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As Sierra Leone approaches self-sufficiency in rice, against a backdrop of agricultural commercialization, the dynamics of the rice grain production and consumption will increasingly be driven by the quality of grains demanded by consumers to be produced by farmers and marketed by traders in the open market. The present study was a national perception survey aimed at establishing the current status of rice grain quality based on the perspectives of traders and consumers interviewed at selected market places in four major cities across the country. In separate interviews conducted with 315 consumers and traders selected at random from 45 markets around the country, individual responses were solicited on the general interests of consumers and traders, as well as the marketing practices and aspirations for the improvement of rice grain quality in the country. Results obtained from the two surveys suggest that the priorities of rice consumers for grain quality were generally similar to those of the traders. For example, between to 63 to 100 per cent (84 %all cities) of consumers and 69 to 100 percent (88% all cities) of traders interviewed indicated preference for imported rice, with a significant positive correlation (r = 0.78) between the two groups. Among rice products found in the market, the imported high swelling, long grain rice was shown to be preferred by both traders and consumers, due mostly to the high swelling power and non-seasonal market availability of that grain type. Other results suggest that both traders and consumers desire further improvement in grain quality, even though they do not consider this to be of high priority. The study leads to the conclusion that imported rice products are more popular than local rice products among rice traders and consumers in Sierra Leone. It is speculated that such preference might have been driven directly by the priorities of household food decisions and indirectly by the general socio-economics of food production and consumption in the country. Keywords: Rice grain quality, consumers, Sierra Leone, INTRODUCTION Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is the most important staple crop in the world, particularly in the developing world. In Sierra Leone, rice is the main staple food crop, and [...]

Uganda is regarded as a success story having achieved tremendous economic progress since the end of chronic civil unrest and ethnic conflicts. However, the country faces a host of developmental challenges, especially adult and child hunger in tandem with malnutrition that threatens the core foundations of the impressive economic growth. These challenges have created conditions which led to civil strife especially among the urban poor who are most affected by hunger as opposed to the rural poor who subsist on farming. Out of desperation, some sections of the society use unconventional means to fight hunger; their frustration is often directed at the established authorities. However, factors that precipitate hunger in Uganda are poorly understood. This paper examines how Ugandan politics is being reshaped by the geopolitics of food. The objective is to provide a critical analysis of factors associated with food insecurity for the growing urban population and demonstrate that the Ugandan Government can do better to address the increasing food prices and the high cost of living. The triggers of the 2011/2012 riots in urban areas and the adequacy of the government's response will be discussed. The impact of various factors such as international food markets, population growth and increasing demands for biofuel, on the rising food and fuel prices, will be examined. The paper also reviews other forces driving food insecurity including changes in the weather patterns, the growing middle class, the impact of government policies as well the role of increased urbanisation. The paper concludes that food insecurity for the growing Ugandan population is a threat that can no longer be ignored. This paper argues that achieving food security especially for the urban poor, is an effective means of curtailing civil strife, violence and insecurity in Uganda. The government must be proactive in creating a foundation for food independence and national stability. Key words: Food insecurity, politics, Uganda, price, INTRODUCTION From an economic growth perspective, Uganda is regarded as successful, having achieved tremendous economic progress since the end of civil unrest in the 1980s [1]. Since 1986, Uganda has [...]

White-core is an important trait in the selection of rice (Oryza sativa L. ssp. japonica) for sake (Japanese rice wine) production. The present study was conducted to find differences between the endosperm protein pattern of white-core-bearing sake-brewing cultivars and those of normal rice grains. Protein patterns of white-core sakebrewing grains were compared with those of normal cultivars by two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2D-PAGE). Several proteins showing different amounts were detected. These were identified by microsequencing and found to be known carbohydrate-metabolizing enzymes as well as proteins with no known involvement in carbohydrate metabolism. Two units of globulin-like protein (GLP) and a chloroplast stromal heat shock protein 70 (ctHSP70) showed the greatest difference in the white-core group. Analysis of amyloplast proteins showed slightly higher amounts of GLP and ctHSP70 in the amyloplast than in the cytosol. Also, time-course analysis of developing rice grains indicated that both proteins were elevated during the later stages of grain development. From this we conclude that GLP and ctHSP70-II are associated with white-core appearance and thus behave as biochemical markers for this character in sake-brewing rice cultivars. doi: 10.2135/cropsci2008.12.0719

Globally, children face an increasing risk of harm from abuse, violence and neglect. Progress towards securing a safe environment for them is slow and uneven. There is a growing need to understand how innovative community‐driven interventions could address sociocultural practices that harm children. In this paper, we evaluated the impact of the community‐driven urban programme on livelihood, income fortification and socio‐civic transformation intervention (UPLIFT) on child protection in Kampala, Uganda. We used a mixed‐method evaluation approach, which incorporated the difference‐in‐difference analysis and Kernel propensity score matching to estimate the programme's impact, and for the analysis of our qualitative data, we used the thematic approach. There were 663 pre‐intervention participants and 559 post‐intervention participants, aged between 13 and 17 years, in the study. Results showed improvements in various aspects of child protection; for example, there was strengthened community responsibility for child protection services and uptake of policy. However, we found undesirable impacts on situations presenting a serious risk of harm to children. We argue that protecting children against harm is a complex process, often rooted in the sociocultural and religious life of communities, and that child protection interventions must be deliberate about identifying and targeting ingrained sociocultural practices that sustain child abuse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]