Maize is produced throughout the world and it is also a pri-mary staple food crop in many developing countries. Thefield experiment was conducted during the main rainy sea-son of 2018 in Burie district to study the effects of types andgrowth stages of seedlings on the growth and yield of trans-planted maize (Zea mays L.). Factorial combinations of twotypes of seedlings (bare rooted and poly bagged); five lev-els of seedling’s growth stages (seedlings of 1, 2, 3, 4, and5 true leaf/ves) and one control (direct seeded) were laiddown in randomized complete block design with three repli-cations. Data on phenological, vegetative growth and yield-related parameters were collected following standard meth-ods and procedures. All data were subjected to analysis ofvariance using SAS software, and mean separation for sig-nificant treatments was done by LSD. Both main effects af-fected the number of grains cob−1 , grain, and stover yieldhighly significantly and days to 50% silking very highly signif-
icantly. Types of seedlings affected days to 50% tasselling sig-nificantly; and days to 90% physiological maturity and plantheight highly significantly. In addition, types of seedlingsaffected the number of cobs plant−1 , cob length, numberof grains row−1 and biomass yield, very highly significantly.Seedlings’ growth stages had a very highly significant effecton days to 50% tasseling and days to 90% physiological ma-turity. The number of cobs plant−1 , cob length, number ofgrains row−1 and biomass yield were also highly significantlyaffected by seedlings’ growth stages. The interaction effectwas highly significant on the number of cobs plant−1 , grain,and stover yield and very highly significant on the harvest in-dex. The highest (10.7t ha−1 ) grain yield of maize was foundfrom the transplantation of polybagged seedlings at four trueleaf stages. Although it is difficult to conclude based on oneseason and one location research trial, transplanting of poly-bagged seedlings at four true leaf stages gave superior grainyield. This treatment combination also gave the highest netbenefit with an acceptable range of marginal rate of return.Therefore, transplanting polybagged seedlings at four trueleaf stages is economically feasible and can be recommendedtentatively for Burie District. However; it’s also advised to re-peat the study in areas having terminal moisture stress formaize production.
Keywords: Bare root, Growth stage, Polybagged, Seedling, Transplanting

ABSTRACT Food security remains a critical global challenge, with millions of people suffering from hunger and malnutrition. Agricultural Multi-Purpose Cooperatives (AMPCs) are intended to improve food security by enhancing access to inputs, markets, and services. This study examines the impact of AMPCs on rural household food security in West Gojjam using ordinal logistic regression. Out of a total sample size of 1,122 rural households, 1,068 were included in the analysis. The study employed a cross-sectional research design. The findings revealed that, out of the 1,068 households surveyed, 45.3% were food secure, 22.6% were mildly food insecure and 32.1% were food insecure. Overall, 54.7% experienced some level of food insecurity, highlighting the need for improved food access and support interventions. The multiple ordinal logistic regression analysis revealed that factors such as female-headed households, large household size, smaller landholdings, lack of livestock ownership, absence of non-farm income, limited irrigation access, lack of credit, lack of Market Access, and no use of agricultural inputs significantly increase the likelihood of rural household food insecurity. Based on the results, it is recommended to focus on supporting female-headed households, reducing household size through family planning, improving land access, increasing livestock ownership, promoting non-farm income opportunities, enhancing irrigation access, providing credit, strengthening market linkages, and ensuring the widespread use of agricultural inputs to improve food security. Keywords: Agricultural cooperatives, food security, rural households, West Gojjam, Ethiopia, ordinal logistic regression.

