College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES)

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  • Item
    Analysis of Leachate Chromium from Solid waste disposal site at Kiteezi, Kampala City (Uganda)
    (Makerere University, 2013) Ahebwa, Amelia
    Poverty, population growth and high urbanization combined with ineffectual and underfunded governments preventing efficient management of wastes has become of global concern especially in developing countries across the world. Landfilling remains the simplest, cheapest and most cost-effective method of disposing waste, in both developed and developing nations of the world. The most commonly reported danger to human health from these landfills is from the use of surface water and groundwater that has been contaminated by leachate that is discharged into these water bodies from the landfills. Municipal landfill leachates are highly concentrated complex effluents which, among other constituents, contain heavy metals such as cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, zinc, nickel, and xenobiotic organic substances. The main aim of this study therefore was to assess the levels of chromium in the leachate prior to and after treatment at the solid waste disposal site in Kiteezi and further downstream after discharge. Kampala presently has one landfill site located in Kiteezi, Mpererwe. The Kiteezi landfill is a containment site, 29 acres in size and has been filled with waste since 1996. The site poses a health and environmental risk to the neighbouring communities due to poor planning and management of the site. Process inefficiency of leachate treatment in the plant often causes poorly treated leachate quality at the solid waste disposal site. In this study, water samples collected from the site were assessed to determine their chromium concentrations using the Flame atomic absorption spectrometry method. The results obtained of chromium levels in the samples were found to be within the WHO safety standards for drinking and irrigation water.
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    Hydrological modelling of river Manafwa basin for irrigated agricultural development
    ( 2015-11) Ddamulira, Solomon
    Agricultural production is carried out in most parts of Uganda for both domestic and commercial purposes. In most regions of Uganda, the population depends on this rain fed agricultural production throughout the year. The changes in the climate have greatly hindered the production leading to a decline of 10% in agricultural produce. Therefore there is a need of supplementary production in order to increase production within the regions of Uganda. One of the methods to improve production within Uganda is carrying out irrigated agriculture. Eastern region of Uganda is one of the targeted areas for the irrigated agriculture due to presence of major permanent rivers such as Manafwa and Mpologoma. Presence of the permanent rivers in the region has made available potential water sources for irrigated agriculture to supplement food production during dry periods of the year. The change in climate has led to uncertainties in the river flows hindering irrigation planning in the region. Therefore there was a need to determine the available water for irrigation from the river flows that can sustain irrigation within the region. In this study, a hydrological model was conducted for river Manafwa flows to determine the potential acreage that they can sustain for surface irrigation. Using ArcGIS, a digital elevation model was used to clip out the catchment which was then delineated to establish drainage area of about 8410 km2 and the watershed. Annual runoff estimates were computed using the SCS CURVENUMBER method in GIS. The catchment curve numbers were determined using soil and land use data layers from FAO website, where the layers were reclassified, superimposed and merged. The annual runoff estimates were computed using spreadsheets and rainfall data. The river flows were then characterized from daily historical flow measurements from 1946 to 1946 at Busiu gauging station where hydrograph and flow duration curves were plotted. The dependable flow was determined at 75% probability of exceedance (5.29 m3/s). Water balance analysis was done to determine the portion of water is available for agricultural use. Maize crop having the highest water requirement was used as the base crop to determine the minimum acreage that can be irrigated from the available water. Using CropWat software, the irrigation requirement for maize crop for both growing seasons was determined. Two crop growing seasons were considered for the river water shed. For April - August season, an irrigation requirement of 0.62 l/s/ha and the potential irrigation acreage of 2810 ha was determined. . For September - March season, an irrigation requirement of 0.89 l/s/ha and the potential irrigation acreage of 1958 ha was determined. The results suggest that within the river Manafwa basin, the agricultural water can be utilized for irrigation for a particular acreage as this will increase agricultural production within the region.
