SignificanceCurrent research linking biodiversity and human diets has used metrics without justification from a nutritional point of view. Diet species richness, or a count of the number of different species consumed per day, assesses both nutritional adequacy and food biodiversity of diets for women and children in rural areas. The positive association of food species richness with dietary quality was observed in both the wet and the dry season. Food biodiversity contributes to diet quality in vulnerable populations in areas with high biodiversity. Reporting the number of species consumed during dietary assessment provides a unique opportunity to cut across two critical dimensions of sustainable development—human and environmental health—and complements existing indicators for healthy and sustainable diets.

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Climate change is an environmental process that is among the most limiting factors for increasing or even maintaining food production by small-farmer communities in Sub Saharan Africa (SSA). Adoption of climate change adaptation strategies that increase agricultural productivity and at the same time building farmers' resilience capacity has become a top policy priority in SSA. In this study, we investigate how maize-dependent smallholders in Ethiopia adapt to climate change. Both household and plot-level data were collected, and subsequently analysed by a multivariate probit regression model. Results show that most climate change adaptation strategies implemented by maize-dependent smallholders, are complementary. Combining conservation tillage, mixed maize-legume cropping and terracing along with the use of drought-resistant maize varieties allows farmers to increase productivity while building resilience to climate change more than a subset of these strategies. Findings indicate that the likelihood of adopting soil and water conservation practices, drought-resistant maize varieties and chemical fertilizers significantly increase among young and male-headed households as well as farmers having confidence in extension agents and membership in local organisations. Hence, policies should aim at further building agricultural extension agents' capacity by providing effective and continuous education and training on climate change impacts and responses. Promoting family ties and household memberships in local organisations through facilitating mutual cooperation and communication among farming communities would help to foster adoption of climate change adaptation strategies.

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BackgroundTo overcome the escalating problems associated with infectious diseases and drug resistance, discovery of new antimicrobials is crucial. The present study aimed to carry out in vitro antimicrobial analysis of 15 medicinal plant species selected according to their traditional medicinal uses in Gurage and Silti Zones, south central Ethiopia.MethodsEthanol extracts of various plant parts were investigated for their antimicrobial activity against 20 bacterial and one yeast strains. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was determined by broth microdilution method.ResultsAsparagus africanus, Guizotia schimperi, Lippia adoensis var. adoensis and Premna schimperi were active against Candida albicans, Enterococcus faecalis and Staphylococcus aureus at a concentration of 512 μg/ml or lower. Strong antibacterial activity (MIC ≥ 128 μg/ml) was observed for G. schimperi extract against 17 resistant and sensitive Staphylococcus strains, at a concentration comparable to standard antibiotics. Moreover, this extract showed higher antibacterial activity for the test against S. aureus ATCC 33591, ATCC 33592, SA3 and SA5 strains (128–256 μg/ml) than oxacillin (512 μg/ml).ConclusionsThe study revealed in vitro antibacterial activity of plants used in folk medicine in south central Ethiopia. The usefulness of these plants, in particular of G. schimperi, should be confirmed through further phytochemical and toxicity analyses.

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