggests weight should be sacrificed before height, indicating a demonstrable relationship among them. Here we evaluate impact of family composition and household economics on these measures of nutritional status and explore the role of WAZ as a factor in HAZ. Anthropometrics, family demographics, and measures of household economy were collected from Sidama agropastoralist children in a peri-urban village in southwestern Ethiopia (n = 157; 79 girls). Just over half of the sample (50.9%) had z-scores of - 2SD or below on at least one measure, indicating an elevated risk of morbidity/mortality; 30% were at or below - 2SD on two or more measures. We used hierarchical linear regression with random intercept analysis to model WAZ and HAZ. Siblings and crop sales significantly decrease WAZ while electricity, agriculture, and polygyny improve z-scores; however, an interaction between polygyny and siblings indicates negative effects of siblings in polygynous families and positive effects in nonpolygynous ones (adj. R2 = 66.5%). For HAZ, agriculture and electricity are positively associated with z-scores whereas siblings have a negative effect; the interaction term again indicates that effects of siblings vary in polygynous and nonpolygynous families (adj. R2 = 74.2%). A mediation model exploring the role of weight in height outcomes suggests not only that WAZ has direct effects on HAZ but also that effects of electricity and agriculture on HAZ are partially mediated by WAZ. Our findings indicate that WAZ and HAZ are primarily affected by shared variables, but effects of siblings vary by polygyny status. Long-term outcomes (HAZ) among Sidama children would likely benefit from interventions focused on stabilizing WAZ across family members.

Effects of climate change on pastoral households in the Harshin District of the Somali Region, Ethiopia.

This study was conducted in the Harshin District of the Somali Region, Ethiopia, to understand the climate change trends, their consistency with pastoralists' perceptions and their effects on pastoral households. The study used both qualitative and quantitative data collected from 143 households through household surveys. Focus group discussions and key informant interviews were also employed to triangulate and substantiate the reports from household surveys. Data were analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and chi-square tests to test a degree of significance between the pastoral and agropastoral households for the impact of climate change. Mann-Kendall's trend test and Sen's slope estimator were employed to determine climate change trends of the study area. The result showed that pastoral households perceived an increasing trend in annual temperature and a decreasing trend in annual and seasonal rainfall. Mann-Kendall's trend analysis confirmed pastoral communities' perceptions of higher temperatures and rainfall variability, with the exception of a long-term decline in rainfall. The findings further indicated that six droughts (one severe and five moderate) were observed for the period 1983-2017. The result indicated that the significant increase in temperature along with high interannual and seasonal rainfall variability have been causing adverse impacts on crop and livestock production. Therefore, there is a need to provide drought-tolerant and early-maturing crops and improved livestock breeds for pastoral households. Water-related interventions such as small-scale irrigation farming and water harvesting during good rainy seasons is also paramount to enhance climate resilience of the local people.

Population structure of human gut bacteria in a diverse cohort from rural Tanzania and Botswana.

BACKGROUND: Gut microbiota from individuals in rural, non-industrialized societies differ from those in individuals from industrialized societies. Here, we use 16S rRNA sequencing to survey the gut bacteria of seven non-industrialized populations from Tanzania and Botswana. These include populations practicing traditional hunter-gatherer, pastoralist, and agropastoralist subsistence lifestyles and a comparative urban cohort from the greater Philadelphia region. RESULTS: We find that bacterial diversity per individual and within-population phylogenetic dissimilarity differs between Botswanan and Tanzanian populations, with Tanzania generally having higher diversity per individual and lower dissimilarity between individuals. Among subsistence groups, the gut bacteria of hunter-gatherers are phylogenetically distinct from both agropastoralists and pastoralists, but that of agropastoralists and pastoralists were not significantly different from each other. Nearly half of the Bantu-speaking agropastoralists from Botswana have gut bacteria that are very similar to the Philadelphian cohort. Based on imputed metagenomic content, US samples have a relative enrichment of genes found in pathways for degradation of several common industrial pollutants. Within two African populations, we find evidence that bacterial composition correlates with the genetic relatedness between individuals. CONCLUSIONS: Across the cohort, similarity in bacterial presence/absence compositions between people increases with both geographic proximity and genetic relatedness, while abundance weighted bacterial composition varies more significantly with geographic proximity than with genetic relatedness.

