Characterization of Small-Scale Farmers and Assessment of Their Access to Crop Production Information in Selected Counties of Kenya

Small-scale farming accounts for 78% of total agricultural production in Kenya and contributes to 23.5% of the country’s GDP. Their crop production activities are mostly rainfed subsistence with any surplus being sold to bring in some income. Timely decisions on farm practices such as farm preparation and planting are critical determinants of the seasonal outcomes. In Kenya, most small-scale farmers have no reliable source of information that would help them make timely and accurate decisions. County governments have extension officers who are mandated with giving farmers advisory services to farmers but they are not able to reach most farmers due to facilitation constraints. The mode and format of sharing information is also critical since it’s important to ensure that it’s timely, well-understood and usable. This study sought to assess access to geospatial derived and other crop production information by farmers in four selected counties of Kenya. Specific objectives were to determine the profile of small-scale farmers in terms of age, education and farm size;to determine the type of information that is made available to them by County and Sub-County extension officers including the format and mode of provision;and to determine if the information provided was useful in terms of accuracy, timeliness and adequacy. The results indicated that over 80% of the farmers were over 35 years of age and over 56% were male. Majority had attained primary education (34%) or secondary education (29%) and most farmers in all the counties grew maize (71%). Notably, fellow farmers were a source of information (71%) with the frequency of sharing information being mostly seasonal (37%) and when information was available (43%). Over 66% of interviewed farmers indicating that they faced challenges while using provided information. The results from the study are insightful and helpful in determining effective ways of providing farmers with useful information to ensure maximum benefits.

Requirements ranking based on crowd-sourcing high-end product USs

Based on the characteristics of high-end products,crowd-sourcing user stories can be seen as an effective means of gathering requirements,involving a large user base and generating a substantial amount of unstructured feedback.The key challenge lies in transforming abstract user needs into specific ones,requiring integration and analysis.Therefore,we propose a topic mining-based approach to categorize,summarize,and rank product requirements from user stories.Specifically,after determining the number of story categories based on py LDAvis,we initially classify“I want to”phrases within user stories.Subsequently,classic topic models are applied to each category to generate their names,defining each post-classification user story category as a requirement.Furthermore,a weighted ranking function is devised to calculate the importance of each requirement.Finally,we validate the effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed method using 2966 crowd-sourced user stories related to smart home systems.

Local Criteria Used by Farmers to Evaluate the Agronomic Performance and the Fertilizing Capacity of Cowpea Varieties: Diversity, Variability and Proximal Relation with Agronomic Measurements in Contrasted Sahelian Locations

When contributing to participatory research, farmers usually appreciate the performance of cowpea varieties using qualitative scores. The score they attribute to each variety are based on local knowledge. The specific criteria they individually use to attribute a score are not well described. The objectives of this work were to: 1) identify and describe exhaustively the local criteria used by farmers to measure the agronomic performance of cowpea;2) assess the variability and statistical structure of these farmer criteria across local contexts;3) and analyze the association between these farmer criteria and the classical agronomic measurement. To achieve these objectives, an augmented block design was implemented across fifteen locations in the regions of Maradi, Dosso and Tillabéri, representing a diversity of local contexts. From a set of 36 cowpea varieties, fifteen varieties were sown per location, including five varieties (controls) common to all locations. In each location, two replicates were sown in randomized Fisher’s blocks. After agronomic measurement and participatory evaluation (scoring of varieties by farmers), a group survey (focus group) was conducted in each location to identify the criteria considered by farmers to found their discretional scoring of varieties during the participatory evaluation. The analysis of the data identified, across locations, thirteen criteria defined by farmers to characterize the agronomic performance of cowpea. Some of these criteria were different according to location. Farmers ranked the three varieties with the best performance for each agronomical trait (Top 3 varieties). A comparison of the farmer ranking with the ranking based on agronomic measurements revealed similarity and complementary between both methods. This study highlighted the importance of considering both local and scientific knowledge in local varietal evaluations.

Research Progress on Nutritional Requirements of Carp

Carp is a temperate freshwater fish native to Asia,distributed in all regions of the world except Australia and South America.With the improvement of comprehensive and healthy breeding technology of carp,the unit yield has been greatly increased mainly due to the exten-sive use of compound feed.In this study,the nutritional requirements of carp were summarized from the aspects of protein,amino acids,fat,carbohydrate,calcium and phosphorus,vitamins and taurine.This study provides a certain theoretical reference for scientific formula of carp feed.

