Beekeeping practices and physicochemical properties of honey produced in Lerala village, Botswana

This study was conducted to evaluate the physicochemical properties of Apis mellifera honey produced in Lerala village and to assess the beekeeping practices. Sale of honey is an important source of income for beekeepers in Lerala village. There are two types of honeybee production systems in the study area: traditional backyard beekeeping and forest honey harvesting. A total of six honey samples obtained from two sources (modern hive and forest) were analysed for physicochemical properties following standard procedures. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to assess beekeeping practices by interviewing 15 individuals who have experience in beekeeping. The average values for moisture content, total ash, free acidity, reducing sugars, sucrose, pH, water-insoluble solids and hydroxymethylfurfural of honey samples obtained from modern hives were 18%, 0.24%, 31 meq/kg, 56.6%, 1.88%, 4.24, 0.05 g/100g and 26.6 mg/kg, respectively. The corresponding values for honey obtained from the forest were 17.7%, 0.28%, 27.7 meq/kg, 58%, 2%, 5.18, 0.07 g/100g and 10.9 mg/kg, respectively. Honey source significantly (P≤0.05) influenced the pH, reducing sugars and sucrose contents of the honey samples while ash, free acidity, water-insoluble solids and moisture content were not significantly (P>0.05) different between the two sources of honey. The pH, sucrose and reducing sugars content of forest honey samples were significantly (P≤0.05) higher than honey obtained from modern hives. All the parameters analysed were within the limits set by the Codex Alimentarius Commission for honey. The major challenges faced by beekeepers in the study area include lack of skills and knowledge of beekeeping, weak extension services and lack of bee handling and honey processing equipment. Thus, there is a need for training of beekeepers on improved beekeeping practices and provision of inputs such as modern hives and honey handling and processing equipment to farmers.

Factors Hindering Use of Standard Weights and Measures along Irish Potato Supply Chain in Njombe Region, Tanzania

Non-compliance with standard weights and measures in agricultural marketing in Tanzania compelled this paper to examined factors hindering use of standard weights and measures along Irish potato supply chain. To address this challenge a cross section research design was used to develop data collection plan and probability sampling was used to draw a representative sample from a sampling frame. The findings revealed that weak enforcement of the regulations governing compliance to standard weights and measures, weak extension services that failed to provide reliable market information to farmers, lack of negotiation skills among smallholder farmers against local brokers / traders coupled with inadequate market infrastructure with appropriate weights and measure facilities provide incentives for local brokers and traders to exploit smallholder farmers. For the sake of fair deals in transactions associated with Irish potato along the supply chain this paper recommends the best practices to ensure responsible business practices among actors.

Quantitative input-output relationships between human soleus muscle spindle afferents and motoneurons

A method is described that, for the first time, allows instantaneous estimation of the Ia fiber input to human soleus motoneurons following electrical stimulation of the tibial nerve. The basis of the method is to determine the thresholds of the most and least excitable 1a fibers to electrical stimulation, and to treat the intervening thresholds as having a normal distribution about the mean; the validity of this approach is discussed. It was found that, for the same Ia fiber input, the percentage of soleus motoneurons contributing to the H (Hoffmann)-reflex differed considerably among subjects; when the results were pooled, however, there was an approximately linear relationship between Ia input and motoneuron output. Weak extension of the great toe diminished the soleus motoneuron reflex discharge in all but 2 of 16 subjects; the results for weak ankle plantarflexion were less consistent, but overall, there was a reduction in soleus motoneuron output also. The methodology should provide new insights into disorders of movement and tone, especially as it permits estimates of motoneuron depolarization to be made. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Assuming a normal distribution of Ia fiber thresholds to electrical stimulation and using the H-reflex, we determined for the first time an Ia input-α-motoneuron output relationship for the human soleus muscle. The relationship varies greatly among subjects but, overall, is approximately linear. Minimal contraction of a toe muscle alters the relationship dramatically, probably due to presynaptic inhibition of Ia fibers. Drawing on the literature, we can calculate changes in α-motoneuron membrane potential.

Food Security Policy Analysis Using System Dynamics

Food security (FS) challenges exist in both the developed and the developing countries, the difference being the severity and the proportion of the population affected. Previous studies maintain that chronic food insecurity at subsistence farming level has persisted due to a number of factors including unsustainable subsistence agriculture and livelihood policies, lack of inputs, poor conservation methods, weak extension services, unregulated markets, limited land among others. This article investigates FS challenges at subsistence farming level using system dynamics tools. The emerging system dynamics model is conceptualised into four sectors; food production, sales, income and food consumption, representing a real-life food security system. The model is used to evaluate policies for better livelihoods as well as explore strategies for profitable subsistence farming and food security.

