West Africa Research Articles

Farmers’ production constraints, preferred varietal traits and perceptions on sorghum grain mold in Senegal

Improving sorghum adoption rates by developing adapted varieties that meet end-user preferences is a major challenge in West Africa. In this study, a participatory rural appraisal was undertaken to identify the main sorghum production constraints, farmers’ preferred variety traits and their perceptions on sorghum grain mold. The study was conducted in four representative rural communities located in the main sorghum producing area of Senegal. A total of 260 farmers were interviewed and data were collected through focus group discussions and individual questionnaires. Our results indicated that Striga, insects, poor soil fertility and drought are the major sorghum producing constraints in Senegal. Grain mold was identified as the second most important sorghum disease after the damping-off. Discoloration on grain surface was the most important criteria farmers used to recognize the disease. The most important sorghum traits farmers desired in improved varieties are medium to short plant maturity cycle, medium plant height, large open or semi-compact panicle, big and white grain, and adaptation to local growing conditions. The results showed that the sorghum cropping system is dominated by male farmers who mainly grow local landraces. These results will provide updated recommendations for the breeding products profile to meet end-user preferences in Senegal.

Climate change adaptation and smallholder farmers welfare: Empirical evidence from the Sahelian Region of West Africa

Global climate change has threatened sustainable agricultural growth over the years, severely affecting food sufficiency and the livelihood of farmers. The Climate-Smart Agricultural Technologies (CSAT), as a form of adaptation, offer pathways for mitigating the negative effect of climate change on crop producers in developing countries. This study uses cross-country (Mali and Niger) cross-sectional data to examine the welfare (proxied by crop sales revenue and income) impact of multiple adoptions of CSAT on smallholder farm households. To control for potential endogeneity that leads to bias estimates, we employ the multinomial endogenous treatment effect (METE) model, complemented with the inverse probability weighted regression adjustment (IPWRA) for the analysis. The result reveals that household (education, location, and assets) and plot (plot size, plot topography, and soil fertility) characteristics, institutional factors (farmer-based organization, access to formal credit, and extension service) and crop disease shock significantly influence different combinations of CSAT adoption. The impact estimates show that adopting joint combinations of CSAT leads to higher crop sales revenue and income among the farmers in most cases. These findings suggest that the adoption of CSAT as a package should be encouraged and disseminated in the West Africa Sahel region. Moreover, some sociodemographic and institutional factors such as education, credit access, farmer-based organizations, and extension services could be strengthened for easy and rapid adoption of CSAT by smallholder farmers, which subsequently improves their economic welfare.

Climatic Suitability for Cocoa Production in Nigeria

Cocoa is one of the major cash crops that contribute more to the gross domestic product (GDP) of Nigeria and West Africa as a whole. Its contribution to the economic development of Africa and the world in general cannot be over emphasized. However, it has been discovered that cocoa is susceptible to changes in climatic parameters which has made it difficult to be grown in every part of the country, hence, the need to underscore the areas that are climatically suitable for the production of cocoa in Nigeria. This study was carried out to determine the climatic suitability pattern for the production of cocoa in Nigeria. A series of multi-year climate and crop yield simulations were performed for the present day (1976-2005), Mid-term (2021-2050) and long-term (2071-2100) under RCP 4.5 emission scenario using Fuzzy Logic Method (FLM) in ArcGIS (10.4.1). The results showed that some regions that are climatically suitable for cocoa production in the present day have not been explored. The regions with moderately suitability was projected to decrease the year 2050 while regions with marginally suitable, will increase by the year 2050. The remaining land that are not suitable will also decrease by the year 2050. The very suitable region was projected to increase by the year 2050 and by 2100. Also, a land area suitable and moderately suitable for cocoa production was projected to increase in land mass by the year 2050 and 2100. However, the region with marginally suitability will decrease by 2050 and year 2100. Meanwhile, the area that is not suitable by 2050 will increase by the year 2100. Which means there is a decrease in climatic suitability of cocoa by 2100 as projected.

