University of Zimbabwe

About: University of Zimbabwe is a education organization based out in Harare, Harare, Zimbabwe. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). The organization has 4378 authors who have published 6800 publications receiving 160720 citations. The organization is also known as: UZ & University College of Rhodesia and Nyasaland.

The association between alcohol use, sexual risk behavior, and HIV infection among men attending beerhalls in Harare, Zimbabwe

Abstract: HIV testing and a behavioral survey were conducted with a cross-sectional sample of 324 men recruited at beerhalls in Harare, Zimbabwe, to examine the relationship among alcohol use, high-risk sexual behavior, and HIV infection among male beerhall patrons and to evaluate the feasibility of using beerhalls as venues for male-centered HIV prevention activities. Recent HIV seroconversions were identified using the less-sensitive enzyme immunoassay. HIV education activities were provided inside beerhalls and qualitative methods were used to assess the acceptability of conducting HIV prevention activities and research at beerhalls. The prevalence of HIV infection was 30%; the prevalence of recent seroconversion was 3.4%. Having sex while intoxicated in the previous 6 months was reported by 31% of men and was strongly associated with recent HIV seroconversion as well as unprotected sex with casual partners and paying for sex. Acceptability of prevention and research activities was high among beerhall patrons, managers, and owners. Beerhalls present an environment associated with high-risk sexual behavior and concomitantly high rates of HIV seroconversion. Beerhalls are appropriate and feasible venues for delivering HIV prevention programs targeted at men in many regions of sub-Saharan Africa and the world.

Micro-dosing as a pathway to Africa’s Green Revolution: evidence from broad-scale on-farm trials

Abstract: Next to drought, poor soil fertility is the single biggest cause of hunger in Africa. ICRISAT-Zimbabwe has been working for the past 10 years to encourage small-scale farmers to increase inorganic fertiliser use as the first step towards Africa’s own Green Revolution. The program of work is founded on promoting small quantities of inorganic nitrogen (N) fertiliser (micro-dosing) in drought-prone cropping regions. Results from initial on-farm trials showed that smallholder farmers could increase their yields by 30–100% through application of micro doses, as little as 10 kg Nitrogen ha−1. The question remained whether these results could be replicated across much larger numbers of farmers. Wide scale testing of the micro-dosing (17 kg Nitrogen ha−1) concept was initiated in 2003/2004, across multiple locations in southern Zimbabwe through relief and recovery programs. Each year more than 160,000 low resourced households received at least 25 kg of nitrogen fertiliser and a simple flyer in the vernacular explaining how to apply the fertiliser to a cereal crop. This distribution was accompanied by a series of simple paired plot demonstration with or without fertiliser, hosted by farmers selected by the community, where trainings were carried out and detailed labour and crop records were kept. Over a 3 year period more than 2,000 paired-plot trials were established and quality data collected from more than 1,200. In addition, experimentation to derive N response curves of maize (Zea mays L.), sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) and pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R.Br.) in these environments under farmer management was conducted. The results consistently showed that micro-dosing (17 kg Nitrogen ha−1) with nitrogen fertiliser can increase grain yields by 30–50% across a broad spectrum of soil, farmer management and seasonal climate conditions. In order for a household to make a profit, farmers needed to obtain between 4 and 7 kg of grain for every kg of N applied depending on season. In fact farmers commonly obtained 15–45 kg of grain per kg of N input. The result provides strong evidence that lack of N, rather than lack of rainfall, is the primary constraint to cereal crop yields and that micro-dosing has the potential for broad-scale impact on improving food security in these drought prone regions.

Organic Matter Management as an Underlying Cause for Soil Fertility Gradients on Smallholder Farms in Zimbabwe

Abstract: Management of spatial and temporal variability of soil fertility within fields and farms is one major challenge for increasing farm-level crop productivity in smallholder agriculture. A study was conducted across 120 on-farm field sites in three agro-ecological regions of Zimbabwe to identify management factors influencing the formation of within-field/farm soil fertility gradients. Using farmer participatory research approaches, host farmers were put into three classes according to resource endowment, namely, Resource-endowed, Intermediate and Resource-constrained farmers. Each host farmer identified the most (rich) and least (poor) productive field or field section, which were then studied over two years. Farmer criteria for defining soil fertility ranged from colour through elements of soil structure to crop response following external nutrient inputs. The fertility ranking of fields consistently matched with laboratory indices, with rich fields containing significantly more soil organic carbon (SOC) and nutrients than the corresponding poor fields. Fertility gradients were evident within and across farms belonging to different farmer classes. The mean SOC content for rich fields were >6.0 g kg−1 compared with <4.6 g kg−1 for the designated poor fields. Rich fields belonging to Resource-endowed farmers had 16–28% more SOC than those belonging to their resource-constrained counterparts, suggesting differences in organic matter management. Differences in SOC and fertility status between rich and poor fields were wider in two of the study areas which had more than 70 years of cultivation in contrast to the third site which had been under smallholder farming for only 20 years, suggesting that the observed fertility gradients are a cumulative effect of years of differential management practices by different farmer classes. Analysis of potential benefits from in situ organic biomass inputs suggested that the processes of organic matter capture and utilization discriminated against Resource-constrained farmers. About 50% of in situ biomass, preferentially maize stover, was lost in three dry season months, and up to 72% of potentially recyclable N is lost from poor fields managed by Resource-constrained farmers. In contrast, Resource-endowed farmers incorporated more than 1.5 t C, 25 kg N and 5 kg P ha−1 season−1 because of their access to draught power during the early dry season. Such inputs could make a difference on these nutrient-depleted soils. Intermediate farmers represented a diverse transitional group whose size and variability could be indicative of the dynamism of technology usage. It was concluded that management of soil fertility gradients to increase crop productivity on smallholder farms hinges on increasing the capacity and efficiency with which organic matter is generated and utilized by different farmer weaclth groups across temporal scales.

Prevalence of antibodies to Brucella spp. and individual risk factors of infection in traditional cattle, goats and sheep reared in livestock-wildlife interface areas of Zambia.

Abstract: Pre-print to the original published by SpringerLink accessible on: http://www.springerlink.com/content/8r11190t71tg0080/