Browsing by Author "Ahmed, Hussein"

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    Corporate Governance In Ethiopian Share Companies: What Should The Future Look Like?
    (Addis Ababa University, 2011-06) Ahmed, Hussein; Keneaa, Zekarias(Associate Professor)
    In publicly held companies which are formed by contribution of capital from thousands of sharehold ers, ownership usually separates from the control of disperse d shareholders and goes into the hands of few managers or few controlling shareholders. Total separation between ownership and control in turn creates a ri sk of the managers (agent) working for their own interest at the expense of the shareholders' (principal 's), what is known as agency cost. This paper posits that the separation between ownership and control is growing in Ethiopia and acco rdingl y submits some empirical evidence in support of adopting good corporate governance principles and laws in this regard. Based on the available data and literature on corporate governance, the paper attempts to show the deficiency in the Commercial Code and other C' pertinent Proclamations and Directives in addressing current issues in corporate governance (. o o o related to board of directors, protection of rights of minority shareholders and issues regarding financial reporting, transparency and audit. The analysis of the relevant laws shows that the overall standard of corporate governance in Ethiopia is disappointing. Accordingly, the paper provides detailed recommendations based on internationally recognized best principles and practice s of corporate governance as tht:y are expected to address the specific needs of Ethiopian share companies . Moreover, the paper argues that good economic and corporate governance are essential prerequisites for promoting economic growth and reducing poverty and thus urges policy makers in Ethiopia to give heightened attention to reform of corporate governance so as to achieve the same. It also contends that Ethiopia should adopt a mandatory law of corporate governance instead of a market-oriented corporate governance system to protect shareholder interests from the abuses and mismanagement of directors and officers and to protect minority shareholders from the opportunism of controlling shareholders as well as to promote accelerated economic development in the country. The study employs both primary and secondary data.
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    Evaluation of Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) Genotypes for Genetic Parameters and Drought Tolerance
    (Addis Ababa University, 2011-03) Ahmed, Hussein; Eshete, Million (PhD); Dagne, Kifle (PhD)
    Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is one of the important cool season food legumes. Chickpea production is affected by various abiotic and biotic constrains which penalize seed yields. Among them, drought is known to cause substantial reduction in the seed yield of the crop. This study was conducted to evaluate chickpea genotypes for genetic parameters and drought tolerance. A total of 18 test chickpea genotypes (9 kabuli and 9 desi) together with four checks (2 kabuli and 2 desi) were studied under moisture stress and non-stress conditions in pot experiments at Debre Zeit Agricultural Research Center during 2009/2010. A randomized complete block design with three replications was used. Analysis of variance revealed significant genetic variation among the genotypes for almost all the measured traits. Mean comparisons showed that genotype ICC- 16798 produced higher seed yield under moisture stress and non-stress. Genotypic and phenotypic variances were high for biological yield followed by days to 50% flowering in both water levels. However, the maximum genotypic coefficient of variation was obtained for number of seeds and number of pods per plant under moisture stress and non-stress conditions. Similarly, high phenotypic coefficient of variation was observed for seed yield followed by number of seed and number of pods per plant in both conditions. Broad sense heritability estimates ranged from medium to high. High heritability was recorded for 100 seed weight and days to 50% flowering. High heritability, coupled with high genetic advance values, was also observed for 100 seed weight and days to 50% flowering in both conditions. Moreover, there were significant positive correlation between seed yield with number of pods per plant, number of seeds per plant, harvest index and biological yield. It was also found that the correlations between seed yield with number of days to 50% flowering and days to 90% maturity were negative and significant. Phenotypic path coefficient analysis revealed that harvest index and biological yield had high positive direct effect on seed yield under both moisture stress and non-stress conditions. Similarly, multiple linear regression analysis showed that biological yield and harvest index have contributed significantly towards seed yield in non-stress condition. In stress condition, number of secondary branches, number of pods per plant, biological yield and harvest index have contributed significantly towards seed yield. Multiple statistical analyses showed that considerable influences of harvest index and biological yield were common to both conditions. Therefore, selection pressure should be directed towards these traits to improve the seed yield stability across different water levels. Based on the yields of genotypes under moisture non-stress (YP) and stress (YS) conditions, several quantitative drought tolerance indices, mean productivity (MP), tolerance index (TOL), geometric mean productivity (GMP), harmonic mean (HARM), drought susceptibility index (DSI) and drought tolerance index (DTI) were used to evaluate drought responses of these genotypes. They showed that correlation coefficients of seed yield with geometric mean productivity, drought tolerance index and harmonic mean indices in both conditions were high and positively significant. These revealed that selection could be conducted for high values of GMP, DTI and HARM under both conditions for chickpea breeding programs to introduce high yielding and drought tolerant genotypes. According to the indices and biplot analysis, it is concluded that ICC-16798, ICCRIL-04-0258, ICC-11198, ICC-2072, ICCRIL- 03-0208 and ICCRIL-03-0177 genotypes were superior under both conditions. Key words/phrases: Chickpea, drought tolerance indices, heritability, path analysis