Purpose. This paper investigates the status, drivers and consequences of low employee engagement among domestic workers in resettled farms in rural Zimbabwe. It focuses on how employment conditions and employer practices shape domestic employees’ motivation, morale and turnover intentions. Methodology. The study adopts a quantitative research design based on a single case of resettled farms in Ward 32, Masvingo rural district. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire from 60 conveniently selected domestic workers and analysed using factor analysis and reliability tests in SPSS. Results. Findings show that employee engagement among domestic workers is extremely low, with respondents reporting poor working conditions, inadequate protective clothing, limited access to basic food items and poor housing. Key engagement drivers identified include two-way communication, leadership quality, compensation, regular feedback, working conditions, career development, rewards and recognition, work–life balance, organizational resources and perceptions of fair and equal treatment; depending on how these drivers are managed, they can either enhance or further erode engagement levels. Theoretical contribution. The study extends the employee engagement literature to marginalized and informal agricultural labour settings, highlighting the influence of socio-economic and institutional factors on domestic worker engagement in resettled farms. Practical implications. The results call on farm owners and policymakers to design targeted interventions that improve domestic workers’ material conditions, recognition and voice at the workplace. Addressing basic welfare deficits and strengthening fair employment practices can reduce labour turnover and support more sustainable agricultural production in resettled areas. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

Heavy metal toxicity is related with a number of diseases, but the problem increases when toxic metals are found in breast milk, the basic food item in a vulnerable age group. In this study, we assessed the levels of seven essential (i.e., Co, Cu, Mn, Mo, Se, Zn and V) and 13 toxic (i.e., Sb, As, Ba, Be, Cd, Cs, Pb, Hg, Ni, Pt, Th, Tl and U) metals in human milk of 118 lactating mothers who took part in a Spanish human biomonitoring project (BETTERMILK). The highest detection frequency (DF) was 100% for Cu, Zn, Se and Cs; 93% for As; and 84% for Hg. The rest of elements had DF below 40%. The geometric mean (GM) concentrations were below LoQ for 14 elements and the maximum level found was 2856ng/g for Zn. The newborns' estimated weekly/daily intake of toxic and essential metals through human milk was lower than their toxic reference values established by official organisms. To our knowledge, this is currently the first risk assessment study of infants to the most toxic metals such as Hg, As, Cd, Pb, Se and Zn through breast milk in Spain.

This present study attempted to discuss the changing consumption patterns of Sago and rice in Pancakarsa village, Mangkutana District, East Luwu Regency, South Sulawesi, with a focus on the contribution of Sago to household food security. Rice has replaced Sago as the preferred staple food among the local community, but Sago still has an essential value as a traditional and alternative basic food item. The study aims to understand Sago's role as a household basic food comprehensively. Data were collected through interviews with 15 respondents (representing 152 households) employing quantitative descriptive analysis. The analyzed data consisted of primary data from interviews with respondents and secondary data from relevant institutions, including village officials and the Central Bureau of Statistics. The results demonstrated that the educational degree of respondents ranged from Primary School (66.7%), Junior High School (26.7%), to Senior High School (2.67%). Sago's contribution to household basic food security is classified as moderate, while rice is in the high category. The theoretical and managerial implications of these findings are discussed in the present study. Some Sago-based traditional food products produced by Pancakarsa villagers included Kapurung, Sinole, Dange, Bagea, Ongol-ongol, and Cendol. These carbohydrate sources contain good nutrition. Promoting Sago as local food may also be linked to efforts to maintain food diversity and environmental sustainability. Keywords: Food consumption pattern, household food contribution, household, rice, Sago .

