https://cris.library.msu.ac.zw//handle/11408/460 Tue, 14 Apr 2026 23:13:27 GMT 2026-04-14T23:13:27Z https://cris.library.msu.ac.zw//handle/11408/6925 Title: E-business and e-commerce applications and trends in the retailing sector in Zimbabwe Authors: Mbohwa, Charles; Sammie, Batanai Abstract: This paper discusses e-commerce adoption trends in the Zimbabwean retail sector. Data were collected using questionnaire and interviews of 170 retailers and 73 customers selected in Harare. Zimbabwe's retail sector lags behind in e-business adoption. Key e-commerce applications were in administration, accounting, management and control systems with barcode-driven systems and debit card swipe technologies being most common. Mismatch between the demand for e-business solutions by customers and the supply of such solutions by retailers and a pronounced digital divide between multiple store and single store retailers in the areas of network technologies were identified. The impact of e-business on business processes and company productivity is positive for multiple store and minimal for single store operators. Internal work organisation, procurement costs of supply goods and quality of product and services impacts are minimal. Scope exists for improved adoption and development of e-business for Zimbabwean retailers through better policies and supportive legislation. Description: Date of Conference: 06-09 December 2011, Singapore Sat, 01 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT https://cris.library.msu.ac.zw//handle/11408/6925 2011-01-01T00:00:00Z Mbohwa, Charles Sammie, Batanai https://cris.library.msu.ac.zw//handle/11408/5850 Title: Traditional livestock enclosures are greenhouse gas hotspots in the African savanna landscape: The case of a rangeland in Kenya: Vienna, Austria & Online, 23–28 April 2023 Authors: Sonja Leitner; Victoria Carbonell; Klaus Butterbach-Bahl; Matti Barthel; Rangarirayi Lucia Mhindu; Paul Mutuo; Nina Buchmann; Lutz Merbold Abstract: There is hot debate about whether grassland-based livestock production can be climate-smart or not. Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from livestock (primarily from enteric methane [CH4] and manure CH4 and nitrous oxide [N2O]) stand vis-à-vis vegetation CO2 uptake and soil carbon sequestration. In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), livestock are a precious good that ensures the livelihoods of millions of people, which often belong to marginalized groups such as pastoralists. To protect their animals from predation and theft, livestock are secured in overnight enclosures (“bomas” in Kiswahili), which form the center of many pastoral settlements. However, in these enclosures manure accumulates for months or even years, making them a potential hotspot for GHG emissions. Here, we present the first year-long measurements of GHG emissions from active and inactive (abandoned) bomas from an African rangeland at the ILRI Kapiti Research Station in Kenya. We found that active bomas were continuous sources for CO2, CH4 and N2O emissions, with flux peaks of up to 1940 mg CO2-C m‑2 h‑1, 1600 μg N2O-N m‑2 h‑1 , and 6690 μg CH4-C m‑2 h‑1. Even after their abandonment, fluxes from bomas continued to be elevated compared to savanna soil background emissions for all GHGs. When calculated over a full year and put in context with manure deposition rates into the bomas (GHG emission factors), we found that 12.6 ± 5.3 % manure-C was emitted as CO2, 2.4 ± 0.4 % manure-N was emitted as N2O, and 0.5 ± 0.1 % manure-C was emitted as CH4. GHG emissions from active bomas were not affected by rainfall seasonality or temperature, presumably because the moisture content of the fresh manure was always high due to urine input, and because temperature did not vary much during the year. In abandoned bomas, GHG emissions were driven by rainfall events that triggered emission pulses, leading to higher emissions during the wet season. The high N2O and CH4 emissions we found have implications for global GHG inventories, which currently do not have a category for overnight livestock enclosures and therefore do not account for these emissions. Furthermore, hotspots for GHG emissions such as these livestock enclosures need to be included to assess the full GHG budget of pastoral livestock systems and to develop management interventions for low-emission livestock production in developing countries. Sun, 01 Jan 2023 00:00:00 GMT https://cris.library.msu.ac.zw//handle/11408/5850 2023-01-01T00:00:00Z Sonja Leitner Victoria Carbonell Klaus Butterbach-Bahl Matti Barthel Rangarirayi Lucia Mhindu Paul Mutuo Nina Buchmann Lutz Merbold