Rural Tourism and Inclusive Development in Port St. Johns - South Africa

The purpose of this study was to explore ways of achieving an inclusive approach to tourism development in rural communities. Although tourism has generally been recommended as a means of orchestrating development in rural communities, achieving this laudable goal has often been illusive due to the fragmented approach adopted by tourism stakeholders. An exploratory quantitative research approach was adopted by using a structured survey instrument to generate 307 valid responses from community members in Port St. John in the Eastern Cape Province (ECP) of South Africa. Results obtained reveal similarities and some differences based on demographic characteristics with regards to the benefits of rural tourism to the community. Importantly, the study illuminates the fragmented way in which residents perceive tourism benefits, both from a gender perspective and personal benefit versus community dichotomy. The paper discusses policy as well as practical local economic development implications.

Dairy farmers’ knowledge and perception of climate change in the Eastern Cape province, South Africa

Purpose This study aims to evaluate the knowledge and attitudes of dairy farmers about climate change in dairy farms in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. Design/methodology/approach The study was conducted following a cross-sectional research design (Bryman, 2012). The study was conducted mainly on dairy farms located on the south-eastern part of the Eastern Cape province in five districts out of the province’s six districts (Figure 1). These districts include Amathole, Chris Hani, OR Tambo and Cacadu; these regions were not included in a recent surveying study (Galloway et al., 2018). Findings In all, 71.7% of dairy farm workers heard about climate change from the television, and 60.4% of participants reported that they gathered information from radio. Eighty-two out of 106 (77.4%) correctly indicated that climate change is a significant long-term change in expected weather patterns over time, and almost 10% of the study participants had no clue about climate change. Approximately 63% of the respondents incorrectly referred to climate change as a mere hotness or coldness of the day, whereas the remainder of participants correctly refuted that definition of climate change. Most of the study participants correctly mentioned that climate change has an influence on dairy production (92.5%), it limits the dairy cows’ productivity (69.8%) and that dry matter intake of dairy cows is reduced under higher temperatures (75.5%). Research limitations/implications The use of questionnaire to gather data limits the study, as respondents relied on recall information. Also, the sample size and study area limits use of the study as an inference for the excluded parts of the Eastern Cape Province. Also, it focused only on dairy farm workers and did not request information from beef farmers. Practical implications This study imply that farmers without adequate knowledge of the impact of climate change keep complaining of a poor yield/ animal productivity and changing pattern of livestock diseases. Hence, a study such as the present one helps to bridge that gap and provide relevant governing authority the needed evidence for policy changes and intervention. Social implications Farmers will begin to get help from the government regarding climate change. Originality/value This a first study in South Africa seeking to document the knowledge of dairy farm workers about climate change and its impacts on productivity.

Modelling the Potential Risk of Infection Associated with Listeria monocytogenes in Irrigation Water and Agricultural Soil in Two District Municipalities in South Africa

Listeria monocytogenes (L. monocytogenes) is the etiologic agent of listeriosis which significantly affects immunocompromised individuals. The potential risk of infection attributed to L. monocytogenes in irrigation water and agricultural soil, which are key transmission pathways of microbial hazards to the human population, was evaluated using the quantitative microbial risk assessment modelling. A Monte Carlo simulation with 10,000 iterations was used to characterize the risks. High counts of L. monocytogenes in irrigation water (mean: 11.96 × 102 CFU/100 mL; range: 0.00 to 56.67 × 102 CFU/100 mL) and agricultural soil samples (mean: 19.64 × 102 CFU/g; range: 1.33 × 102 to 62.33 × 102 CFU/g) were documented. Consequently, a high annual infection risk of 5.50 × 10−2 (0.00 to 48.30 × 10−2), 54.50 × 10−2 (9.10 × 10−3 to 1.00) and 70.50 × 10−2 (3.60 × 10−2 to 1.00) was observed for adults exposed to contaminated irrigation water, adults exposed to contaminated agricultural soil and children exposed to agricultural soil, respectively. This study, therefore, documents a huge public health threat attributed to the high probability of infection in humans exposed to L. monocytogenes in irrigation water and agricultural soil in Amathole and Chris Hani District Municipalities in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa.

