scholarly journals Improving Crop Yields in Sub-Saharan Africa - What Does the East African Data Say

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (95) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alun Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Crop Yields ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Crop Damage ◽  
East African ◽  
Investment Financing ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Maize Yields ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Yield Determinants

Recent micro level data from East Africa is used to benchmark aggregate data and assess the role of agricultural inputs in explaining variation in crop yields on smallholding plots. Fertilizer, improved seeds, protection against erosion and pesticides improve crop yields in Rwanda and Ethiopia, but not Uganda, possibly associated with lack of use there. With all positive yield determinants in place, wheat and maize yields could increase fourfold. The data hints at the negative effect of climate change on yields and the benefits of accompanying measures to mitigate its adverse impact (access to finance and protection against erosion). The adverse effect of crop damage on yields varies between 12/13 percent (Rwanda, Uganda) to 36 percent (Ethiopia). Protection against erosion and investment financing mitigate these effects considerably.

scholarly journals Effects of Rainfall and Temperature Oscillations on Maize Yields in Buea Sub-Division, Cameroon

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 63 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Balgah Sounders ◽  
Tata Emmanuel Sunjo ◽  
Mojoko Fiona Mbella
Keyword(s):  
Crop Yields ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Maize Production ◽  
Climatic Oscillations ◽  
Pests And Diseases ◽  
Temperature Oscillations ◽  
Maize Yields ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Sowing Season

There has been increasing concerns about the continuous variability in the climatic parameters of rainfall and temperature due to their manifold impacts. Some of these effects are observed through changes in crop yields such as maize in most parts of Sub-Saharan Africa which lacks the capital and technological viabilities to deal with the situation. This paper therefore examines the effects of the growing climatic oscillations on maize production. The study used primary and secondary data in order to provide insights on the quantitative effects of rainfall and temperature on maize yields in Buea Sub-Division. The climatic and crop trend analyses were done using simple regressions, means, and standard deviations. These were done using 2010 Excel Software. The impacts of varying rainfall and temperature on maize yields were determined using the logistic regression analysis in Stata 10 statistical software. Based on the analysis, results show that there has been growing rainfall and temperature fluctuations over Buea. This has been x-rayed through the increasing temperatures, slight declines in rainfall amounts, and the unpredictability of the sensation and the departure of the rains. Other effects have been observed through short dry spells especially in the months of April as well as increasing flooding of some farmlands in the months of August and September. Results further show that the unpredictability of the commencement of the rains has shifted the sowing season of maize by an average of four weeks and because of this situation, maize yields have increased during the minor season more than yields in the main season. Other climatic impacts were observed through increasing maize attacks from pests and diseases. As the way forward, there is the need for the development of maize germplasms that are heat-tolerant and need for the concentration of maize in the second season when soil moisture to ensure maize seed germination, growth and maturity is assured.

Information technology and insurance development in Sub-Saharan Africa

2021 ◽  
pp. 026666692110289
Author(s):  
Taiwo Akinlo
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
Mobile Phone ◽  
Life Insurance ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Method Of Moment ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Insurance Premiums ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Insurance Development

The study examined the relationship between information technology and insurance development in 40 sub-Saharan African countries during the period 2000-2017. The study employed System Generalised Method of Moment for the estimations. Life insurance premiums, non-life insurance premiums and total insurance premiums are used to measure life insurance, non-life insurance and total insurance, respectively. The information technology is measured by mobile phone, fixed telephone and Internet penetrations. The study found that the Internet promotes non-life insurance while its effect on life and total insurance is insignificant. The mobile phone produced a negative effect on life insurance, non-life insurance and total insurance. However, fixed telephone significantly contributed to life insurance, non-life insurance and total insurance. Based on these findings, there is a need for insurers to encourage their client to use information technology tools for insurance activities and also increase their interaction with their customers.

Dividend Policy as a Driver of Corporate Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa: Evidence in Nigeria

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 4-13
Author(s):  
Emmanuel Otitolaiye ◽  
Tunji Siyanbola
Keyword(s):  
Dividend Policy ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Insurance Companies ◽  
Firm Age ◽  
Dividend Payout ◽  
Significant Negative Effect ◽  
Ex Post ◽  
Corporate Growth ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Sub Saharan

Dividend policy remains an important topic in modern corporate finance. Researchers, managers, and business owners seek to understand the optimal dividend policy. This study examined dividend policy as a driver of corporate growth in sub-Saharan Africa: evidence in Nigeria. The ex-post facto research design was adopted to analyse how dividend policy spur the growth of active insurance companies in the Nigerian Stock Exchange using secondary data of the sampled firms for 2007 – 2018 while utilising descriptive and inferential (regression) statistics in data analysis. The findings reveal that dividend policy in terms of dividend payout has an insignificant negative effect on corporate growth of insurance companies in Nigeria (?= -8.09E-05, p=0.77; Adjusted R2=0.4093; F(4,139)=3.29; p=0.00 with the controlling effect of efficiency, firm age and leverage which have a significant effect on corporate growth of insurance companies in Nigeria. Specifically, the study reveals that efficiency has a significant negative effect on corporate growth (?=-5.29, p<0.05); while firm age discloses a significant positive influence on corporate growth (?=0.417, p<0.05); as leverage exerts a significant negative effect on corporate growth (?=0.052, p<0.05). Therefore, the study concludes that dividend policy does not significantly drive insurance companies' dividend payout growth. The study recommends that insurance companies' management retain more of their profits, improve their efficiency, and control their leverage to further growth.