Implementasi dan Dampak Penerapan Legislasi Penyuluhan Pertanian Terhadap Capaian Swasembada Pangan

<p><span><strong>English</strong></span></p><p><span>Law No. 16/2006 on Agricultural Extension System, Fisheries and Forestry and its derivative regulations have not improved extension workers’ performance to meet farmers’ needs including that to succeed food self-sufficiency. This paper aims to analyze (1) implementation of extension laws especially in food self-sufficiency achievement; (2) problems faced by officials and extension workers in implementing agricultural extension; and (3) impacts of extension laws on of food self-sufficiency achievement target. Primary data and information were collected through interviews and group discussions using an ethno-methodology approach. The results showed that extension laws implementation did not fully match with the Law No. 32/2004, especially its derivatives such as PP No. 41/2007 and PP No. 38/2007. However, such derivative legislation was consistent with Law No. 16/2006 and supported rice self-sufficiency achievement in 2014. Implementation of agricultural extension laws deals with the position of agriculture sector is not the priority such that coordination and synchronization between central and regional governments’ development programs are still weak. Extension workers’ assistance to farmers improved food productivity by 29 to 32.7%. It is necessary to enhance extension workers’ assistance to farmers through farmers’ capacity building, not solely to increase the food production</span></p><p><span><strong>Indonesia</strong></span></p><p><span>Undang Undang No. 16/2006 tentang Sistem Penyuluhan Pertanian, Perikanan, dan Kehutanan (SP3K); serta peraturan perundang-undangan di bawahnya tampaknya belum memberikan ruang bagi penyuluh untuk dapat bekerja dengan baik sesuai kebutuhan petani. Dalam hal ini termasuk menjawab kebutuhan untuk membuat penyuluh lebih progresif dalam menyukseskan swasembada pangan. Tulisan ini bertujuan untuk menganalisis (1) implementasi peraturan perundangan di bidang penyuluhan dengan pencapaian sasaran swasembada pangan; (2) permasalahan implementasi di bidang penyuluhan; dan (3) dampak implementasi legislasi penyuluhan pertanian terhadap capaian sasaran swasembada pangan. </span><span lang="SV">W</span><span>awancara dan </span><span lang="SV">diskusi kelompok dengan pendekatan <em>ethnomethodology</em></span><span> dilakukan untuk mendapatkan informasi yang holistik terkait dengan tujuan evaluasi. Hasil analisis menunjukkan bahwa i</span><span lang="SV">mplementasi peraturan perundang-undangan </span><span>di bidang penyuluhan belum sepenuhnya sinkron dengan UU No</span><span lang="SV">.</span><span>32/2004, terutama poduk turunannya, yaitu PP No. 41/2007 dan PP No. 38/2007. Produk turunan </span><span lang="SV">perundang-undangan </span><span>di bidang penyuluhan telah konsisten dengan UU No. 16/2006, dan telah mendukung pencapaian swasembada beras di tahun 2014. Permasalahan implementasi di bidang penyuluhan pertanian terkait dengan posisi sektor pertanian sebagai ‘urusan pilihan’ sehingga koordinasi dan sinkronisasi antara program pembangunan pusat dan daerah masih lemah. Dampak implementasi legislasi penyuluhan terlihat dari peran pendampingan/pengawalan penyuluh terhadap petani telah memberikan kontribusi terhadap peningkatan produktivitas padi sebesar 29−32,7%. Implikasinya secara nasional adalah intensitas pendampingan penyuluh terhadap petani perlu ditingkatkan yang berorientasi pada peningkatan kapasitas petani, bukan semata-mata pada peningkatan produksi. </span></p>

Abstract classes with few models have ‘homogeneous-universal’ models

This paper is concerned with a class K of models and an abstract notion of submodel ≤. Experience in first order model theory has shown the desirability of finding a ‘monster model’ to serve as a universal domain for K. In the original constructions of Jónsson and Fraïssé, K was a universal class and ordinary substructure played the role of ≤. Working with a cardinal λ satisfying λ<λ = λ guarantees appropriate downward Löwenheim-Skolem theorems; the existence and uniqueness of a homogeneous-universal model appears to depend centrally on the amalgamation property. We make this apparent dependence more precise in this paper.The major innovation of this paper is the introduction of a weaker notion (chain homogeneous-universal) to replace the natural notion of (K, <)-homogeneous-universal model. Modulo a weak extension of ZFC (provable if V = L), we show (Corollary 5.24) that a class K obeying certain minimal restrictions satisfies a fundamental dichotomy. For arbitrarily large λ, either K has the maximal number of models in power λ or K has a unique chain homogeneous-universal model of power λ. We show (5.25) in a class with amalgamation this dichotomy holds for the notion of K-homogeneous-universal model in the more normal sense.The methods here allow us to improve our earlier results [5] in two other ways: certain requirements on all chains of a given length are replaced by requiring winning strategies in certain games; the notion of a canonically prime model is avoided. A full understanding of these extensions requires consideration of the earlier papers but we summarize them quickly here.