Radionuclide intake due to food drying surfaces: implications for individual ingestion effective dose in Ogbomoso, Southwestern Nigeria

Measurement of low-level radionuclide transfer from food drying surfaces is of radiological importance in environmental protection, especially in West Africa where farmers commonly preserve their foodstuffs by a low cost method of sun-drying on surfaces such as rock, asphalt, concrete, wood, metals, or roofing sheets which are reported sources of natural radionuclides. The transfer coefficient of natural radionuclides from drying surfaces into food samples is therefore a concern for dietary intake for the consumers. The radioactivity measurements of commonly used food drying surfaces in Ogbomoso, as well as cassava flour sun-dried on these surfaces were performed via gamma-ray spectrometry. Cassava flour was sun-dried on fabric raised 1 meter above the ground to serve as control sample (CF control ). Activity concentrations of 40 K, 238 U, 232 Th in rock, asphalt, concrete and cassava flour dried on these surfaces were determined using a lead-shielded NaI(Ti) detector crystal. Food consumption data and the measured activity concentrations in dried cassava flour were used to estimate ingestion effective dose of radionuclide intake from cassava flour due to these drying surfaces. Annual ingestion effective doses (mSvy−1) in cassava flour dried on concrete, rock, asphalt and fabric were estimated to be 0.72, 0.59, 0.42 and 0.26, respectively. Radionuclide addition was observed in cassava flour dried on concrete, rock and asphalt with transfer variation maximum in rock surface and minimum in asphalt surface. Result of this study is useful for radiometric data analysis in the study area especially on food safety regulations.

Empowering healthcare professionals in West Africa-A feasibility study and qualitative assessment of a dietary screening tool to identify adults at high risk of hypertension.

Dietary risks significantly contribute to hypertension in West Africa. Food frequency questionnaires (FFQs) can provide valuable dietary assessment but require rigorous validation and careful design to facilitate usability. This study assessed the feasibility and interest of a dietary screening tool for identifying adults at high risk of hypertension in Nigeria. Fifty-eight (58) consenting adult patients with hypertension and their caregivers and 35 healthcare professionals from a single-centre Nigerian hospital were recruited to complete a 27-item FFQ at two-time points and three 24-hour recalls for comparison in a mixed method study employing both quantitative questionnaires and qualitative techniques to elicit free form text. Data analyses were conducted using R software version 4.3.1 and NVivo version 14. The trial was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT05973760. The mean age of patients was 42.6 ± 11.9 years, with an average SBP of 140.3 ± 29.8 mmHg and a BMI of 29.5 ± 7.1 Kg/m2. The adherence rate was 87.9%, and the mean completion time was 7:37 minutes. 96.6% of patients found the FFQ easy to complete, comprehensive, and valuable. A minority reported difficulty (3.4%), discomfort (10.3%), and proposed additional foods (6.9%). Healthcare professionals considered the dietary screening tool very important (82.9%) and expressed a willingness to adopt the tool, with some suggestions for clarification. Patients and healthcare professionals found the screening tool favourable for dietary counselling in hypertension care. The tailored dietary screening tool (FFQ) demonstrated promising feasibility for integration into clinical care as assessed by patients and healthcare professionals. Successful implementation may benefit from proactive time management and addressing training needs. This user-centred approach provided key insights to refine FFQ and set the foundation for ongoing validity testing and evaluation in clinical practice.

Infrastructure and economic growth in ECOWAS member states: The Westerlund co-integration approach

This research explores the impact of infrastructure on member states' economic growth in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Utilizing panel secondary data sourced from the World Bank Development Indicators (WDI) and the African Infrastructure Development Index (AIDI) across all fifteen ECOWAS Member States over eighteen years, the study employs the panel Non-linear Autoregressive Distributed Lag (NARDL) model and the Westerlund co-integration test for analysis. The findings reveal that investments in infrastructure, improvements in the African Development Index, and enhancements in the Electricity Composite Index significantly contribute to the economic growth of ECOWAS countries. Specifically, infrastructure investment is associated with a 0.01 per cent increase in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the ECOWAS countries studied. In comparison, the African Development Index and the Electricity Composite Index are linked to increases in GDP by 0.292 per cent and 0.987 per cent, respectively, in the long term. Based on these outcomes, the study recommends that ECOWAS country authorities enhance policies to optimize government spending on infrastructure quality. Furthermore, adopting quality-enhancing and efficiency-driven financing policies in infrastructure is advocated to complement ECOWAS's ongoing infrastructural development efforts. The realization of these recommendations hinges on the availability of accurate data for informing decisions and guiding policymakers. Hence, the study underscores the need for the ECOWAS Commission to bolster its capacity for collecting reliable data on infrastructure variables and other indicators. It also proposes that future research should focus on promoting sub-regional peer-review mechanisms for infrastructure indicators among member states and establishing structures to fortify infrastructure in West Africa.