Euconnus (Tetramelus) melkei sp. n., a bizarre South African ant-like stone beetle (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Scydmaeninae)

Euconnus (Tetramelus) melkei sp. n. is described, based on a male specimen collected in the Eastern Cape province of the Republic of South Africa. This species is characterized by the most elaborate and extensive male sexual dimorphic features known in Euconnus, comprising glandular projections and impressions that cover most of the head dorsum, strongly modified scapes, long projections on protrochanters, and thickened profemora with glandular porous and setal patches. The most similar species, Euconnus nasicornis Franz and E. paranasicornis Franz, previously treated as incertae sedis within Euconnus, are placed in Tetramelus. The E. nasicornis species group of Tetramelus that includes the abovementioned species is defined by an extremely elongate adult body, multiple dimorphic features in males, and a pair of lateral longitudinal sulci on the pronotum. The current state of knowledge of South African Euconnus is discussed, and a checklist of the currently known 159 nominal species that inhabit RSA is given.

Atypical and dual biotypes variant of virulent SA-NAG-Vibrio cholerae: an evidence of emerging/evolving patho-significant strain in municipal domestic water sources

Introduction and purpose The recent cholera spread, new cases, and fatality continue to arouse concern in public health systems; however, interventions on control is at its peak yet statistics show continuous report. This study characterized atypical and patho-significant environmental Vibrio cholerae retrieved from ground/surface/domestic water in rural-urban-sub-urban locations of Amathole District municipality and Chris Hani District municipality, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. Methods Domestic/surface water was sampled and 759 presumptive V. cholerae isolates were retrieved using standard microbiological methods. Virulence phenotypic test: toxin co-regulated pili (tcp), choleragen red, protease production, lecithinase production, and lipase test were conducted. Serotyping using polyvalent antisera (Bengal and Ogawa/Inaba/Hikojima) and molecular typing: 16SrRNA, OmpW, serogroup (Vc-O1/O139), biotype (tcpAClas/El Tor, HlyAClas/El Tor, rstRClas/El Tor, RS1, rtxA, rtxC), and virulence (ctxA, ctxB, zot, ace, cep, prt, toxR, hlyA) genes were targeted. Result Result of 16SrRNA typing confirmed 508 (66.9%) while OmpW detected/confirmed 61 (12.01%) V. cholerae strains. Phenotypic-biotyping scheme showed positive test to polymyxin B (68.9%), Voges proskauer (6.6%), and Bengal serology (11.5%). Whereas Vc-O1/O139 was negative, yet two of the isolates harbored the cholera toxin with a gene-type ctxB and hlyAClas: 2/61, revealing atypical/unusual/dual biotype phenotypic/genotypic features. Other potential atypical genotypes detected include rstR: 7/61, Cep: 15/61, ace: 20/61, hlyAElTor: 53/61, rtxA: 30/61, rtxC: 11/61, and prtV: 15/61 respectively. Conclusion Although additional patho-significant/virulent genotypes associated with epidemic/sporadic cholera cases were detected, an advanced, bioinformatics, and post-molecular evaluation is necessary. Such stride possesses potential to adequately minimize future cholera cases associated with dynamic/atypical environmental V. cholerae strains.

Impact of conservation agriculture on soil health: lessons from the university of fort hare trial.

Conservation Agriculture (CA) promotes soil health, but issues to do with soil health are poorly researched in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. This study reports on findings from a field trial done on the effects of tillage, crop rotations composed of maize (Zea mays L.), wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and soybean (Glycine max L.) and residue management on a number of soil health parameters such as carbon (C)-sequestration, CO2 fluxes, enzyme activities, earthworm biomass and the Soil Management Assessment Framework soil quality index (SMAF-SQI). The field trial was done in a semi-arid region of the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa, over five cropping seasons (2012-2015). It was laid out as a split-split plot with tillage [conventional tillage (CT) and no-till (NT)] as main plot treatment. Sub-treatments were crop rotations: maize-fallow-maize (MFM), maize-fallow-soybean (MFS); maize-wheat-maize (MWM) and maize-wheat-soybean (MWS). Residue management: removal (R-) and retention (R+) were in the sub-sub-plots. Particulate organic matter (POM), soil organic carbon (SOC), microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and enzyme activities were significantly (p < 0.05) improved by residue retention and legume rotation compared to residue removal and cereal-only rotations. Also, carbon dioxide (CO2) fluxes under CT were higher compared to NT. The calculated soil quality index (SQI) was greatly improved by NT and residue retention. MWM and MWS rotations, in conjunction with residue retention under NT, offered the greatest potential for building soil health. Residue retention and inclusion of soybean in crop rotations are recommended for improving soil health under CA systems in the semi-arid regions of South Africa.