This study examines the structure of the consumer basket and the perceived utility of goods and services among various age groups in Ukraine under a constrained weekly budget of UAH 2,000. The research is highly relevant as understanding consumer behavior in the context of limited financial resources is critical for developing effective economic policies and business strategies in Ukraine’s challenging economic environment. The methodology involved a survey conducted via Google Forms, targeting 40 respondents equally distributed across four age groups: 17–25, 25–35, 35–45, and 45+ years. Participants were asked to allocate their budget across food, non-food goods, and services, and to evaluate the utility of these items on a scale from 1 (least useful) to 10 (most useful). The results reveal distinct consumption patterns driven by age-specific priorities. The 17–25 age group favors convenience foods, such as fast food, pasta, and sweets, alongside entertainment services like cinema visits, reflecting their time-constrained and socially active lifestyles. The 25–35 group shifts toward balanced nutrition, including dairy, vegetables, and meats, while allocating funds to education and personal care services. The 35–45 group emphasizes health-conscious food choices and medical services, with non-food expenditures focusing on medicines and household essentials. The 45+ group prioritizes basic food items, such as milk, meat, and vegetables, and medicines, with minimal spending on non-essential services beyond transportation. Food consistently dominates expenditures, comprising over 55% of the budget across all groups, with the 45+ group allocating up to 65%. High-utility items, such as meat, dairy, and vegetables, score 8–10 across all groups, while fast food, sweets, and alcohol score lower (1–4), particularly among older respondents. These findings highlight the dynamic influence of age on consumption preferences and resource allocation. Practically, the study provides valuable insights for businesses to tailor marketing strategies and for policymakers to design targeted social support programs, enhancing resource allocation and market segmentation based on demographic needs. Future research could explore regional differences or longitudinal trends to further refine these insights.

Abstract The recent surge in egg prices in Germany and the US raises concerns, as eggs are a basic and sustainable food item. Previous studies on egg prices explored the influence of supply and demand factors. In addition, recent events such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and avian influenza, as well as policy changes for animal welfare protection in Germany such as the ban on chick culling and cages, may have contributed to the price volatility of the egg market. Amidst this large number of potential features, this paper firstly sets out to identify the most important predictors of egg prices in Germany. In the second step, we aim to predict egg prices using the most relevant features. With the Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator, we identify mainly supply related factors, such as egg imports, the battery cage ban, the 2017 fipronil scandal, the 2022 ban on male chick culling, energy prices, the number of COVID-19 cases, the number of bird flu outbreaks and seasonal changes in demand during Christmas, as the most important determinants for changing egg prices. From the perspective of the ‘No Free Lunch Theorem’, regarding predicting egg prices, we compare the deep-learning nonlinear recurrent neural network represented by the Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) to the linear Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average with Exogenous Variables (ARIMAX) model and find that the ARIMAX predictions consistently underperform compared to LSTM. The findings underline the crucial role of policymakers in stabilizing egg prices by effectively preventing and managing irregularities in the value chain.

Basic food items such as rice, eggs, sugar, and milk play a crucial role in people's lives, especially during the month of Ramadan, when demand for these commodities increases significantly. This condition encourages the habit of storing food, which then gives birth to innovations in basic food savings products in Islamic financial institutions. This study aims to examine the application of the wadiah contract in basic food savings products at the Artha Yasmin Az Zahra Sharia Savings and Loans and Financing Cooperative (KSPPS), with reference to the fatwa of the National Sharia Council of the Indonesian Ulema Council (DSN-MUI) Number 02/DSN-MUI/IV/2000. The research method used is qualitative descriptive, with data collection techniques through interviews, observations, and documentation studies. The results of the study indicate that KSPPS Artha Yasmin Az Zahra applies the wadiah contract in the form of pure deposits, where the funds deposited by members are used to buy basic food items which will later be returned according to the agreed agreement. Although the implementation of the wadiah contract is in accordance with the provisions of the DSN-MUI fatwa, there are still obstacles, such as the lack of transparency in conveying information about the contract to members, which has the potential to affect their level of trust in this product. This study is expected to provide useful insights for KSPPS managers in improving the governance of basic food savings to be more in accordance with sharia principles and more transparent for its members.

Abstract At the present time, among the avian eggs, especially the Chicken Eggs are the basic food items that are consumed extensively and therefore have a large marketing. Due to the fact that the egg content is packed naturally with a thin and fragile outer shell structure, a variety of precision transportation and packaging techniques are needed to be developed in order to reduce egg loss. In this study, a chicken egg is modeled in the mean dimensions discussed in the literature and mechanical behaviors at different drop angles are investigated using the finite element method. The study results are compared with each other to determine critical angles with respect to minimum and maximum stress values in order to create a source for transportation techniques and protective packaging designs.