‘Grammars of displacement’: Kojo Laing’s lines of flight

ABSTRACT Departing from the relationship between the texts of the Ghanaian poet and novelist Kojo Laing and a recent international art exhibition, this article traces the relationship between style and the multivalent activity of flight across Laing’s work. Drawing upon an intercontinental range of philosophers – from Deleuze and Guattari to contemporary Akan thinkers – it analyses the intersections between gender, geography, and language in Laing’s texts, and demonstrates their value within the context of discussion of contemporary literature’s investment in possible futures. Laing’s transnational aesthetic foregrounds lines of flight across and between different linguistic and cultural communities, and traces relentlessly emerging or possible constellations of relation. Situating Laing in the context of his interdisciplinary reception, this article seeks to explore the aesthetic and ethical ramifications of the unusual networks of affiliation and response of one of West Africa’s most important, yet critically undervalued, contemporary writers.

‘Beneficiary-Ownership’? Redemptive Knowledge and Policy-Making on Migration in West Africa

ABSTRACT West Africa sees major activity in the development of migration policies, promoted by international organisations, funded by governments mainly of Europe. Policy development is couched in terms of ‘beneficiary-ownership’, stressing the participation of West African governments. This is problematised as playing down the influence of European and international organisations. We argue that policy-making on migration in West Africa is better understood through the lens of ‘subjectional diplomacy’, a one-sided yet complex relationship between national and international actors that consolidates particular discourses of the ‘problem’ of migration. We find interview and documentary evidence from NGOs and governmental actors across Senegal, The Gambia and Guinea as well as ECOWAS Headquarters and international governmental organisations in Abuja that the logic of beneficiary-ownership is not symmetric. We show how the IOM holds ‘redemptive’ knowledge that turns the civilising mission of old into a professionalising mission embedding neo-colonial relations.

Hedonic analysis of attributes and factors affecting small ruminant price in Benin, West Africa

The demand for small ruminants is increasing, but livestock production is not very market oriented. Understanding buyers' preferences allows breeders to orient their production and make more profit. This research aimed to determine the attributes of small ruminants and other specific factors that explain price variations of small ruminants in ordinary period. Twenty-one markets were selected using stratified sampling. Data were collected in these markets on September 2020 from 432 small ruminant transactions between sellers and buyers and analysed with the hedonic regression model. Results showed that the price of goats purchased for slaughter and breeding were respectively 9.4 % and 7.2 % higher than those bought for trade. At the same time, when sheep were purchased for breeding, consumption and catering, their prices were respectively 14.5 %, 10.3 % and 9.4 % higher than those purchased for trade. The attributes weight, age (2–4 years old), sex (female), coat colour (white), body condition (good), breed (sahelian breeds for sheep and djallonke breed for goats) and absence of horn determined significantly and positively the small ruminant's price. In addition to these attributes, the small ruminant prices varied according to type of market and seller, but the buyer had less control over these factors. Thus, it is important to improve attributes preferred by buyers through training for breeders on the control of small ruminant reproduction. These attributes should also be considered when developing strategies to improve the small ruminant sector to transform traditional livestock farming into market-oriented livestock farming. Facilitating access to information through the establishment of functional market information systems will enable breeders to move towards market-oriented livestock systems.

Rootstock influences on growth and bearing precocity in juvenile cocoa

Within the cocoa germplasm used for variety development in West Africa, knowledge of varieties that are suitable as rootstocks to promote growth and precocity of clones is lacking. Six cocoa varieties were used to generate 36 clones for evaluation. For each of the six scions selected as ortets from previous progeny trials, the corresponding seed-derived family was regenerated through manual pollinations. The scions were grafted in a full diallel fashion on each of the six seed-derived family, and field evaluated in four replications following a randomized complete block design. Also, seed-derived varieties were evaluated in the nursery for vigour characteristics, and under similar conditions as the 36 clones in the field. Genotype heterozygosity at 72 SNP loci was significantly correlated with vigour characteristics of the six varieties. Seed-derived varieties of high vigour benefited clone performance for vigour, and dry bean yield when used as rootstocks but not as scion. The maximum photochemical efficiency of photosystem II (Fv/Fm) was different among seed-derived varieties and clones in the dry season but not the rainy season. Among clones, higher Fv/Fm values were associated with higher-vigour rootstock varieties. Diallel grafting model enabled partitioning of total variance into several sub-components. The variance due to specific compatibility ability was not significant for any of the measured traits. Decomposition of the reciprocal variance revealed that significant reciprocal effects were mainly due to significant maternal (rootstock) effects. The key finding is that, for any scion, the most precocious clone is obtained by grafting on high vigour rootstock varieties.