Investigating criteria for valuation of forage resources by local agro-pastoralists in West Africa: using quantitative ethnoecological approach.

BACKGROUND: This paper provides an insightful quantitative ethnoecological analysis and affirms that agro-pastoralists have a multiplicity of criteria for valuating their natural forage resources. Rural households in West Africa are not only confronted with water resource scarcity but also have to cope with limited forage resources to feed livestock in both wet and dry seasons based on local knowledge. Local agro-pastoral social-ecological systems (SESs) in the study areas stem from the daily utilization of available forage resources by dominant domestic livestock (cattle, goats, and sheep) over the years. However, there is very little systematic knowledge documentation on forage-related valuation criteria in this part of the world. Hence, this study aimed at examining (1) forage resources used for different seasons and livestock types, (2) explicit forage-related valuation criteria and associated salience, and (3) effects of socio-demographic and climatic aridity on local valuation criteria. METHODS: To address these aims, a total of 526 individual ethnoecological interviews (encompassing Dagbani, Gurunsi, and Mossi ethnic groups) were conducted in 16 villages coupled with vegetation sampling of 144 plots in Ghana and Burkina Faso. Rigorous model selection, generalized linear mixed-effects models, cognitive salience indices, and descriptive statistics were applied. RESULTS: The results revealed that majority (73%) of the agro-pastoralists regarded herbaceous forage plants to be very palatable for livestock consumption in the rainy season and for cattle while woody vegetation and crop-related forage plants were rather perceived to be more important in the dry season and for goats and sheep. The findings also indicated that climatic aridity significantly influenced the number of forage-related valuation criteria cited by agro-pastoralists for different seasonal and livestock types (p < 0.001). It was also found out that agro-pastoralists did not only judge forage plants based on their availability but also on other criteria such as palatability, stimulation of milk production, and healthy growth of livestock. CONCLUSION: Local agro-pastoralists' knowledge on natural forage resources and their valuation criteria is geared towards sustainable domestic livestock production. This study is thus interesting and crucially important for fellow scientists, policy-makers, and other stakeholders in the agricultural production sector in local farming landscapes within West Africa and beyond.

A two-month follow-up evaluation testing interventions to limit the emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistant bacteria among Maasai of northern Tanzania.

BACKGROUND: In sub-Saharan Africa, efforts to control antimicrobial resistance (AMR) are aggravated by unregulated drug sales and use, and high connectivity between human, livestock, and wildlife populations. Our previous research indicates that Maasai agropastoralists-who have high exposure to livestock and livestock products and self-administer veterinary antibiotics-harbor antibiotic resistant Escherichia coli (E. coli). Here, we report the results of a public health intervention project among Maasai aimed at reducing selection and transmission of E. coli bacteria. METHODS: Research was conducted in two Maasai communities in Northern Tanzania. Participants were provided with health knowledge and technological innovations to facilitate: 1) the prudent use of veterinary antibiotics (tape measures and dosage charts to calculate livestock weight for more accurate dosage), and, 2) the pasteurization of milk (thermometers), the latter of which was motivated by findings of high levels of resistant E. coli in Maasai milk. To determine knowledge retention and intervention adoption, we conducted a two-month follow-up evaluation in the largest of the two communities. RESULTS: Retention of antimicrobial knowledge was positively associated with retention of bacterial knowledge and, among men, retention of bacterial knowledge was associated with greater wealth. Bacterial and AMR knowledge were not, however, associated with self-reported use of the innovations. Among women, self-reported use of the thermometers was associated with having more children and greater retention of knowledge about the health benefits of the innovations. Whereas 70% of women used their innovations correctly, men performed only 18% of the weight-estimation steps correctly. Men's correct use was associated with schooling, such that high illiteracy rates remain an important obstacle to the dissemination and diffusion of weight-estimation materials. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that dietary preferences for unboiled milk, concerns over child health, and a desire to improve the health of livestock are important cultural values that need to be incorporated in future AMR-prevention interventions that target Maasai populations. More generally, these findings inform future community-health interventions to limit AMR.

Medical pluralism and livestock health: ethnomedical and biomedical veterinary knowledge among East African agropastoralists.