Security and Privacy in Solar Insecticidal Lamps Internet of Things:Requirements and Challenges

Solar insecticidal lamps(SIL) can effectively control pests and reduce the use of pesticides. Combining SIL and Internet of Things(IoT) has formed a new type of agricultural IoT,known as SIL-IoT, which can improve the effectiveness of migratory phototropic pest control. However, since the SIL is connected to the Internet, it is vulnerable to various security issues.These issues can lead to serious consequences, such as tampering with the parameters of SIL, illegally starting and stopping SIL,etc. In this paper, we describe the overall security requirements of SIL-IoT and present an extensive survey of security and privacy solutions for SIL-IoT. We investigate the background and logical architecture of SIL-IoT, discuss SIL-IoT security scenarios, and analyze potential attacks. Starting from the security requirements of SIL-IoT we divide them into six categories, namely privacy, authentication, confidentiality, access control, availability,and integrity. Next, we describe the SIL-IoT privacy and security solutions, as well as the blockchain-based solutions. Based on the current survey, we finally discuss the challenges and future research directions of SIL-IoT.

Operational requirements analysis method based on question answering of WEKG

The weapon and equipment operational requirement analysis(WEORA) is a necessary condition to win a future war,among which the acquisition of knowledge about weapons and equipment is a great challenge. The main challenge is that the existing weapons and equipment data fails to carry out structured knowledge representation, and knowledge navigation based on natural language cannot efficiently support the WEORA. To solve above problem, this research proposes a method based on question answering(QA) of weapons and equipment knowledge graph(WEKG) to construct and navigate the knowledge related to weapons and equipment in the WEORA. This method firstly constructs the WEKG, and builds a neutral network-based QA system over the WEKG by means of semantic parsing for knowledge navigation. Finally, the method is evaluated and a chatbot on the QA system is developed for the WEORA. Our proposed method has good performance in the accuracy and efficiency of searching target knowledge, and can well assist the WEORA.

Cattle Production and Lumpy Skin Disease of Smallholder Farmers in Svay Rieng Province

The cattle production in Romeas Haek district,Svay Rieng province,was developed remarkably,since there were some households raising cattle in large number,more than 20 heads.The grazing method of cattle was tethering and free grassing in the commune grass,since the natural grass and rice straw were the main source of cattle feed,however some of them supplemented their cattle with crop-byproducts,planting grass or concentrated feed.For the majority,BCS(Body Condition Scoring)of the cattle in those areas was 3 accounting for 52%-73.33%,but it was found the thin cattle has low BCS of 2 accounting for 11.11%to 40.00%and also fat cattle has BCS of 4 up to 27.78%.However,the average BCS varied with village which ranged from 2.68 to 3.17,but is not different in term of commune and sex of cattle.Besides facing with shortage of feed,the experience with diseases was also another concern,since 85.71%to 95.83%of the households faced this problem last year.Among the clinical signs found,lumpy skin was 100%,i.e.no one escaped from this problem,thus making them aware of vaccinating their cattle against some diseases such as FMD(Foot and Mouth Disease),HS(Hemorrhagic Septicemia)and LSD(Lumpy Skin Disease),but mostly vaccination was used against FMD.Because the LSD has occurred in these areas since 2020,then the seroprevalence was found in high positive up to 72.62%by Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay(ELISA)test.This positive rate was also varying by villages,ranging from 53.3%to 94.44%.But there was no association between positive cattle with commune,BCS,sex and age of cattle.In conclusion,the cattle production in Romeas Haek district,Svay Rieng province had developed markedly,however the shortage of feed and disease occurrence are the main challenges for farmer cattle producers,especially LSD outbreak last year.However,most of the farmers have been aware of the benefit of vaccination and had vaccinated their cattle against those main disease,such as FMD,HS and LSD.

