Journal of Agriculture and Biomedical Sciences

Factors influencing Biopesticide Adoption Among Smallholder Farmers in Zambia

Mulala Jimaima — 2026-05-05

Agriculture is vital for food security and economic growth in Zambia, where smallholder farmers face severe pest challenges. While chemical pesticides are effective, they pose environmental and health risks. Biopesticides offer a safer alternative, but their adoption remains low among farmers. This study aims to evaluate the factors influencing the adoption and extent of biopesticide use among smallholder farmers in Zambia, focusing on socio-economic, institutional, technological, and environmental factors. The results reveal that several factors significantly influence biopesticide adoption, including the age of the household head, access to extension services, credit, sprayer ownership, training in biological control, and farm location in agroecological zones II and III. Older farmers, those with better financial stability and farming knowledge, and those receiving training and extension support were more likely to adopt biopesticides. Conversely, crop diversity negatively influenced adoption, suggesting that diversified farming systems may naturally fight pest life cycles and therefore not need pesticides. The extent of biopesticide adoption was positively related with household head income, cooperative membership, and extension services, while crop diversity again was negatively related. To enhance adoption, targeted interventions are needed, including improved access to credit, training, cooperative support, and extension services. Policymakers should also consider the role of ecological farming practices when designing strategies for biopesticide integration. Addressing financial and logistical barriers will promote sustainable pest management, improve food security, and align with Zambia’s climate-smart agricultural goals.

Benchmarking Health Research Productivity in Zambia: A Case Study of School of Medicine at the University of Zambia

Theresa Chikopela — 2026-05-05

BACKGROUND: Research productivity and impact are essential indicators of institutional performance; however, the University of Zambia (UNZA) School of Medicine lacks a systematic bibliometric appraisal. Benchmarking faculty-level output and impact provides evidence to guide strategic investments, faculty development, and resource allocation. OBJECTIVE: To investigate and analyse research productivity and impact among faculty members of the UNZA School of Medicine and determine whether these matrices differ between basic science and clinical departments. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective bibliometric study of the academic staff listed on the 2025 UNZA School of Medicine roster with publications indexed in Google Scholar. For each faculty member, we extracted publication counts, citations, H-index, mean citations per paper, and covariates (department and sex). Data were de identified. Descriptive statistics (medians, IQRs, and time-series plots) were used to characterise productivity and impact trends. Group comparisons between clinical and basic sciences were performed using the Mann–Whitney U test for continuous variables and categorical variables. Multivariable regression analysis identified independent predictors of productivity and impact after adjusting for academic position and department. RESULTS: Among 80 faculty members (65% clinical, 35% basic sciences), there were 2,185 publications since 1998, with a median of 12 papers per lecturer (IQR 4–38). Scholarly impact was reflected in a median of 173 citations (IQR 38–382) and an H index of 4.5 (IQR 2–11). Regression analyses showed that affiliation with the clinical sciences department was associated with greater publication output (β = 22.2, p = 0.03), independent of academic position, although citation counts did not differ significantly by department. Citation trends demonstrated a sharp rise after 2015, approaching 4,000 by 2025. Professors consistently held the highest average citations until 2023, when lecturers surpassed them. CONCLUSION: Research productivity and impact at UNZA, School of Medicine have risen sharply since 2015, with clinical sciences affiliation associated with higher publication output and growing citation visibility across ranks, underscoring the expanding institutional research strength.

We Know What is Right but Cannot Do It: Understanding Antimicrobial Resistance Among Practicing Veterinarians and Veterinary Paraprofessionals in Zambia

Trascilla Mwape — 2026-05-05

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a growing threat to animal and public health, yet little is known about how frontline veterinary actors in low-resource settings interpret and manage it in daily practice. Zambia’s veterinary system faces significant structural and economic constraints that shape antimicrobial use (AMU) behaviours, but these dynamics remain poorly understood.
This qualitative study used Constructivist Grounded Theory to explore how veterinarians and veterinary paraprofessionals understand, recognise and respond to AMR. Data were collected through six focus group discussions and seventeen key informant interviews conducted in key livestock production areas of Zambia.
The emergent core category, “navigating antimicrobial resistance in a resource-constrained veterinary system,”captured how veterinary professionals balance stewardship ideals with the realities of limited diagnostic capacity, weak pharmaceutical regulation, farmer-driven misuse and high disease burdens. Participants largely recognised AMR through treatment failur e rather than laboratory confirmation, due to the cost, scarcity, and slow turnaround time of antimicrobial susceptibility testing. Over-the-counter access to antibiotics, peer-to-peer prescribing and economic hardship were major drivers of inappropriate AMU. Despite these challenges, professionals demonstrated growing One Health awareness and engaged in grassroots stewardship through farmer educati on, biosecurity promotion and preventive health strategies.
AMR in Zambia’s veterinary sector is sustained not by knowledge deficits but by structural constraints that limit the feasibility of rational antimicrobial use. Meaningful progress will require investment in diagnostic infrastructure, regulation of antimic robial access, supportive economic mechanisms and strengthened cross-sectoral collaboration. Veterinary paraprofessionals represent a particularly important entry point for scalable, community-level stewardship interventions.