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    Evaluation of the adoption of elite clonal coffee in Kagango sub-county, Sheema district in western Uganda
    (Makerere University, 2016-08) Tugume, Myres
    Adoption of elite clonal coffee amongst farmers in Kagango Sub County has been due to the low productivity of traditional varieties that have been in existence for many years. The study evaluated the adoption of elite clonal coffee in Kagango sub -county Sheema district in western Uganda and the main objective of the study was to evaluate the adoption of elite clonal coffee by farmers, The specific objectives were to characterize the farmers of elite clonal coffee, to examine the source and affordability of elite clonal coffee seedlings and to assess the key constraints in elite clonal coffee adoption in Kagango sub-county. A Sample of 40 farmers was selected for the study and household interviews were conducted using a structured questionnaire and factors such as farmers' level of education, sex, age, household size, land owner ship, farm size, variety of coffee grown, source and affordability of coffee seedlings, were considered. Data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social scientists (SPSS). To characterize the fanners of elite clonal coffee (Objective one), descriptive statistics (means, frequencies, and standard deviations) were used. The factors that influenced the adoption of elite clonal coffee were examined using the binary logistic regression model. The binary logistic regression model results showed that age of the farmer (p=0.0001), marital status of the farmer (p - 0.0280), coffee farming experience (p - 0.0850), years of formal education (p = 0.0170), and access to clonal coffee seedlings (p = 0.0000) significantly influenced farmers' adoption of elite clonal coffee. The farmers got elite clonal coffee seedlings from the nursery operators, community farmer groups and UCDA. The constraints that were faced by farmers in the adoption of elite clonal coffee are inadequate extension service, low farmer capacity to access and use of technology, on-innovative and non-proactive research systems, inadequate credit, inadequate information on availability of improved coffee variety (elite clonal coffee), lack of government support, inadequate knowledge about the innovation, and inadequate water The study recommended formation of farmer groups so as to increase their access to extension services, recruitment of more extension staff by the government, government's strategy of educating farmers through the use of radio programs on the need to adopt improved coffee technologies, the government to provide subsidized loans and credit facilities targeting rural farmers.
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    Nodulation, biomass and yield of erect type cowpea genotypes in Uganda
    (Makerere University, 2017) Mugweri, Jonathan
    Cowpea is a major legume in Uganda, ranked fourth after beans, groundnuts and soybean. It is grown mainly in eastern and northern Uganda for human consumption and animal feed. Not much research has been done on cowpea especially with respect to crop improvement. As such, farmers largely grow landraces that are low yielding and susceptible to major constraints. On-going research to address these limitations have identified improved varieties, for which additional agronomic information is required. A field study was conducted at Makerere University Agricultural Research Institute, Kabanyolo (MUARIK), Uganda, during 2015 second rains to determine the effect of nodulation and biomass on yield of 54 erect cowpea genotypes. The genotypes were planted randomly in plots and then in two replications. Parameters evaluated included: Nodulation (determined on a scale of 0-5 due to presence of nodules at root zone), biomass (total sum of mass of branches, leaves and roots) (g) and yield (seed weight) (kg/ha). There was more variability (CV = 60%) among yield values than among biomass values (CV = 26.3%) and root nodulation values (CV = 46.4%) relative to their respective means (2.65 for root nodulation and 253.16 for biomass). A strong correlation (r= 0.735) occurred between nodulation and yield (at 1% level of significance) with a positive linear relationship after regression analysis. There was a weak correlation (r= 0.042) between biomass and yield at 1% level of significance; absence of a linear relationship was confirmed after regression analysis. Higher mean root nodulation was observed for landraces from northern and eastern Uganda (NE) and IT genotypes from Nigeria while the crosses showed a higher biomass accumulation. Genotype NE 51 x SEC 3 had 464g as the highest mean biomass. Landraces from western and central Uganda (WC) had some of the highest mean yields in the data (WC 64 = 2674.18) and genotype WC 16 with 182.50 kg/ha had the lowest mean yield. Further studies are recommended in more seasons and location to validate these results.
