Banana-legume intercropping systems are commonly practiced in the highland zones of the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo to maximize land use and intensify crop production. However, banana leaves are pruned during legume intercropping to improve sunlight penetration for the legume. On-farm experiments were conducted in South Kivu province to determine the effect of banana leaf pruning on banana (Musa sp.), bush and climbing beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L) and soybean (Glycine max L) yield.

Inefficient management and use of water is unanimously the most single constraint of agricultural production of Ethiopia. The study was conducted to assess the effect of livestock feed sourcing and feeding strategies on livestock water productivity (LWP) in mixed crop–livestock production systems of the Blue Nile Basin in Ethiopian Highlands. Three districts representing diverse agricultural farming systems were considered. Each district further stratified to different farming systems. Multi-stage stratified random sampling technique was employed to select farm households.

The first part of this report comprises country reports that deals with epidemiology of ticks and tick-borne diseases in Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The second part of the report covers topics on assessing the efficacy of immunization against tick-borne diseases, evaluating delivery systems for the control of tick-borne diseases and measuring the impact of immunization on livestock productivity. The paper ends with a discussion on coordination, collaboration and planning.

Biometric skills in developing countries are inadequate to support the changing priorities of agricultural research with the consequence that the quality of research aimed at increasing food security and alleviating poverty is often deficient because it lacks good statistical design" (CTA, 1997).