Browsing by Author "Musotsi, Protus"

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    Postharvest Storage Practices of Maize in Rift Valley and Lower Eastern Regions of Kenya: A Cross-Sectional Study
    (Wiley, 2020) Koskei, Peter; Bii, Christine C.; Musotsi, Protus; Muturi Karanja, Simon
    An assessment of local farmers’ knowledge, attitude, and practices on postharvest maize storage and management was carried out with a view of understanding its role in maize contamination with mycotoxins and postharvest losses in Rift Valley and Lower Eastern Regions of Kenya among 165 and 149 farmers, respectively. Differences between the two regions were analyzed using the Chi-square test, Fisher exact test, and two-sample t-test. The median quantity of maize harvested by farmers in the two regions after shelling was 585 kg. A median of 20 kg of maize was put aside as a result of rotting before shelling, and there was a significant mean difference in maize set aside as a result of rotting between the two regions (107.88 kg vs. 31.96 kg; t (306.25) = 5.707, P value <0.001). The quantity of discoloured and mouldy maize consumed ranged from 0 to 90 kg; 7 (2.2%) respondents consumed mouldy maize, 36 (11.5%) fed it to cows, and 19 (6.1%) fed it to poultry. A small percentage (3.5%) believed mouldy maize is safe for human consumption, 23.6% for animal consumption, while 15.0% considered it safe for brewing, with the differences between the two regions being statistically significant (P value <0.05). Nearly half of the respondents (48.4%) kept maize on cobs indoors, 47.1% left it in the field without covering, and 33.1% consumed and sold maize while still green, with more farmers from Lower Eastern practicing this. The results of the study suggest that there were poor postharvest practices and low awareness levels among maize farmers and that this can lead to postharvest losses due to Fusarium spp. infection and mycotoxin contamination that poses a threat to human and animal food safety. This calls for interventions on better postharvest practices.
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    Prevalence of Fasciolosis in Cattle, Sheep, and Goats Slaughtered in Slaughter Slabs in Trans-Nzoia West, Kenya. and Knowledge of Livestock Handlers
    (Journal of Biology, Agriculture and Healthcare, 2017-03-01) Musotsi, Protus; Otieno, Christina; Njoroge, Simon
    Background: Fasciolosis is known globally to be an important helminthic disease of ruminants caused by liver fluke species of the genus Fasciola, and it is one of the most neglected tropical zoonotic diseases that can lead to human infection. It has the widest geographic spread of any emerging zoonotic disease, and it occurs in many countries of the world. Objectives: The study aimed at determining the prevalence of fasciolosis in ruminants slaughtered in Trans-Nzoia West. Specific objectives were to establish the trend of fasciolosis in ruminants, ascertain the relationship between fasciolosis prevalence and rainfall patterns and assess the knowledge of meat sellers and farmers about fasciolosis. Methodology: A 5-year secondary data retrospective study was carried out in Trans-Nzoia West, Trans-Nzoia County. The study population consisted of ruminants slaughtered, meat sellers and livestock farmers.Results: A total of 104,221 cattle, sheep and goats were slaughtered in the five-year period in which 6,098 (5.85%) were infested with fasciolosis with a prevalence of 6.52%, 6.08% and 4.10% in cattle, sheep, and goats respectively. Most meat sellers (72.2%) were able to identify fasciolosis in infested livers, 88.9% reported liver flukes infestation resulted in the loss of income while 58.3% were not aware of nutrition depletion associated with fasciolosis. Of the farmers interviewed, 52.9% grazed in swampy areas, 66.7% dewormed after 3 months, 78.4% had heard about fasciolosis and 80.0% did not know the cause of fasciolosis. The majority (95.0%) were not aware of the snail species spreading liver flukes while 77.5% did not know that fasciolosis was a zoonotic disease.Conclusion: Fasciolosis was prevalent in the area and caused great economic loss to the meat sellers. Most farmers were not aware of its cause and zoonotic nature. Recommendations: Fasciolosis control should be approached from a multidisciplinary angle and farmers should be educated on it and its zoonotic nature.