scholarly journals Resource frontiers and agglomeration economies: The varied logics of transnational land-based investing in Southern and Eastern Africa

AMBIO ◽  
2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dilini Abeygunawardane ◽  
Angela Kronenburg García ◽  
Zhanli Sun ◽  
Daniel Müller ◽  
Almeida Sitoe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Data ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Agglomeration Economies ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Eastern Africa ◽  
Track Record ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Forestry Investments ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Investment Location

AbstractActor-level data on large-scale commercial agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa are scarce. The peculiar choice of transnational investing in African land has, therefore, been subject to conjecture. Addressing this gap, we reconstructed the underlying logics of investment location choices in a Bayesian network, using firm- and actor-level interview and spatial data from 37 transnational agriculture and forestry investments across 121 sites in Mozambique, Zambia, Tanzania, and Ethiopia. We distinguish four investment locations across gradients of resource frontiers and agglomeration economies to derive the preferred locations of different investors with varied skillsets and market reach (i.e., track record). In contrast to newcomers, investors with extensive track records are more likely to expand the land use frontier, but they are also likely to survive the high transaction costs of the pre-commercial frontier. We highlight key comparative advantages of Southern and Eastern African frontiers and map the most probable categories of investment locations.

scholarly journals First Report of East African Cassava Mosaic Begomovirus in Nigeria

Plant Disease ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 83 (4) ◽  
pp. 398-398 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. O. Ogbe ◽  
G. I. Atiri ◽  
D. Robinson ◽  
S. Winter ◽  
A. G. O. Dixon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Central Africa ◽  
Mosaic Disease ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Cassava Mosaic Disease ◽  
Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay ◽  
East African ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Manihot Esculenta Crantz ◽  
Cross River State ◽  
Sub Saharan

Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) is an important food crop in sub-Saharan Africa. One of the major production constraints is cassava mosaic disease caused by African cassava mosaic (ACMV) and East African cassava mosaic (EACMV) begomoviruses. ACMV is widespread in its distribution, occurring throughout West and Central Africa and in some eastern and southern African countries. In contrast, EACMV has been reported to occur mainly in more easterly areas, particularly in coastal Kenya and Tanzania, Malawi, and Madagascar. In 1997, a survey was conducted in Nigeria to determine the distribution of ACMV and its strains. Samples from 225 cassava plants showing mosaic symptoms were tested with ACMV monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) in triple antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (1). Three samples reacted strongly with MAbs that could detect both ACMV and EACMV. One of them did not react with ACMV-specific MAbs while the other two reacted weakly with such MAbs. With polymerase chain reaction (2), the presence of EACMV and a mixture of EACMV and ACMV in the respective samples was confirmed. These samples were collected from two villages: Ogbena in Kwara State and Akamkpa in Cross River State. Co-infection of some cassava varieties with ACMV and EACMV leads to severe symptoms. More importantly, a strain of mosaic geminivirus known as Uganda variant arose from recombination between the two viruses (2). This report provides evidence for the presence of EACMV in West Africa. References: (1) J. E. Thomas et al. J. Gen. Virol. 67:2739, 1986. (2) X. Zhou et al. J. Gen. Virol. 78:2101, 1997.

scholarly journals The consequences of China's impending economic crisis on global economy

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (6) ◽  
pp. 24-41
Author(s):  
Mavhungu Abel Mafukata
Keyword(s):  
Economic Crisis ◽  
Global Economy ◽  
Economic Recession ◽  
Chinese Economy ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Economic Practice ◽  
Specific Objective ◽  
The World ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Sub Saharan

The main objective of this paper is to predict the consequences of China's impending economic crisis on global economy – with reference to Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) in particular. The specific objective of this paper is to investigate and explore the increasing dominance of economic practice of China in SSA. China is a critical principal player in the economy of SSA. China's influence and dominance of the SSA economy might have negative effect on SSA in case of any implosion of the Chinese economy. Data were collected from print and electronic sources extracted from the vast body of empirical scholarship of different disciplines on China in SSA.  The results of this paper revealed that China is indeed dominating the economy in SSA. Pointers are that China's economic implosion would have consequences for SSA in the same way as the 2008-2009 global economic recession had around the world. This  paper positively predicts that China's economic and financial implosion remains a possibility, and would impact on SSA.

scholarly journals Volcanic activity and hazard in the East African Rift Zone

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Juliet Biggs ◽  
Atalay Ayele ◽  
Tobias P. Fischer ◽  
Karen Fontijn ◽  
William Hutchison ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Volcanic Activity ◽  
East African Rift ◽  
Volcanic Hazards ◽  
Crisis Response ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Rift System ◽  
East African Rift System ◽  
East African ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
African Rift

AbstractOver the past two decades, multidisciplinary studies have unearthed a rich history of volcanic activity and unrest in the densely-populated East African Rift System, providing new insights into the influence of rift dynamics on magmatism, the characteristics of the volcanic plumbing systems and the foundation for hazard assessments. The raised awareness of volcanic hazards is driving a shift from crisis response to reducing disaster risks, but a lack of institutional and human capacity in sub-Saharan Africa means baseline data are sparse and mitigating geohazards remains challenging.

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