ABSTRACT Food security remains a critical global challenge, with millions of people suffering from hunger and malnutrition. Agricultural Multi-Purpose Cooperatives (AMPCs) are intended to improve food security by enhancing access to inputs, markets, and services. This study examines the impact of AMPCs on rural household food security in West Gojjam using ordinal logistic regression. Out of a total sample size of 1,122 rural households, 1,068 were included in the analysis. The study employed a cross-sectional research design. The findings revealed that, out of the 1,068 households surveyed, 45.3% were food secure, 22.6% were mildly food insecure and 32.1% were food insecure. Overall, 54.7% experienced some level of food insecurity, highlighting the need for improved food access and support interventions. The multiple ordinal logistic regression analysis revealed that factors such as female-headed households, large household size, smaller landholdings, lack of livestock ownership, absence of non-farm income, limited irrigation access, lack of credit, lack of Market Access, and no use of agricultural inputs significantly increase the likelihood of rural household food insecurity. Based on the results, it is recommended to focus on supporting female-headed households, reducing household size through family planning, improving land access, increasing livestock ownership, promoting non-farm income opportunities, enhancing irrigation access, providing credit, strengthening market linkages, and ensuring the widespread use of agricultural inputs to improve food security. Keywords: Agricultural cooperatives, food security, rural households, West Gojjam, Ethiopia, ordinal logistic regression.

Executive Summary The ongoing armed conflict in the Amhara region between the Ethiopian government forces and the Amhara Fano forces has caused significant disruptions in the lives of the local population in East and West Gojjam, and Awi Zones. This research seeks to explore the multifaceted impacts of the conflict on education, the economy, psychosocial well-being, and political stability in these regions. With the conflict lasting for nine months, children have been deprived of education, communities are suffering from psychosocial distress, and both the economy and political environment are severely affected. The study aims to achieve two key objectives: first, to provide a detailed understanding of the situation through evidence-based findings, which will be disseminated at local, national, and international levels; and second, to gather data that can help develop interventions to address the ongoing impacts of the conflict, preventing long-term damage to the affected populations. To meet these objectives, the research will use a mixed-methods approach, employing both quantitative and qualitative data collection techniques. A cross-sectional descriptive survey design and a phenomenological research design will be applied. Data will be gathered through questionnaires, interviews, focus group discussions (FGDs), and document analysis. The research will focus on a purposive sample of individuals directly affected by or involved in the conflict, selected from towns and Woredas using a simple random sampling method. Collected data analyzed using percentage and frequency distributions for quantitative data, and thematic content analysis for qualitative data. Ethical considerations, such as ensuring participant confidentiality and voluntary participation strictly followed. The outcomes of this study will raise awareness of the conflict‘s impacts, inform intervention strategies, and provide evidence to guide recovery efforts. Ultimately, the research will contribute to developing targeted policies and actions to support education, economic recovery, psychosocial well-being, and political stability in the affected regions.

Secularism in Ethiopia has not been practiced as stipulated in the 1995 Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (FDRE) constitution, the separation of state and religion. Instead, consecutive regimes since the introduction of secularism employed the tactic of co-option and repression towards the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church (EOTC) to meet their political objectives. This article thus tried to address the nature and manifestation of government intervention in the EOTC through either co-option and/or repression, with a special emphasis on the post-2018 regime. The study argues that de facto secularism in Ethiopia is far from the essence of the separation of state and religion; it is a new version of religion industriously implemented by governments to upgrade the Orthodox Church in a way that fits with the political system. The secular regimes co-opted and repressed the church conditionally at any cost to the institution through the Machiavellian approach. The study also finds that the Prosperity-led regime was actively involved in the internal affairs of the church—in the early days through co-option in the name of reconciliation with the exile synod and later through repression. Manifestations of this repression include the mass killing of orthodox followers, burning of churches and restriction on the church’s annual ceremony, as in the case of Epiphany and Meskel(Demera).Keywords: Secularism, religion, co-option, repression, EOTC