The Customer Requirements Analysis Method of Engineering Products Based on Multiple Preference Information

To effectively evaluate the fuzziness of the market environment in product planning,a customer requirements analysis method based on multiple preference information is proposed.Firstly,decision-makers use a preferred information form to evaluate the importance of each customer requirement.Secondly,a transfer function is employed to unify various forms of preference information into a fuzzy complementary judgment matrix.The ranking vector is then calculated using row and normalization methods,and the initial importance of customer requirements is obtained by aggregating the weights of decision members.Finally,the correction coefficients of initial importance and each demand are synthesized,and the importance of customer requirements is determined through normalization.The development example of the PE jaw crusher demonstrates the effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed method.

Climate change risk,resilience,and adaptation among rural farmers in East Africa:A literature review

This study assesses the literature evidence on climate change risk,resilience,and adaptation measures used among rural farmers in East Africa.A systematic literature review was conducted comprising 30 papers from the Web of Science database published during 2000-2022.The results of the literature review showed that climate change risks have direct impacts on agricultural practices,limit rural farmers’resilience,and exacerbate their food insecurity.The most prominent risks are increasingly shorter wet seasons and heat stress,which lead to droughts and food production losses.Responding to climate risks,farmers in East Africa adopt various adaptation strategies such as mixed-and inter-cropping,conservation tillage,early planting,crop diversification,etc.Also,this review summarizes the determinants of climate change adaptation strategy selection by farmers in East Africa,including age,gender,household size,economic status and household assets,landownership and livestock,education and training,etc.Overall,the choice of adaptation strategies to climate change is strongly determined by the gender of household heads,the results of gender as a determinant of adaptation differ greatly between different case studies.Although female-headed households(FHHs)tend to perceive changes in temperature more readily than male-headed households(MHHs),the latter are generally more likely to adopt different adaptation strategies.Despite the resilience and adaptation measures used by rural farmers in East Africa now,improved weather forecasting and early warning systems are needed as a better direction towards the future.

Farmers’ Practices for the Orchard’s Maintenance and Post-Harvest Treatment of Cocoa in Infiltrated Classified and Unclassified Zone of Méagui (South-West, Côte d’Ivoire)

An important part of Ivorian cocoa production comes from infiltrated classified forests. The objective of this study is to investigate orchard maintenance and post-harvest cocoa treatment practices used by cocoa farmers in infiltrated classified and unclassified areas of Méagui. To do this, 110 producers in two localities of the said zone were individually interviewed from February to April 2022, using a declarative questionnaire. It was found that cocoa orchards in the zone are aging. Nearly 68.55% of producers were heirs and 58.33% of those interviewed were under 46 years of age, with an average age of 43 years. Nearly 84.55% of the producers surveyed mainly use chemical insecticides to control the pests of greatest concern in these localities. Regarding the frequency of insecticide treatments, 11.82% of producers make 1 to 2 applications a year, 29.09% make 3 to 5 applications a year, and 43.64% make at least 6 applications a year. The active substances of the most used products belong to 99% of the Neonicotinoid and Pyrethroid families. Regarding cocoa harvesting and post-harvest operations, 93.64% of the producers carry out a single harvest/month;all do the shelling with mini machetes. Beans are fermented mainly in black plastic tarpaulins or in bags, for a period of 3 to 5 days (65.45%). Drying is done almost entirely (91.82%) on the black plastic tarp. This study shows that cocoa farmers in the areas surveyed do not respect the recommendations issued on phytosanitary practices and post-harvest treatment of cocoa. This non-compliance with the standards of good practices prescribed is particularly more accentuated in the locality located in infiltrated classified zone. It would, therefore, be judicious to revise or redefine the phytosanitary recommendations and carry out sensitization and training-follow-up programs for producers in this important cocoa production area of C?te d’Ivoire.

Ethnobotanical Knowledge of Local Cassava Varieties and Characteristics Desired by Farmers in Sierra Leone