BACKGROUND: Human and animal health are deeply intertwined in livestock dependent areas. Livestock health contributes to food security and can influence human health through the transmission of zoonotic diseases. In low-income countries diagnosis and treatment of livestock diseases is often carried out by household members who draw upon both ethnoveterinary medicine (EVM) and contemporary veterinary biomedicine (VB). Expertise in these knowledge bases, along with their coexistence, informs treatment and thus ultimately impacts animal and human health. The aim of the current study was to determine how socio-cultural and ecological differences within and between two livestock-keeping populations, the Maasai of northern Tanzania and Koore of southwest Ethiopia, impact expertise in EVM and VB and coexistence of the two knowledge bases. METHODS: An ethnoveterinary research project was conducted to examine dimensions of EVM and VB knowledge among the Maasai (N = 142 households) and the Koore (N = 100). Cultural consensus methods were used to quantify expertise and the level of agreement on EVM and VB knowledge. Ordinary least squares regression was used to model patterns of expertise and consensus across groups and to examine associations between knowledge and demographic/sociocultural attributes. RESULTS: Maasai and Koore informants displayed high consensus on EVM but only the Koore displayed consensus on VB knowledge. EVM expertise in the Koore varied across gender, herd size, and level of VB expertise. EVM expertise was highest in the Maasai but was only associated with age. The only factor associated with VB expertise was EVM expertise in the Koore. CONCLUSIONS: Variation in consensus and the correlates of expertise across the Maassi and the Koore are likely related to differences in the cultural transmission of EVM and VB knowledge. Transmission dynamics are established by the integration of livestock within the socioecological systems of the Maasai and Koore and culture historical experiences with livestock disease. Consideration of the nature and coexistence of EVM and VB provides insight into the capacity of groups to cope with disease outbreaks, pharmaceutical use patterns, and the development of community health interventions.

Factors influencing local ecological knowledge of forage resources: Ethnobotanical evidence from West Africa's savannas.

Recording local ecological knowledge (LEK) is a useful approach to understanding interactions of the complex social-ecological systems. In spite of the recent growing interest in LEK studies on the effects of climate and land use changes, livestock mobility decisions and other aspects of agro-pastoral systems, LEK on forage plants has still been vastly under-documented in the West African savannas. Using a study area ranging from northern Ghana to central Burkina Faso, we thus aimed at exploring how aridity and socio-demographic factors drive the distributional patterns of forage-related LEK among its holders. With stratified random sampling, we elicited LEK among 450 informants in 15 villages (seven in Ghana and eight in Burkina Faso) via free list tasks coupled with ethnobotanical walks and direct field observations. We performed generalized linear mixed-effects models (aridity- and ethnicity-based models) and robust model selection procedures. Our findings revealed that LEK for woody and herbaceous forage plants was strongly influenced by the ethnicity-based model, while aridity-based model performed better for LEK on overall forage resources and crop-related forage plants. We also found that climatic aridity had negative effect on the forage-related LEK across gender and age groups, while agro- and floristic diversity had positive effect on the body of LEK. About 135 species belonging to 95 genera and 52 families were cited. Our findings shed more light on how ethnicity and environmental harshness can markedly shape the body of LEK in the face of global climate change. Better understanding of such a place-based knowledge system is relevant for sustainable forage plants utilization and livestock production.

The effects of concentrate supplementation on growth performance and behavioral activities of cattle grazed on natural pasture.

The study was conducted in Manyara Region, to determine the effect of concentrate supplementation on growth performance and foraging behavior of zebu steers. Twenty zebu steers were distributed equally into two dietary groups: pasture + concentrate (PS) and natural pasture alone (NP). The animals' body weight and body condition scores were estimated every 2 weeks. The focal observation technique was used to determine grazing behavior. The average daily gain (ADG) was significantly higher (P ≤ 0.05) in the PS than in the NP. Significant less time (P ≤ 0.05) was spent in feeding by animals in the PS than those in the NP. Significant less bite rates (P ≤ 0.05) were also observed in the PS than in the NP. The most highly abundant forage species exhibited low CP contents but were most frequently eaten by the focal animals. Strategic supplementation with locally available concentrates is recommended for profitable ruminant productivity and environmentally friendly grazing strategy.