Closing gender gaps through gender-responsive, demand-led breeding in Burundi

Gender inequality persists in Burundi's agricultural sector, especially in the bean value chain dominated by women. Women often have less access to improved seeds and to productive technologies. Interventions dubbed "gender-responsive plant breeding" have been launched to develop new varieties to address the gender gaps in variety adoption. Gender responsive planting breeding in Burundi targets to develop bean varieties that respond better to gendered varietal and trait preferences. This paper provides a background of gender-responsive bean breeding in Burundi, documenting the methodologies that were used to integrate gender issues in bean breeding and socio-economic research. It also covers successes of gender-responsive breeding to date, primarily focusing the interdisciplinary teams that drove the process, development and release of varieties that incorporated traits favored by women and men actors. Evidence from surveys and value chain analysis reveal that gender-responsive breeding program increased the adoption of improved varieties by women and improved yields and productivity. The paper reveals that gender-responsive and demand-led bean breeding programs require stakeholders engagements to develop products that align with preferences of diverse actors at different nodes of the bean value chain.

The Gamblification of Investing: How a New Generation of Investors Is Being Born to Lose

Investing and gambling share key features, in that both involve risk, the coming together of two or more people, and both are voluntary activities. However, investing is generally a much better way than gambling for the average person to make long-run profits. This paper reviews evidence on two types of “gamblified” investment products where this advantage does not hold for investing: high-frequency stock trading and high-risk derivatives. This review defines a gamblified investment product as one that leads most investors to lose, that attracts people at risk of experiencing gambling-related harm, and that utilizes product design principles from gambling (either by encouraging a high frequency of use or by providing the allure of big lottery-like wins). The gamblification of investing produces novel challenges for the regulation of both financial markets and gambling.

Unravelling the Perspectives of Day and Night Traders in Selected Markets within a Sub-Saharan African City with a Malaria Knowledge, Attitude and Practice Survey

Background: Malaria is still endemic in sub-Saharan Africa, with a high disease burden. Misconceptions about malaria contribute to poor attitudes and practices, further increasing the burden in endemic countries. Studies have examined the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) of malaria among different populations. However, there seems to be no available literature reporting on the perspectives of day and night market traders. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on malaria KAP with a focus on day and night market traders. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study involving day and night market traders in 10 selected markets within the Greater Accra Region of Ghana was carried out. Data were collected from consenting respondents using a structured questionnaire. Results: Of the 760 respondents (33.3% (n = 253) night and 66.7% (n = 507) day traders) interviewed, there was no significant difference between the day and night market traders in terms of malaria KAP. Although the market traders had an overall moderate knowledge (54.0% of the day traders and 56.5% of the night traders), misconceptions about malaria (especially that it could be caused by exposure to the sun) still existed among the traders. Moreover, the majority of the traders who demonstrated high knowledge (43.98%, n = 250) did not always take laboratory tests to confirm their suspicion, indicating poor attitude. Furthermore, the market traders’ choice of drug for malaria treatment (p = 0.001) and preferred malaria treatment type (orthodox or herbal) (p = 0.005) were significantly associated with their knowledge level. Conclusions: Despite the observation that no significant difference in KAP exists between day and night market traders, appropriate health education programs and interventions still need to be directed at misconceptions, poor attitudes, and poor practices revealed by this study. This will ultimately help in the prevention and control of malaria in Ghana, and globally.

High Mobility and STIs/HIV among Women Informal Cross Border Traders in Southern Mozambique: Exploring Knowledge, Risk Perception, and Sexual Behaviors

High circular mobility creates vulnerability and elevates risk for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) including Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). We aim to explore knowledge, perceptions of risk, and sexual behaviors in relation to STIs/HIV, in Mozambican women involved in an informal cross border trade (ICBT) and residing in South Mozambique. A cross-sectional quantitative study, in 200 women cross border traders (WICBT), affiliated to the Mukhero Association, using a structured, face-to-face questionnaire, was conducted. Descriptive statistics and Pearson’s Chi-square test were used. The median age of participants was 37.0 years (interquartile range (IQR): 31.0–43.0), 100% were literate, travelled on average six times a month. WICBT with a high education level were more likely to have awareness of Gonorrhea, Syphilis, and Candidiasis; to self-perceive being at risk of getting HIV, Syphilis, and Human Papilloma Virus (HPV); and to test for HIV and Syphilis. Those with a low education level were more likely to have misconceptions about HIV and ever have sex in exchange for money/goods/services. Married participants were more likely to know how to prevent HIV. Participants with a high income were more likely to know about HPV; to self-perceive being at risk of getting Syphilis; to point sex workers as being at higher risk of getting HPV; and to ever test for HIV. WICBT with a low income were more likely to have sex in exchange for money/goods/services. Low and inconsistent knowledge and misconceptions of STIs/HIV, high sexual risky behavior, low perception of risk of getting STIs/HIV among this neglected and key population suggests their increased vulnerability to the STIs/HIV.

A Study on Childhood Epilepsy among Traders in Benin City Nigeria

BACKGROUND

Epilepsy is a serious childhood disease associated with stigmatization in the community. Despite the deleterious effect of the disease on childhood brain growth and development, the disease is treatable.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study is to document the knowledge of childhood epilepsy by community members using traders (market women and men in a popular market in Benin City, Nigeria) as a case study.

METHODOLOGY

This was a descriptive cross-sectional study carried out in April 2018. Data collection was by researcher-administered questionnaire. The respondents were traders (women and men) in Edaiken market Benin City Nigeria who were recruited consecutively during the period of the study. The analysis was performed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 21, and the level of statistical significance of variables was set at 95% confidence level and P < 0.05.

RESULTS

Of the 500 respondents, 47 (9.4%) males and 453 (90.6%) females; mean age (standard deviation) was 35.3 ± 9.4 years. Total knowledge score of childhood epilepsy in this study was 27.6%. Only 116 (23.2%) study participants gave correctly a description of epileptic fits in a child. Although majority 71.0% said that epilepsy has the medical cure, none was able to mention any known drugs for the treatment of epilepsy and 72.6% said that they would use traditional remedies.

CONCLUSION

The overall observed knowledge score of childhood epilepsy was low. Although most respondents stated that epilepsy has medical cure, majority preferred the traditional options for treatment. These findings, therefore, highlighted the need to enlighten the public about childhood epilepsy and its medical treatment options.

How Competitive Are Crop Markets in Sub-Saharan Africa?

During the structural adjustment era of the 1980s and 1990s, governments across sub-Saharan Africa generally withdrew from crop markets to encourage entry by private traders and foster competition. Since that time, the degree of competition in crop markets has been a central concern of policymakers, donors, and researchers. We review the evidence on that topic by first developing a conceptual framework to guide our analysis, then discussing the findings from four categories of literature. We have two main findings. First, there is a paucity of empirical evidence on this question, which hinders our ability to draw strong conclusions. Second, that point notwithstanding, the evidence that does exist is broadly supportive of the notion that crop markets are competitive. The dominant themes in the literature are that trading profits are highly variable, trader entry and exit rates are high, and price co-movements between markets suggest relatively efficient levels of competitive arbitrage. It is possible that the high costs of entry foster non-competitive conditions at the level of large-scale, long-distance subnational trade, but we find no positive evidence to that effect, only the satisfaction of certain necessary conditions.