It has been observed that farmers adopt only a small number of the “improved” cultivars. A nationwide germplasm collection exercise in February 2018 provided the opportunity to collect indigenous technical knowledge (ITK) of the diversity of cassava varieties in terms of: their morphology, growth characteristics, uses (of tubers and leaves) and desirable characteristics. The objective is to see to what extent the objectives of the plant breeders are consistent with what farmers’ value. We performed 405 structured and semi-structured interviews with informants who were selected based on “purposive household sampling”. We found a considerable turn-over in cassava varieties, just over a third (45) have been in cultivation for at least 40 years, however, since the end of the civil war an additional 25 varieties are cultivated, while others varieties seem to have disappeared. One major issue with estimating turnover of varieties is whether the same variety might have several local names, and conversely the same name may be applied to different cultivars. Farmers overwhelmingly use ITK to select and preserve cassava germplasm for future use. Farmers have a clear preference for: sweet taste, high yield, early maturity and easy cooking and preferentially adopt cultivars that have those qualities. Cassava is primarily a human food eaten boiled or fried, some are processed into fufu and gari, and uses as livestock feed and medicine are reported but at low levels. The information produced during this study could help plant breeders choose selection criteria that will ensure their efforts are adopted and sustainable, the importance of preserving the genetic resources of local cultivars is also highlighted.

Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices of Poultry Farmers on Antimicrobial Use and Resistance in Kitwe, Zambia: Implications on Antimicrobial Stewardship

Introduction: The inappropriate antimicrobial usage (AMU) in chicken production has led to an increase in the prevalence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). In Zambia, there is little information documented regarding the knowledge, attitude, and practices of poultry farmers on AMU and AMR. Therefore, this study assessed the knowledge, attitude and practices regarding AMU and AMR among poultry farmers in Kitwe, Zambia. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted among 106 poultry farmers from November to December 2021 using a structured questionnaire. Data analysis was done using IBM Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 26. Results: Overall, of the 106 participants, 90.6% knew what antimicrobials were, but only 29.2% were aware of AMR. The study showed that 46.2% of the participants had low knowledge, 71.7% had negative attitudes, and 61.3% had poor practices regarding AMR. The prevalence of antibiotic use in poultry production was 83%. The most used antimicrobials were tetracycline (84%) and gentamicin (35.2%). The commonly reported reason for the use of antimicrobials was for the treatment (93.2%) and prevention (89.8%) of diseases. Further, 76.9% of the administered antimicrobials were usually done without veterinarian consultation or prescription. Conclusion: The study shows that there was high AMU in poultry farms in Kitwe. However, there was low knowledge, negative attitude, and poor practices towards AMU and AMR. Therefore, there is a need for educational and sensitisation programmes regarding AMU and AMR among poultry farmers in Kitwe, Zambia. Alongside this, antimicrobial stewardship and surveillance systems should be strengthened in the livestock production sector. This will ensure food safety and public health.

Can Multiple Livelihood Interventions Improve Livelihood Resilience of Out-of-poverty Farmers in Mountain Areas?A Case Study of Longnan Mountain Area,China

Clarifying the impact of livelihood interventions on the livelihood resilience of farmers in undeveloped mountain areas can not only optimize interventions,but also provide experiential support for global poverty alleviation.To analyze the impact of multiple livelihood interventions on livelihood resilience,we constructed an analytical framework and analyzed the enjoyment of livelihood interventions and the heterogeneity of livelihood resilience among out-of-poverty farmers in the Longnan mountain areas,China.Then,we studied the impact of intervention intensity on livelihood resilience through the multiple linear regression model.The results revealed that:1)the livelihood interventions enjoyed by out-of-poverty farmer in mountain areas were multiple.The proportion of farmers enjoyed diversified livelihood interventions was in descending order of high mountain areas,semi-mountain area and Chuanba valley areas.2)The overall livelihood resilience of farmers in Longnan mountain areas was generally low,with an average of 0.299.There were significant differences in the livelihood resilience of farmers across different geographic areas in the study area and types of interventions.3)The effects of industry interventions,employment interventions and education interventions were significant.The endogenous power of farmers not only had a significant positive effect on livelihood resilience,but also positively moderated the impact of the intensity of interventions on livelihood resilience.In addition,the household dependency ratio and the average altitude of the village area had a significant negative impact on their livelihood resilience.