The shrinkage behavior of boreholes drilled through deepwater creeping salt formations in West Africa

Introduction: Salt formations are complex and pose significant risks during oil and gas drilling. Creep behavior in salt formations under geostress can jeopardize drilling safety.Methods: This study analyzes the shrinkage behavior of boreholes drilled through salt formations in West Africa’s Block B, with emphasis on the differential creep rates in two horizontal principal stress directions and the evolution of wellbore shape over time. The impact of drilling fluid density on shrinkage rates is also investigated.Results: After drilling through salt formations, the creep rates differ between the two horizontal principal stress directions. Shrinkage is faster in the direction of minimum horizontal principal stress and slower in the direction of maximum horizontal principal stress. Over time, shrinkage rates converge, resulting in a transition from elliptical to circular wellbore shape. Higher drilling fluid density leads to reduced shrinkage rates.Discussion: These findings contribute to the theoretical guidance for drilling fluid density selection in salt formations.

Analysis of the spatial mismatch pattern of net carbon in agriculture and its influencing factors

Agricultural production has dual functions as a carbon emitter and sink, and fully exploiting the carbon sink function of agriculture is highly valuable for ensuring carbon neutrality. The layout of net carbon in agriculture shows an imbalance, i.e., underscaling in areas with a net carbon advantage or overscaling in areas with a net carbon disadvantage, which restricts the fulfillment of agricultural carbon sinks. Clarifying the global pattern of net carbon imbalances in agriculture and their drivers is highly important for improving the overall net carbon. In this regard, this paper focuses on the global net carbon in agriculture in 155 countries and regions, and a spatial mismatch index of net carbon in agriculture (MNCA) is constructed based on the relative difference between net carbon and cultivated land. Spatial autocorrelation analysis and the standard deviation ellipse are used to reflect its spatiotemporal evolution pattern. In addition, through geographically weighted regression, we explored the effects of agricultural structure, agricultural economic development, the scale of labor and cultivated land and organized the mismatches into carbon and area effects. The results show that (1) global agricultural production represents net carbon emissions, while developing countries represent net carbon sinks, and there is a mismatch of net agricultural carbon in most regions; (2) the MNCA is characterized by low-low clustering in North America, Asia and Europe, with its center of gravity falling in western Africa and migrating northeastward; and (3) the main factors influencing the MNCA are the agricultural structure and economic level. Underscaling in areas with a net carbon advantage is a major problem. To increase the global agricultural carbon sink capacity, we suggest that North America, South Asia and other regions strictly implement agricultural emission reduction policies and that Central America, South America and Africa tentatively upgrade agricultural technology and their economies to alleviate farmland pressure through transnational cooperation. In this paper, the global net carbon imbalance in agriculture is identified and the overall implementation path of increasing carbon sinks is explored to provide a reference for achieving carbon neutrality. SynopsisThis study reports a global mismatch in net carbon in agriculture and identifies the wasted carbon sink advantage of developing countries as the root problem.

Invisibility and (Dis)Integration: Examining the Meaning of Migrant Inclusion in Everyday Lived Experience in Rural Areas

The settlement of migrants in rural areas that are facing population decline has gained increased attention in recent years as an economic, social, and political issue, as well as an opportunity for development for local communities. Studies have primarily focused on investigating whether and how migrants are integrated and included within these areas. This article adopts a fresh perspective by examining how the meaning of “integration” and “inclusion” is given shape by residents and migrant workers themselves. Our research centres on a small rural town in Sardinia, where individuals from Romania and West Africa have relocated to fill job positions traditionally held by Italians. Based on participant observation and in‐depth interviews, we examine the everyday experiences of residents and migrants to develop an understanding of the lived realities of integration and inclusion. In doing so, the article calls into question the perceived value of these processes for the very individuals that are supposed to benefit from them.

Pentecostalism and Current Development in West Africa: Reimagining the Pentecostal Landscape, Politics, and Vision

Pentecostalism and Current Development in West Africa: Reimagining the Pentecostal Landscape, Politics, and Vision

Sosuga Virus Detected in Egyptian Rousette Bats (Rousettus aegyptiacus) in Sierra Leone.