The results of preliminary observations of the working conditions and environment of freight workers in the 16 Ilir Market, Palembang City, South Sumaetera Province are categorized as less ergonomic in physical, work environment, psychological, organizational and management aspects. Freight workers work by placing baskets on their heads, on their backs and even some without tools directly on their shoulders which load basic food items, and loading-unloading warehousing goods, weighing ±35 kg, a distance of ±500 meters with a low level of productivity. After finishing work, freight workers experience aches all throughout the body, particularly in the legs and neck, as well as waist and back pain. Based on work pulse frequency, the workload was determined to be 131.25±14.10 beats per minute, and it was categorized as heavy work. The fatigue score reached 69.10±15.29 and the musculoskeletal disorder score was 61.25±7.44. The method used is a total ergonomics approach, to enhance work productivity by reducing workload, fatigue, and musculoskeletal system issues. Thirty research samples were chosen by simple randomization of freight workers for this same-subject experimental study. The Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test and the t-paired test were used to evaluate the data at a 5% significance level. Workload, weariness, and musculoskeletal complaints significantly decreased, and productivity increased (p<0.05), according to the data. In conclusion, the total ergonomics approach reduced workload as seen from the decrease in: work pulse rate by 15.61%, fatigue by 58.97%, musculoskeletal system complaints by 28.78%. Consequently, there was a 21.00% increase in productivity. The total ergonomics approach can improve the quality of life and work productivity of freight workers in 16 Ilir Market, Palembang City, South Sumatera Province

ABSTRACT Objective: To determine the frequency of iron deficiency anemia among women in Skardu, Gligit-Baltistan. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Combined Military Hospital, Skardu, Pakistan, from Dec 2021 to May 2022. Methodology: A total of 202 women were selected through consecutive sampling from General Medical OPD of Combined Military Hospital, Skardu, Pakistan. Hemoglobin globin levels (Hb gram/deciliter), mean corpuscular volume (MCV fL) and red cell distribution width (RDW%) were determined for all enrolled patients. Results: Mean age of participants in this study was 34.46±10.93 years. Reduced Hb was observed in 62(30.69%) women with a mean hemoglobin level of 9.48±1.59 gl/deciliter and mean corpuscular volume of 79.97±10.7d fL. Among these women, 5(2.47%) were severely anemic (6.56±0.39 gl/deciliter), 28(13.86%) moderately anemic (8.51±0.83 gl/deciliter) while 29(14.35%) were mildly anemic (10.92±0.48 gl/deciliter). Women of younger age group, between18-35 years, were found to suffer more from iron deficiency anemia (39.14%) with mean hemoglobin levels of 11.31±1.80 and mean corpuscular volume of 79.34±10.86 fL. Conclusion: Iron Deficiency Anemia is present in female population of Gilgit-Baltistan in general and woman of childbearing age in particular. Emergency measures for awareness and fortification of basic food items with iron should be undertaken at large scale.

Identifying food and calculating calories are key components of encouraging good eating habits and controlling dietary intake. These days, it's easier to create smart systems that can recognize food items from images or videos and calculate their calorie content using artificial intelligence, computer vision, and machine learning. This study gives an overview of the latest methods and tools for calorie counting and food identification. It looks at the challenges of accurately identifying different foods, including complex dishes and foods from various cuisines, and addresses the variables taken into account when determining the calorie content of food items, including ingredient composition, portion size, and nutritional makeup. To enhance user experience and enable comprehensive calorie tracking, it explores real-time processing capabilities, user-friendly interfaces, and integration with other health and fitness platforms. Additionally, it provides a list of potential recipes. The interface developed in the proposed system is currently trained to identify and provide the calories of 100 food items, including basic food items, fruits, vegetables, and processed foods. The research work uses a real-time dataset for training and employs software such as YOLOv8, and TensorFlow for practical implementation.

