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Agricultural interventions more effectively improve nutrition when they are adapted to local contexts and engage multiple sectors. However, evidence is limited for how to design and measure the impacts of such interventions. We piloted a participatory methodology to collect community feedback to inform the design and selection of measures for a multisector nutrition intervention in Ethiopia. Study participants were purposively recruited from 6 rural districts in Tigray and the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' regions. Qualitative data were collected from 12 focus group discussions with smallholder farmers (men and women) participating in a nutrition-sensitive agriculture intervention. The Sustainable Livelihoods Approach (SLA) combined with an ecological systems model informed the survey tool and analyses. Analyses revealed 3 key findings. First, there were regional differences in how communities defined assets important for nutrition. Second, when asked to prioritize which assets were most important, communities selected every SLA capital category; however, the types of assets within each category differed by region. Third, the most commonly reported barriers to good nutrition were traditional feeding behaviors (eg, men eating before women) and lack of nutrition knowledge. How households use assets to enhance nutrition is influenced by diverse and dynamic cultural, social, economic, and ecological factors. The participatory methods piloted in this study present a novel approach to identify contextually relevant household, community, and institutional assets used to support food and nutrition security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bacterial wilt, caused by Ralstonia solanacearum, is emerging as a major threat to potato production in Ethiopia, reaching epidemic proportions in the Chencha district recently, with a prevalence of 97% of potato fields in 2015. The recent disease outbreak in the district coincided with a significant introduction of seed potatoes. This research was therefore initiated to genetically characterize the pathogen so as to trace its source, identify its relationship with outbreaks in the rest of the country, and make intervention recommendations. Ralstonia solanacearum isolates were sampled both from seed and ware potato fields in Chencha and from seed potato fields in production regions suspected of being potential sources of the pathogen. Multiplex PCR and phylogenetic analysis of partial endoglucanase gene sequences identified all of the isolates as phylotype IIB sequevar 1. VNTR sequence analysis distinguished 11 different haplotypes, nine of which were unique to the Chencha district. However, one of the haplotypes was common to all seed potato producer regions of Ethiopia except for the Shashemene area. The unique and diverse VNTR haplotypes of the pathogen in Chencha indicates that it is well established in the district. When a geographical map of the VNTR haplotypes was superimposed with the main cross-regional seed potato distribution pattern of the country, it became evident that the pathogen was being disseminated via latently infected seed from the Holeta-Jeldu area in the Central Highlands of Ethiopia. Identification of largely uninfected highland districts and multiplication of high-grade seed potato exclusively in those districts should be given priority. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]