Sosuga virus (SOSV), a rare human pathogenic paramyxovirus, was first discovered in 2012 when a person became ill after working in South Sudan and Uganda. During an ecological investigation, several species of bats were sampled and tested for SOSV RNA and only one species, the Egyptian rousette bat (ERBs; Rousettus aegyptiacus), tested positive. Since that time, multiple other species have been sampled and ERBs in Uganda have continued to be the only species of bat positive for SOSV infection. Subsequent studies of ERBs with SOSV demonstrated that ERBs are a competent host for SOSV and shed this infectious virus while exhibiting only minor infection-associated pathology. Following the 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa, surveillance efforts focused on discovering reservoirs for zoonotic pathogens resulted in the capture and testing of many bat species. Here, SOSV RNA was detected by qRT-PCR only in ERBs captured in the Moyamba District of Sierra Leone in the central region of the country. These findings represent a substantial range extension from East Africa to West Africa for SOSV, suggesting that this paramyxovirus may occur in ERB populations throughout its sub-Saharan African range.

Insecticide Resistance in Aedes aegypti Mosquitoes: Possible Detection of kdr F1534C, S989P, and V1016G Triple Mutation in Benin, West Africa.

Epidemics of arboviruses in general, and dengue fever in particular, are an increasing threat in areas where Aedes (Ae.) aegypti is present. The effectiveness of chemical control of Ae. aegypti is jeopardized by the increasing frequency of insecticide resistance. The aim of this study was to determine the susceptibility status of Ae. aegypti to public health insecticides and assess the underlying mechanisms driving insecticide resistance. Ae. aegypti eggs were collected in two study sites in the vicinity of houses for two weeks using gravid Aedes traps (GATs). After rearing the mosquitoes to adulthood, female Ae. aegypti were exposed to diagnostic doses of permethrin, deltamethrin and bendiocarb, using Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) bottle bioassays. Unexposed, un-engorged female Ae. aegypti were tested individually for mixed-function oxidase (MFO), glutathione-S-transferase (GST) and α and β esterase activities. Finally, allele-specific PCR (AS-PCR) was used to detect possible kdr mutations (F1534C, S989P, and V1016G) in the voltage-gated sodium channel gene in insecticide-exposed Ae. aegypti. Most traps were oviposition positive; 93.2% and 97% of traps contained Ae. aegypti eggs in the 10ème arrondissement of Cotonou and in Godomey-Togoudo, respectively. Insecticide bioassays detected resistance to permethrin and deltamethrin in both study sites and complete susceptibility to bendiocarb. By comparison to the insecticide-susceptible Rockefeller strain, field Ae. aegypti populations had significantly higher levels of GSTs and significantly lower levels of α and β esterases; there was no significant difference between levels of MFOs. AS-PCR genotyping revealed the possible presence of 3 kdr mutations (F1534C, S989P, and V1016G) at high frequencies; 80.9% (228/282) of the Ae. aegypti tested had at least 1 mutation, while the simultaneous presence of all 3 kdr mutations was identified in 13 resistant individuals. Study findings demonstrated phenotypic pyrethroid resistance, the over-expression of key detoxification enzymes, and the possible presence of several kdr mutations in Ae. aegypti populations, emphasizing the urgent need to implement vector control strategies targeting arbovirus vector species in Benin.

Effects of climate variability and/or land use dynamics on the hydrological balance of the Cavally river catchment at Toulepleu, West Africa

Abstract The study focuses on assessing the individual and combined impacts of climate variability and land use change on hydrological responses. The results indicate that the basin, urban area, cropland, degraded forest, and open forest shows an increasing trend, while gallery forest show a decreasing trend over the period 1992–2015. Climatic variability is marked by two climatic periods (a wet one from 1980 to 1996 and a dry one from 1997 to 2016) with a 35% decrease in rainfall. Regardless of the state of the landcover used, the simulated mean annual runoff decreases by 67.92% between the wet and dry climate periods. Changes in land use between 1992 and 2015 reduce mean annual runoff by 4.71%. Analysis of the joint effect of climatic and LU variation shows a 68.96% reduction in runoff. In this catchment, the joint impact has a clearly greater effect on runoff than the climatic impact, which is greater than that of human activities. There is a need for policymakers to prioritise sustainable land use practices and integrated water resource management strategies in the area to mitigate the combined effects of climate variability and anthropogenic activities, ensuring the long-term resilience of the ecosystem and water availability for local communities.