Background Inadequate glycemic management in type 2 diabetes Mellitus patients is a serious public healthissue and a key risk factor for progression as well as diabetes-related complications. The main therapeutic goal ofpreventing organ damage and other problems caused by diabetes is glycemic control. Knowing when to modifyglycemic control in type 2 diabetes Mellitus is crucial for avoiding complications and early drug intensifications.Methods An institutional based retrospective follow-up study was undertaken among 514 eligible adult diabetespatients in Amhara region Comprehensive Specialized Hospitals, Northwest Ethiopia, from January 2017 to January2022. Simple random sampling technique was used to select study participants. The Kaplan Meier curve was usedto assess the survival status of categorical variables, and the log-rank test was used to compare them. The coxproportional hazard model was fitted to identify the predictors of time to first optimal glycemic control. Variables witha p-value < 0.05 were considered to be statistically significance at 95% confidence interval.Results A total of 514 patient records (227 males and 287 females) were reviewed in this study. The median time tofirst optimal glycemic control among the study population was 8.4 months IQR (7.6–9.7). The predictors that affect thetime to first optimal glycemic control were age group ((AHR = 0.63, 95% CI = 0.463, 0.859 for 50–59 years), (AHR = 0.638,95% CI = 0.471, 0.865 for 60–69 years), and (AHR = 0.480, 95% CI = 0.298, 0.774 for > = 70 years)), diabetes neuropathy(AHR = 0.629, 95% CI = 0.441,0.900), hypertension (AHR = 0.667, 95% CI = 0.524, 0.848), dyslipidemia (AHR = 0.561, 95%CI = 0.410, 0.768), and cardiovascular disease (AHR = 0.681, 95% CI = 0.494, 0.938).Conclusion The median time to initial optimal glycemic control in type 2 diabetes Mellitus patients in this study wasshort. Age between 50 and 59 years and 60–69, diabetes neuropathy, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and cardiovascular
disease were predictor’s of time to first glycemic control. Therefore, health care providers should pay extra attentionfor patients who are aged and who have complications or co-morbidities.Keywords: Adults, First optimal glycemic control, Type 2 diabetes mellitus, Ethiopia

BackgroundAdverse drug reaction is one of the emerging challenges in antiretroviral treatment. Deter-mining the incidence rate and predictors among children on antiretroviral treatment (ART) isessential to improve treatment outcomes and minimize harm. And also, evidence regardingthe time to major adverse drug reactions and its predictors among children on antiretroviraltreatment is limited in Ethiopia.ObjectiveThis study aimed to assess the time to major adverse drug reaction and its predictorsamong children on antiretroviral treatment at selected public hospitals in Northwest Amhara,Ethiopia, 2023.MethodA retrospective cohort study was conducted among 380 children on antiretroviral treatmentwho enrolled from June 27, 2017, to May 31, 2022. Data was collected using a structureddata extraction checklist. Data were entered into Epidata 4.6 and analyzed using STATA14. The incidence rate of major adverse drug reactions was determined per person/months.The Cox proportional hazards regression model was used to identify predictors of majoradverse drug responses. A p-value less than 0.05 with a 95% CI was used to declare statisti-cal significance.
ResultThe minimum and maximum follow-up time was 6 and 59 months, respectively. The studyparticipants were followed for a total of 9916 person-months. The incidence rate of majoradverse drug reactions was 3.5 /1000 person–months. Advanced clinical stages of HIV/AIDS (III and IV) [adjusted hazard ratio = 7.3, 95% CI: 2.74–19.60)], poor treatment adher-ence [adjusted hazard ratio = 0.33, 95% CI: 0.21–0.42], taking antiretroviral treatment twiceand more [adjusted hazard ratio = 3.43, 955 CI: (1.26–9.33)] and not taking opportunisticinfection prophylaxis [adjusted hazard ratio = 0.35, 95% CI: 0.23–0.52)] were predictors ofmajor adverse drug reactions.ConclusionThe incidence rate of major adverse drug reactions among children on antiretroviral treat-ment was congruent with studies in Ethiopia. Advanced clinical stages of HIV/AIDS, poortreatment adherence, taking antiretroviral treatment medications twice or more, and not tak-ing opportunistic infection prophylaxis were predictors of major adverse drug reactions.