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    Effects of home garden agroforestry on people’s livelihoods in peri-urban areas of Kampala: Case study of Nakawa Division
    (Makerere University, 2017) Muriisa, Benson
    A study to elicit the knowledge effects of home garden agroforestry on people’s livelihoods in peri-urban areas of Kampalawas carried out in Nakawa division Kampala District between June and July 2017. The specific objectives were to: (i)To inventory home garden agroforestry trees and crops in the study area. (ii) To examine the contribution of home garden agroforestry to food security and incomes of the households. (iii) To examine the challenges faced by households practicing home garden agroforestry in Nakawa Division.Cross sectional socio-economic surveys was used to collect data in which questionnaires having both open and close ended questions, key informant interviews and focus group discussions were conducted. Questionnaires were coded and entered into SPSS program and analyzed for the preferredPractice, Maintenance and contribution of home garden agroforestry. Home garden agroforestry contributed to the economy of Nakawa division by providing food security and household’s income generation. Management of home garden agroforestry was being constrained by the high growth of household’s sentization techniques and good relationships between the community and stalk holds in the division. Utilization of home gardenshad a positive significant attitude on household’s willingness to keep and manage it. Indeed many respondents were motivated to retain home gardenson their homes such as home gardens due to the attraction of visitors and food security and income generation of households which were obtained from it since they have a very big positive impact on households and well-being. There is urgent need to formulate and implement laws and policies to guide and promote agriculture and commercialization of FAO like some home gardensand this should be spearheaded by institutions like Uganda Food agriculture Organization (FAO) and Community Based Organizations and backed by the provision of both financial and management support. All communities should maintain and sustain these home gardens through establishment and maintenance of commercial gardens containing some important tree and crop species. This may be one of the most effective avenues or enhancing the keeping and managing of home garden agroforestry.
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    Evaluation of the impact of age on compost quality at Mbarara Municipal compost plant in south western Uganda
    (Makerere University, 2017) Mugambe, Christopher
    The composting industry, including producers, testing laboratories, marketers and consumers have a well-documented need to know the specific chemical, physical and biological properties of compost products. Composting has become a preferred method for municipalities and industries to recycle a variety of organic byproducts often regarded to as “wastes” thus transforming them into useful soil conditioners and amendments. The safety and quality assurance of compost product as a soil vitalizer and amendment are required to meet the needs of agricultural, horticultural, silvicultural and landscape markets both nationally and internationally. However, currently there exists no industry or laboratory wide sampling and testing the quality and protocols of compost product. The objective of this research was to assess the quality of compost produced at Mbarara Municipal Compost Plant in reference to the international standards for high quality compost. The study followed a whole composting process of Mbarara Municipal Compost Plant which has been producing compost in western Uganda for the past nine years. The impact of age on compost quality in terms of nutrient content at different stages of composting was tested. Most compost parameters tested such as C: N ratio (18:1-23:1), pH (9.8), %OC (15.54±3.47) % and %N (0.79±0.04) % were found within acceptable limits set by international standards of high quality compost as of July 2017. % P (0.46±0.01) % and % K (2.14±0.08) % tested in final sieved compost product were within critical levels for agronomic soil conditioning although international standards for them are not stated. However, the texture tested in Mbarara municipal compost at all stages of composting was found to be apart from the expected texture of high quality compost with sandy loam as the textural class for all samples. This therefore calls for investigation about the possible sources of the high sand content in the compost and at what stage it gets there. Generally, compost produced at Mbarara Municipal Compost Plant can be used as a good soil vitalizer and the same composting technology would be a great deal if adapted in all municipalities of Uganda to utilize an often neglected resource “municipal solid waste” into a useful resource to vitalize the depleted soils of Uganda. However, to further improve quality of compost and its sustainable production, a well-equipped laboratory to test compost quality and ensure quality assurance for compost produced at the plant for different markets should be established at the plant.
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    An assessment of the environmental and socio-economic impacts of sand mining activities in Lwera, Nkozi sub-county, Mpigi district, Uganda
    (Makerere University, 2017) Bogere, Meek
    Sand mining has been one of the serious environmental problems around the globe in recent years, as the plains, swamps, rivers are widely exploited, materials like sand have been exploited due to man's attempt to satisfy his insatiable needs. The situation stated above is not an exception of Lwera the case study area. Exploitation of sand often results into land degradation, loss of aesthetic beauty of the land, loss of agricultural lands, river bed degradation and lost riparian habitat. In order to address these problems, practical and explicit laws and regulations have to be developed by municipalities in a participatory manner so as to facilitate enforcement and compliance at all levels within the social settings. This research was therefore carried out to assess the environmental and socio-economic impacts resulting from sand mining activities in Lwera catchment. The main objective of the study was to assess the environmental and sociological impacts of sand mining in the study area. Specific objectives were: to identifying and assess some major environmental impacts associated with sand mining activities in Lwera. The study revealed that irrespective of the large quantity of sand being mined from the catchment with its economic importance, it is concluded that socially and environmentally, sand mining activity is causing more harm than good.