Malnutrition refers to a pathological condition characterized by a lack of nutrients necessary for healthy body function. Malnutrition is one of the most common causes of death and disease among children under the age of five. About 96% percent of children in Pakistan do not receive adequate nutrition during childhood, such as soft food, milk, fruit, and vegetables. Food insecurity is a serious problem in Pakistan as a significant portion of the rural population is food insecure. A staggering 36.9% of households in the country are 'food insecure' and 18.3% are 'severely' food insecure. Pakistan is self-sufficient in basic food items, but only 63.1% of households have food security. Food insecurity is common, leaving women and children at greater risk of malnutrition. Drought-affected communities have exceptionally high rates of malnutrition. According to statistics in Pakistan, about 40, 29%, and 18% of children under the age of five are a stunt, underweight, and wasted, respectively. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the prevalence and determinants of malnutrition status in children under 5 years of age in the slums of Faisalabad District, Punjab, Pakistan. The data is based on household demographic and socioeconomic factors, including anthropometric information on children under the age of five living in a slum in Faisalabad. Anthropometric data were obtained from 150 randomly selected children from three slum areas of Faisalabad. Socioeconomic and behavioural data were collected from each mother. Three indicators were used to measure the nutritional status of children: (i) stunting, height–for– age, (ii) wasting weight–for–height, and (iii) under-weight¸ weight–for–age. These values ​​were transformed into z-scores to classify the child's nutritional status. Descriptive and logistic regression techniques were used to identify factors associated with children's nutritional status. According to this study, the prevalence of stunting, being underweight, and wasting among children under five years of age in Faisalabad District, Pakistan were 28%, 22.6%, and 18% respectively. Testing with logistic regression techniques revealed that demographic, socio-economic, and behavioural factors were significant predictors of all three indicators of child nutritional status. These main factors were household calorie intake and maternal education, father education, access to clean water, and maternal access to health facilities.

Eggs are a basic food item that helps maintain the health of the human body by providing vital vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients. Cambodia has produced eggs at an average annual growth of 2.24%. This study aims to study the demand and supply of eggs in Veal Yun market, and to understand the marketing chain of chicken and duck egg markets. This study is conducted at Veal Yun market, Svay Rieng town, Svay Rieng province by selecting all stalls which sell chicken eggs and duck eggs. The primary and secondary data are collected by using questionnaire, and all data are analysed in Ms. Excel. The result found that the longest period of selling egg of sellers are 10 years old, and an average of about 2.5 years. Purchasing an egg cost at least 450 Riel each egg, with an average cost of 496 Riel per egg and a maximum cost of around 550 riel per egg. The seller sold on average 15,000 eggs/month, while the quantity of eggs they buy-in on average comes to over 22,000 eggs/month. The price of eggs retail and wholesale in minimum, average, and maximum per egg is non-significant different from 500-550 Riel. In conclusion, the research result suggests a dynamic relationship between egg supply and demand in the market. As expected, a seller's sales quantity is likely influenced by their experience and customer base, along with the pricing strategy.

Online shop websites are currently increasingly developing, with online shop websites making it easier for buyers and sellers to see the goods being sold anywhere and at any time and sellers can promote the goods they sell to the wider public. The aim of creating this website is to help the Jaya grocery store to be able to check online and manage the stock of basic food items and also avoid several errors that can occur such as errors in inputting quantities and prices. It is hoped that by designing this web-based sales application it can help grocery stores successful in increasing sales and expanding the marketing process in online and offline forms. The process of designing this application uses the prototype method for making this website with the aim that the final process of this design can then be used according to the needs of the Jaya grocery store. Currently we are entering technological progress which is increasing day by day, because this development covers several aspects, even all aspects involving human life. With the development of this technology, this technology is not only used as a communication medium but also to expand the business network of business actors. one of these business actors is the Jaya grocery store, in order to be able to compete healthily in the global world, it needs a tool or something that can be used to reach the market as expected, in this case, namely to improve its business or to increase its sales scope. The purpose of this research is to be able to design an information system for ordering goods online or on a web basis, how to help the Jaya grocery store to increase sales volume and further expand the marketing process in online and offline forms.

This note examines the effects of price-controlled perishable food items on inflation in Fiji. We study year-on-year changes in headline inflation and disaggregate measures of inflation in the form of food and non-alcoholic beverages and vegetables against three perishable food items used daily by Fijian households, namely, potatoes, onion, and garlic over the period 2019:01-2022:08. We also follow Narayan et al. (2023) , allowing for the lags and leads framework in examining Fiji's inflation. Our results show that the leads and lags model explain 22%, 27% and 65% of headline, food and non-alcoholic beverages and vegetables inflation rates, respectively, over the period 2019-2022. However, as expected, none of the price-controlled perishable food items can explain Fiji's inflation.