APSIM-based modeling approach to understand sorghum production environments in Mali

Sorghum production system in the semi-arid region of Africa is characterized by low yields which are generally attributed to high rainfall variability, poor soil fertility, and biotic factors. Production constraints must be well understood and quantified to design effective sorghum-system improvements. This study uses the state-of-the-art in silico methods and focuses on characterizing the sorghum production regions in Mali for drought occurrence and its effects on sorghum productivity. For this purpose, we adapted the APSIM-sorghum module to reproduce two cultivated photoperiod-sensitive sorghum types across a latitude of major sorghum production regions in Western Africa. We used the simulation outputs to characterize drought stress scenarios. We identified three main drought scenarios: (i) no-stress; (ii) early pre-flowering drought stress; and (iii) drought stress onset around flowering. The frequency of drought stress scenarios experienced by the two sorghum types across rainfall zones and soil types differed. As expected, the early pre-flowering and flowering drought stress occurred more frequently in isohyets < 600 mm, for the photoperiod-sensitive, late-flowering sorghum type. In isohyets above 600 mm, the frequency of drought stress was very low for both cultivars. We quantified the consequences of these drought scenarios on grain and biomass productivity. The yields of the highly-photoperiod-sensitive sorghum type were quite stable across the higher rainfall zones > 600 mm, but was affected by the drought stress in the lower rainfall zones < 600 mm. Comparatively, the less photoperiod-sensitive cultivar had notable yield gain in the driest regions < 600 mm. The results suggest that, at least for the tested crop types, drought stress might not be the major constraint to sorghum production in isohyets > 600 mm. The findings from this study provide the entry point for further quantitative testing of the Genotype × Environment × Management options required to optimize sorghum production in Mali.

Meta-analysis of the global distribution of clinically relevant CYP2C8 alleles and their inferred functional consequences.

CYP2C8 is responsible for the metabolism of 5% of clinically prescribed drugs, including antimalarials, anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory drugs. Genetic variability is an important factor that influences CYP2C8 activity and modulates the pharmacokinetics, efficacy and safety of its substrates. We profiled the genetic landscape of CYP2C8 variability using data from 96 original studies and data repositories that included a total of 33,185 unrelated participants across 44 countries and 43 ethnic groups. The reduced function allele CYP2C8*2 was most common in West and Central Africa with frequencies of 16-36.9%, whereas it was rare in Europe and Asia (< 2%). In contrast, CYP2C8*3 and CYP2C8*4 were common throughout Europe and the Americas (6.9-19.8% for *3 and 2.3-7.5% for *4), but rare in African and East Asian populations. Importantly, we observe pronounced differences (> 2.3-fold) between neighboring countries and even between geographically overlapping populations. Overall, we found that 20-60% of individuals in Africa and Europe carry at least one CYP2C8 allele associated with reduced metabolism and increased adverse event risk of the anti-malarial amodiaquine. Furthermore, up to 60% of individuals of West African ancestry harbored variants that reduced the clearance of pioglitazone, repaglinide, paclitaxel and ibuprofen. In contrast, reduced function alleles are only found in < 2% of East Asian and 8.3-12.8% of South and West Asian individuals. Combined, the presented analyses mapped the genetic and inferred functional variability of CYP2C8 with high ethnogeographic resolution. These results can serve as a valuable resource for CYP2C8 allele frequencies and distribution estimates of CYP2C8 phenotypes that could help identify populations at risk upon treatment with CYP2C8 substrates. The high variability between ethnic groups incentivizes high-resolution pharmacogenetic profiling to guide precision medicine and maximize its socioeconomic benefits, particularly for understudied populations with distinct genetic profiles.

Fungal Diversity in Wet and Dry Ripe Plantains: Isolation, Identification, and Implications for Public Health

The persistent inadequacy of storage facilities in in globally and more prevalent in developing nations leads to substantial annual losses of harvested agricultural produce, severely impacting the economic stability of local farmers. This investigation focuses on the critical public health implications arising from the fungal contamination of stored plantain chips, a delicacy snack in Nigeria, West Africa. Notably, the fungal species isolated, which are Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger, Penicillium chrysogenum, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Aspergillus fumigatus, Fusarium spp., Rhizopus stolonifer, and Mucor spp. are critical from a public health perspective. Species such as Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus niger are particularly concerning due to their capacity to produce aflatoxins, which are among the most carcinogenic substances known and have been linked to liver cancer and immune system suppression. The prevalence of these mycotoxins not only compromises the nutritional integrity and safety of the plantain chips but poses severe risks to consumers, highlighting a broader issue of food security and safety. This study brings to the fore the pressing need for interventions that enhance the storage conditions and decrease fungal contamination, thereby reducing the exposure of the population to mycotoxins. The implications of this research extend beyond the economic damage to encompass significant public health concerns, emphasizing the critical need for regulatory, technical, and infrastructural developments to uphold the microbial quality of plantain both in wet and dry states, ensuring safe consumption.