Diagnostic Accuracy of Point-of-Care and Pathological Methods for Canine Parvovirus in Namibia: A Comparison with PCR and Implications for Clinical Practice

Mudimba Douglas — 2026-05-05

Canine parvoviral enteritis (CPVE), caused by canine parvovirus (CPV), is a highly contagious and often fatal disease primarily affecting puppies under six months of age. Characterised by acute vomiting, hemorrhagic and foul-smelling diarrhoea, dehydration, and rapid progression to death, CPVE poses a significant challenge to canine health in resource-limited settings. Accurate and timely diagnosis is essential for effective case management and outbreak control. The present study evaluated the diagnostic performance of three commonly used methods: rapid antigen (Snap®) test, postmortem examination, and histopathology, against polymerase chain reaction (PCR) as the reference standard in dogs presenting with clinical signs of CPVE in Windhoek, Namibia. Of 211 suspected cases, 195 (92.4%) tested positive by PCR, with 82.5% of affected dogs aged less than three months, and most having unknown vaccination status. The rapid test demonstrated excellent diagnostic accuracy (AUC: 0.997; sensitivity: 99.5%; specificity: 100%), while postmortem examination showed good accuracy (AUC: 0.877; sensitivity: 75.4%), and histopathology exhibited fair performance (AUC: 0.753; sensitivity: 88.2%; specificity: 62.5%). Agreement with PCR was excellent for the rapid test (Cohen’s κ = 0.967) but only fair for postmortem (κ = 0.317) and histopathology (κ = 0.340). These findings support the use of rapid antigen testing as a reliable point-of-care tool in Namibian clinical settings, though confirmatory PCR remains critical in ambiguous or vaccinated cases. Further studies are warranted to determine CPV prevalence, circulating strains, and risk factors driving outbreaks in Namibia.

Goats are Critical to Building Resilience Among Rural Households, but Diseases Remain an Overlooked Challenge: A Call for a One Health Approach

Bertha Chitambo — 2026-05-05

Goat production is widely promoted as a pathway to resilience among smallholder households in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in climate-stressed environments. In Zambia, goats are valued for their adaptability, low input requirements, and contributions to income, nutrition, and women’s empowerment. However, emerging field-based evidence suggests that these resilience narratives often overlook persistent and context-specific disease challenges that undermine productivity and livelihood benefits. This paperdraws on ongoing mixed-methods research conducted in Gwembe, Chirundu, and Rufunsa districts, integrating household surveys, key informant interviews, and focus group discussions to examine farmer-reported disease constraints and access to animal health services. Farmers consistently identified conditions such as mange, heartwater, and locally defined syndromes (e.g., “circling”) as major constraints, reflecting a disconnect between lived disease experiences and formal disease prioritization systems. Thesechallenges are further compounded by climate variability, limited veterinary service access, and intra-household decision-making dynamics that constrain effective disease management. We argue that goat-based resilience is shaped by interacting biological, environmental, and socio-economic factors that are insufficiently addressed within current livestock development frameworks. Using a One Health perspective, the paper highlights how climate stress, animal health, and livelihood systems are interconnected,and demonstrates the need for integrated, context-responsive approaches that bridge farmer knowledge with formal animal health systems. Strengthening goat production systems requires re-centering everyday disease realities within policy and practice, improving access to veterinary services, and aligning resilience strategies with the lived experiences of smallholder farmers.

Rabies Control in Namibia: Current Epidemiological Status, Stakeholder Knowledge, and Barriers to Elimination

Margareta Kedhilande Kankono — 2026-05-05

Rabies is a fatal but entirely preventable viral zoonotic disease caused by the rabies virus (RABV), a member of the Lyssavirus genus within the Rhabdoviridae family. Rabies is classified as a major Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) and remains poorly controlled in many developing countries. It remains a significant public health concern globally, particularly in Africa. Namibia continues to face challenges in eliminating rabies due to a combination of limited resources, weak diagnostic infrastructure, and gaps in vaccination coverage. This cross-sectional study, conducted between January and August 2024, employed a pre-tested, interviewer-administered structured questionnaire to collect data from nine stakeholders involved in the formulation of rabies control policies. This study aimed to evaluate the current state of rabies control in Namibia, stakeholder knowledge levels, identify key challenges, and potential solutions. Findings indicate that domestic dogs are the primary reservoirs of rabies and are responsible for the last human case, with additional reservoirs found in wildlife species such as jackals and kudus. The total population of rabies reservoirs in Namibia remains unknown. Among domestic animals, only dogs and cats receive free rabies vaccinations. Despite vaccination campaigns and the national notification of rabies cases, effective control is hindered by challenges such as the limited accessibility of post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) in underserved rural areas, inadequate wildlife surveillance, and weak One Health co-ordination. Recommendations include expanding free vaccination to livestock, enhancing diagnostic capacities in hotspots, broadening the oral rabies (ORV) vaccination strategies, and strengthening inter-sectoral collaboration. These findings emphasize the urgent need for an integrated and sustainable approach to rabies elimination in Namibia.