Analysis of Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Hypertensive Farmers and Non-Farmers in the Zou Region of Central Benin

The heavy use of chemicals, pesticides, cosmetics and plastic packaging coincides with a resurgence of cardiovascular disease, in particular hypertension, which is affecting younger and younger populations. The aim of this study was to analyze the cardiovascular risk factors in hypertensive farmers compared with hypertensive non farmers. This was a prospective case-control study that included 239 hypertensive farmers and non farmers aged 25 to 65 with blood pressure ≥ 140 mmHg and 90 mmHg. Hypertensive farmers (101) represented 42.25% of the population versus hypertensive non farmers (138) 57.74%. The median ages were 47 ± 11.3 years for farmers and 51.45 ± 9.77 years for non farmers. Biochemical analysisand screening for major cardiovascular disease risk factors such as metabolic syndrome were performed. Metabolic syndrome was defined according to the new definition of the International Diabetes Federation. Our results revealed higher blood glucose levels in farmers (47.77%) than in non farmers (27.20%) (p = 0.0132). Dyslipidemia was more frequent in non farmerswith high level of LDL cholesterol and total cholesterol. Farmers presented a high level of tryglycerides. The prevalence of obesity was higher in non farmers 51 (36.96%) than farmers 18 (17.82%). The prevalence of metabolic syndrome was 106 (44.35%) in our study population. There was not an important difference between farmers (39.60%) and non farmers (47.82%). However, the variation of metabolic syndrome according to age and sex showed a higher prevalence in young male farmers aged 25 to 45 whereas non farmers presented an increasing prevalence of metabolic syndrome according to age and the absence of metabolic syndrome between age 25 and 35. Our results showed that the cardiovascular risk appeared early in young farmers compared with non farmers suggesting a possible role of pesticides in the onset of this risk.

Are vulnerable farmers more easily influenced?Heterogeneous effects of Internet use on the adoption of integrated pest management

The Internet is believed to bring more technological dividends to vulnerable farmers during the green agriculture transformation.However,this is different from the theory of skill-biased technological change,which emphasizes that individuals with higher levels of human capital and more technological endowments benefit more.This study investigates the effects of Internet use on farmers'adoption of integrated pest management(IPM),theoretically and empirically,based on a dataset containing 1015 farmers in China's Shandong Province.By exploring the perspective of rational inattention,the reasons for the heterogeneity of the effects across farmers with different endowments,i.e.,education and land size,are analyzed.The potential endogeneity issues are addressed using the endogenous switching probit model.The results reveal that:(1)although Internet use significantly positively affects farmers'adoption of IPM,vulnerable farmers do not benefit more from it.Considerable selection bias leads to an overestimation of technological dividends for vulnerable farmers;(2)different sources of technology information lead to the difference in the degree of farmers'rational inattention toward Internet information,which plays a crucial role in the heterogeneous effect of Internet use;and(3)excessive dependence on strong-tie social network information sources entraps vulnerable farmers in information cocoons,hindering their ability to reap the benefits of Internet use fully.Therefore,it is essential to promote services geared towards elderly-oriented Internet agricultural technology information and encourage farmers with strong Internet utilization skills to share technology information with other farmers actively.

Ethnopharmacological Assessment of Medicinal Plants Used in the Management of Livestock Ailments by Resource-Limited Farmers in the Eastern Cape Province

Medicinal plants play a major role in meeting people’s medical and health needs, especially in developing countries. However, due to a lack of access to modern veterinary facilities, poor visibility of animal health personnel, and high prices of orthodox medicines, most farmers rely on traditional healers and the administration of medicinal plants to treat livestock ailments. The present study was conducted to document Ethnopharmacological knowledge of medicinal plants used to manage livestock ailments in three rural communities of the Eastern Cape. This study was carried out in three rural communities between July 2009 and February 2010. Data were collected by administering pre-tested semi-structured questionnaires and participative field observations. For the interviews, a sample of 48 knowledgeable respondents was purposively selected. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics, determination of information consensus factor, and fidelity level. A total of 12 medicinal plants belonging to 9 families were used by local people to cure different ailments. A high number of medicinal plants were claimed by males compared to females. Roots and barks were the major plant parts used, and the least were leaves (27.3%). Six plants were used to treat diarrhea and fertility, five plants to treat wounds, and two plants to treat scabs. This study has shown that Eastern Cape flora is rich with various plants which could be used to replace orthodox drugs. Further studies are needed to determine the minimum inhibitory concentrations, biological activities, and toxicities and characterize the plant’s chemical compounds.