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    The challenges and opportunities of tree projects to increase on farm tree cover: the case study [of] Kyeizooba Sub County in Bushenyi District
    (Makerere University, 2017-09-25) Asiimwe, Elisa
    In order to address the problem of high rural poverty and food insecurity, government and international donors have funded on-farm plantation forestry projects as one of the tools for improving the welfare of rural communities. In the wake of climate change, on-farm plantation forestry has evolved to include carbon forestry, with the dual purpose of sequestering carbon and improving rural livelihoods. However, there is a dearth of empirical evidence regarding whether and under what conditions on-farm plantation forestry can deliver favorable livelihood outcomes. Therefore, Propensity Score Matching (PSM) and endogenous switching regression models were used to estimate the average treatment effects of adopting eucalyptus and carbon forestry woodlots (under the plan vivo system) on consumption expenditure per adult equivalent and daily calorie acquisition per adult equivalent. PSM and switching regression results consistently indicated that adoption of eucalyptus woodlots increased consumption expenditure by 32 and 28.3% respectively. PSM and switching regression results also indicated that adoption of eucalyptus woodlots increased calorie acquisition per adult equivalent by 36 and 13.1% respectively. Results also indicated that adoption of carbon forestry increased calorie acquisition per adult equivalent by between 22 and 26.9% but the impact on consumption expenditure per adult equivalent was mixed. The findings of this study provide empirical evidence that adoption of on-farm eucalyptus woodlots is an important pathway for smallholder farmers to escape poverty and improve food security. Similarly, adoption of carbon forestry woodlots under the plan vivo system can improve food security. However, previous on-farm plantation forestry projects were not well targeted to the poor households.
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    Profitability of rice production by rice farmers in Namalemba Sub County Iganga District
    (Makerere University, 2017-11) Gatama, Kenneth
    This study looked at profitability of rice production by rice farmers in Namalemba sub county Iganga district. The objectives of the study were to characterize the farmers engaged in rice production in Namalemba sub-county, Iganga district, determine the profitability of rice production in Namalemba sub-county, Iganga district and to determine constraints of rice productivity and profitability in Namalemba sub-county, Iganga district. Different methods were to get reliable data from the field. These included both primary data and secondary data. The data collection instruments included the questionnaire and documentary sources. From the study majority in the community know how to read and write where 41.2% of the farmers had completed secondary level. Majority 67.5% of the farmers had an off farm employment (income) to supplement on their farm incomes. Majority 82.5% of the farmers earn More than 10,000 Ushs, while few 17.5% earn below the poverty line. The results suggest that the profit in rice production is highly associated with the type of Rice farmers grow with a mean of 2.4500 and SD of 1.25183. It is clear that, Families producing Rice have a high positive return to labor per acre hence indicating that Rice production is profitable. Results show that the Total Variable Cost (TVC) was higher than the Total Fixed Cost (TFC) per hectare associated with rice production. Farmers with no access to market information were being exploited by middlemen and traders by offering them low prices for their produce which would negatively impact on their profits (gross margin). The results revealed that farmers in Namalemba are faced with faced with Poor Soil Fertility, Poor Soil Fertility, Long drought, Poor seeds, Pests and diseases, Low skills for Irrigation, Land fragmentation and Inadequate manpower during production The study recommends that, there is need for farmers’ timely access to inputs at affordable prices and guaranteed facilitation to enable them stock adequate quantities like seeds and pesticides ahead of planting season. there is need to avail extension services to the farmers in Namalemba Sub County to inform and educate farmers in the sub county in question about the farming practices and management to increase the acceptability and adoption of rice production in the sub county. This could create awareness and spread information between farmers about the rice production.