AbstractThis study investigated the factors influencing growers in the selection of seed suppliers in theAmhara region of Ethiopia. A total of 385 grower were selected using simple random sam-pling method. A mixed logit regression model was used to the analysis data that have 1284observation. The result reveal that high seed purity was negatively related to the selectionof alternative supplier. As the rating of seed purity increased, the probability of selectingvery high-quality seed suppliers also increased. The availability of tree seeds during the desiredtime period had a significant influence. Higher perceived availability, categorized as high orvery high, decreased the likelihood of promptly obtaining seeds from suppliers comparedto when the seeds were not available. The evaluation rating of germination increases the prob-ability of choosing suppliers with high or very high germination rates in the respective cat-egory. Growers with more experience are more likely to choose private enterprise suppliers.The implementation of appropriate quarantine measures has a positive influence on supplierselection for the groups AFE and EFD-CEC. Training in tree seed collection reduces the like-lihood of choosing enterprise and AFE suppliers. Moreover, the successful production of agreater number of tree species in the nursery positively influences the probability of sourcingfrom enterprise suppliers. This analysis highlights the significance of seed purity, germination,quarantine measures, and the number of species produced, as factors that influence the like-lihood of selecting alternative seed suppliers.
Keywords: growers; mixed logit regression; tree seed suppliers; tree seed

Extreme flood and drought events arise from temporal and spatial variations in the Earth’s water cycle, signif-icantly affecting water resources and the environment. This review aimed to evaluate the effects of climatevariabilities on extreme flood and drought events within the Blue Nile Basin. A systematic literature review andcontent analysis were conducted to understand the hydrological dynamics of floods and droughts. A Scopusdatabase was used to find relevant literature review articles related to flood and drought extreme events usingsearch terms queries. The findings suggest that rising temperatures and fluctuating precipitation patterns areleading to more frequent and severe floods and droughts. Future projections also suggest increased droughtseverity in most basin areas, coupled with more frequent floods. Fluctuations between dry and wet conditionshave intensified these extremes. While insufficient rainfall triggers droughts, excessive and concentrated rainfallcontributes to floods. The wet projection shows more frequent floods, while the dry projection indicates severedroughts throughout most of the basin. This review provides a valuable starting point for further action towards amore climate-resilient and water-secure for sustainable environmental development and management over thebasin.
Keywords: BNB, Climate variability, Hydrological extremes, Water resource

Background: Edible oil manufacturing is a labor-intensive sector with significanttechnological demands, where employees face various occupational hazards.The use of personal protective equipment (PPE) is not only a legal obligationbut also a key measure for safeguarding workers against job-related injuriesand health risks. Despite these challenges, this industry often remainsunder-researched and overlooked.Objective: To assess utilization of personal protective equipment and its keyfactors among workers in the WA edible oil factory in Debre Markos town,Ethiopia, in 2024.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among employees of theWA Edible Oil Factory in Debre Markos. Using a simple random samplingmethod, 387 workers were selected to participate. Data were collectedthrough an interviewer-administered structured questionnaire, focusing on theuse of protective equipment, as well as socio-demographic, work-related,environmental, and organizational characteristics. The data were analyzed usingSPSS version 26. Logistic regression analysis was employed to identify factorsinfluencing the use of protective equipment, with the strength of associationsexpressed as odds ratios at a 95% confidence level.Results: Out of the total workforce, 214 individuals (55.3%) reportedusing personal protective equipment while on duty. The study identifiedseveral significant factors influencing personal protective equipment utilization,including receiving safety training, having access to protective equipment,regular occupational health and safety inspections, the presence of workplacesafety protocols, having three or more years of work experience, and abstainingfrom alcohol consumption and smoking.Conclusion: The utilization level of personal protective equipment amongworkers at the WA edible oil factory was found to be moderate when comparedto findings from other developing countries. Key factors influencing personalprotective equipment usage included access to safety training, availability ofprotective gear, workplace supervision, the presence of safety protocols, workexperience, and lifestyle behaviors such as alcohol and tobacco use. To improvepersonal protective equipment utilization, it is recommended to strengthenworkplace supervision, offer comprehensive safety training, and ensure theconsistent availability of safety guidelines.KEYWORDSutilization, personal protective equipment, edible oil factory, factory worker, Ethiopia