Factors Affecting the Adoption of Agricultural Mechanization Technologies by Women Farmers in the Karaga District of Ghana

Labour-saving or mechanization technologies have become the driving force behind modern agriculture, yet adoption of these technologies remains low in many parts of the developing world, particularly among female farmers in Ghana. This study aims to investigate the factors that hinder the adoption of agricultural mechanization technologies by female farmers in the Karaga District of the Northern Region of Ghana. This region is known for its large agricultural lands and significant role in commercial farming. The research was conducted using qualitative research methodology and involved interviewing 60 female farmers using an interview guide. The principle of sample saturation was used, meaning that further interviews were deemed unnecessary after the 60th interview. The results showed that low adoption of agricultural mechanization technologies is due to poor access to commercial lands, gender biases, lack of access to credit, and poor awareness about the benefits of these technologies. In conclusion, the low adoption of agricultural mechanization technologies is preventing women farmers in the Karaga District and elsewhere in Ghana from fully participating in commercial agricultural production. It is recommended that gender biases and cultural stereotypes be addressed to improve women farmers’ access to lands and credit, which will facilitate the adoption of mechanization technologies and lead to improved agricultural production.

Farmers’ Practices for the Orchard’s Maintenance and Post-Harvest Treatment of Cocoa in Infiltrated Classified and Unclassified Zone of Méagui (South-West, Côte d’Ivoire)

An important part of Ivorian cocoa production comes from infiltrated classified forests. The objective of this study is to investigate orchard maintenance and post-harvest cocoa treatment practices used by cocoa farmers in infiltrated classified and unclassified areas of Méagui. To do this, 110 producers in two localities of the said zone were individually interviewed from February to April 2022, using a declarative questionnaire. It was found that cocoa orchards in the zone are aging. Nearly 68.55% of producers were heirs and 58.33% of those interviewed were under 46 years of age, with an average age of 43 years. Nearly 84.55% of the producers surveyed mainly use chemical insecticides to control the pests of greatest concern in these localities. Regarding the frequency of insecticide treatments, 11.82% of producers make 1 to 2 applications a year, 29.09% make 3 to 5 applications a year, and 43.64% make at least 6 applications a year. The active substances of the most used products belong to 99% of the Neonicotinoid and Pyrethroid families. Regarding cocoa harvesting and post-harvest operations, 93.64% of the producers carry out a single harvest/month;all do the shelling with mini machetes. Beans are fermented mainly in black plastic tarpaulins or in bags, for a period of 3 to 5 days (65.45%). Drying is done almost entirely (91.82%) on the black plastic tarp. This study shows that cocoa farmers in the areas surveyed do not respect the recommendations issued on phytosanitary practices and post-harvest treatment of cocoa. This non-compliance with the standards of good practices prescribed is particularly more accentuated in the locality located in infiltrated classified zone. It would, therefore, be judicious to revise or redefine the phytosanitary recommendations and carry out sensitization and training-follow-up programs for producers in this important cocoa production area of C?te d’Ivoire.

Problems in the Use of Pesticides by Farmers and Countermeasures

Pesticide safety is an important guarantee for food security.At present,there are many problems in the process of choosing pesticides by farmers,such as low discernment ability and difficulty in retroactive blame,slow replacement of medical equipment,slow promotion of technology assistance,lack of professional knowledge,difficult to grasp the key points of application,improper use of pesticides,large resistance to reducing quantity and increasing efficiency,etc.In order to use pesticides rationally and realize safe production,countermeasures and suggestions on pesticide application are put forward from the aspects of drug development and application,promotion of biopesticides,change of farmers concept and cultivation of new farmers.

On the Assessment of Generative AI in Requirements Analysis and Modeling Tasks with UML:An Exploratory Study

Generative AI is rapidly employed by software developers to generate code or other software artifacts.However,the analysis and assessment of generative AI with respect to requirements analysis and modeling tasks,especially with UML,has received little attention.This paper investigates the capabilities of generative AI to aid in the creation of three types of UML models:UML use case models,class diagrams,and sequence diagrams.For this purpose,we designed an AI-aided UML modeling task in our course on software requirements modeling.50 undergraduates who majored in Software Engineering at Wuhan University completed the modeling task and the corresponding online survey.Our findings show that generative AI can help create these three types of UML models,but its performance is limited to identifying essential modeling elements of these UML models.