Pakistan’s tax regime heavily relies on indirect taxes, constituting 60 percent of total tax receipts, of which general sales tax (GST) is a major component. This paper assessed who bears how much burden of GST levied on domestic production and sales by examining its incidence and distributional burden across household deciles for the year 2018-19. The paper maintained that even if the final product is exempted from tax, it incorporates the impact of taxes levied on intermediate inputs it uses. In order to trace these cascading effects of taxes, the paper used an input-output model-based approach. The results showed that the overall incidence of GST was, on average, 6.7 percent. The distribution of incidence was found to be regressive across the board as well as in rural and urban areas. Analysis by commodity groups indicated that basic food items bore the highest incidence and displayed the highest extent of regressivity across all deciles. This suggests that the poorer segments of society bear a relatively greater burden of GST in Pakistan.

This paper aims to find out and understand the character of children in orphanages where this is a place where underage and disabled children are placed in order to get a better life. With funding from donors who come from various people and various circles. So that there are not a few orphanage foundations that are increasingly developing in terms of facilities, curriculum, business entities, etc. Due to the large number of donations that have come in, residents of the orphanage foundation sometimes misinterpret donations. So that there is an opportunity to take advantage of the conditions in the foundation to get more donations. Seen from the foundation's own foster children, who interpret donations when they are in their position in the foundation. As well as what impact is felt either directly or indirectly from the basic food items and learning equipment. The informants in this study were 5 people consisting of ST3B students. In this study, researchers produced self-confidence in children that they were great. There is interaction from children so as to create happiness.

Rural people have the indigenous knowledge of processing and preserving food to ensure household food security during times of food scarcity. Although indigenous knowledge plays an important role in ensuring household food security for many rural households, it is often overlooked as a solution to address food and nutrition insecurity. The main objective of the study was to identify and document indigenous food preservation and processing techniques used by rural women to ensure household food security. Qualitative data were collected from small-scale farming households in seven villages through focus group discussions, individual interviews, and observations. The researchers adhered to ethical considerations (approvals, permissions with the relevant authorities, consent from participants, their privacy, anonymity, and confidentiality) throughout the research process. Data were analysed using thematic content analysis. The results indicate that sun-drying and fermentation were the most commonly used methods for food preservation, while the most prevalent methods used for processing vegetables (merogo) involved cooking, mashing, pelleting and sun-drying. Crops, such as mung beans, bambara groundnuts and sorghum are threshed and winnowed to remove all impurities. The seeds, which are to be used in the next planting season, are treated with aloe ash to prevent pest infestation. Indigenous fruits are gathered from the wild and eaten as snacks. Indigenous dried vegetables (merogo) and fermented marula beer were sold to generate income that is used to buy other basic food items. The paper concludes by highlighting the existing indigenous knowledge that rural households demonstrate in terms of food processing and preservation. Given the existing knowledge and the commonly used methods for preserving and processing food, it is crucial to create awareness regarding ways of retaining nutrients during food preservation and processing to ensure availability and proper utilisation of indigenous foods for household food security purposes. The study recommends that these methods, including ways of retaining nutrients, be documented and made easily accessible for rural households to use now and in the future for ensuring household food and nutrition security. Therefore, there is a need for agricultural and food security policies to embrace, adopt, promote and adapt indigenous knowledge and technologies to address food security. Key words: indigenous knowledge, food preservation, food processing, food security, indigenous food preservation

Does the female-headed household suffer more than the male-headed from Covid-19 impact on food security? Evidence from Ethiopia

Степной орёл в Алтае-Саянском регионе – результаты исследований 2019–2023 годов

This study discusses the Implementation of Dakwah Bil Hal Cadre Branch Muhammadiyah Klawuyuk Sorong City. This study aims to determine the implementation of da'wah bil hal and the constraints of the cadres of the Muhammadiyah branch of Klawuyuk, Sorong City.
 After the compiler carried out data analysis techniques, the results of the research found that the da'wah bil hal carried out by the cadres of the Muhammadiyah Klawuyuk branch consisted of several programs, the first religious program in this program was the construction of mosques, the construction of TPQ and recitation. The second program is social which consists of managing the bodies, and distributing basic food items. The last program is an economic program where this program takes place with the opening of the Ababil TPQ KH depot. Mas Mansyur and two business units leased out to the local community. The obstacles in the implementation of da'wah bil hal cadres of the Muhammadiyah branch of Klawuyuk, City of Sorong, namely the first factor comes from the management who is constrained by the distribution of time and division of tasks in coordinating activities with obligations in carrying out the work they are obliged to do. The second factor is the limited media, facilities and infrastructure in the implementation of da'wah bil hal.