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    Soil fertility management in banana plantations using grass mulches and manures in South Western Uganda
    (Makerere University, 2017-11-14) Munanura, Balaam
    Uganda’s soils were once believed to be the most fertile in Africa, but soil nutrient mining and soil erosion have led to soil degradation and declining agricultural productivity. Lack of environmental awareness among farmers, traditional agricultural practices, minimal inorganic fertilizer use, and little to no use of improved crop varieties all contribute to continued soil degradation. East Africa Highland banana yields on smallholder farms in the Great Lakes region are small Uganda inclusive. The major causes of poor yields are declining soil fertility and soil moisture stress. In order to improve production, knowledge on highland banana response to fertilization is important, to establish the effect on soil and hence the crop yield. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of mulching and manuring on chemical and physical properties of soils in banana plantations in Bushenyi district. The study was conducted in Kyeizooba sub-county, Bushenyi district in southwestern Uganda. Ten soil samples were taken from mulched and ten from unmulched, five from top soil and five from subsoil for each treatment were analyzed at Makerere university soil science laboratory for pH, total nitrogen, available phosphorus, exchangeable potassium, soil organic Carbon and texture. For top soils, the pH was significantly higher in mulched (7.25) than in unmulched (6.34). For sub soils the same trend was observed mulched (5.93) and unmulched (4.78). However for both mulched and unmulched plantations, the pH of sub soils and top soils were not significant (p>0.05). Nitrogen content in top soils of mulched and manured plantations was significantly (p<0.05) higher than that in sub soils. Also under both treatments, the N content of top soils was higher than that in sub soils. P content in top soils of mulched and manured plantations was significantly (p<0.05) higher than that in sub soils. In both treatments, the P content of top soils was higher than that in sub soils. The K content in top soils of mulched and manured plantations was significantly (p<0.05) higher than that in sub soils. Also the K content of top soils was higher than that in sub soils under both treatments. SOC content in top soils of mulched plantations was significantly (p<0.05) higher than that in sub soils. Also under both treatments the SOC content of top soils was higher than that in sub soils. The clay content in top soils was significantly (p<0.05) higher in mulched than in unmulched plantations. For both soil levels, sand content was significantly (p<0.05) higher in unmulched plantations than in mulched, for both mulched and unmulched sand content was higher in topsoil than in subsoil. Silt content was similar in the top soils of both treatments. For sub soils, silt content was higher (p<0.05) in unmulched than in the mulched. For mulched silt content was higher in top soil than in subsoil and in unmulched, no significant difference was observed.
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    The relationship between agronomic practices and productivity of Barley in Kwosir Sub-County Kween District
    (Makerere University, 2018) Cheptoyek, Satxa
    The study was conducted in Kwosir Sub-county, Kween district in Eastern Uganda where farmers through their Kween Commercial Farmers Association produce barley on contract with Nile Breweries Limited and Uganda Breweries Limited. This contract arrangement could be an advantage to farmers in order to enable access markets and inputs for commercial production. However, this has been criticized by the respondents for being exploitative and non-considerate. The aim of this study was to determine the agronomic practices and constraints in barley farming that limit yield potential of barley and to examine factors that affect its profitability. The study involved both qualitative and quantitative analyses of survey data collected through interviews from a sample of 40 randomly selected farmers. Primary data was collected from the twenty randomly selected respondents by using a questionnaire. This research covered the whole production process of barley. The respondents were fairly literates with a high male dominance in barley production than their female counterparts and young adults. The study further revealed that the contract barley farmers do break-even and the gross margins were significantly influenced by the total land capacity of the farmer and the use of fertilizers and herbicides. Herbicides were majorly used for weed control in barley fields and inputs like fertilizers were intensively used by the respondents. Pesticides were used for pest and disease control but their usage rate was very low due to less resurgence of diseases. On average, the respondent yields were 20 bags per acre and the main method of harvesting was hand method. The contract provides assured market for the farmers produce at pre-determined prices and this helps to reduce risks of price fluctuations. The study recommends improving Agricultural extension system with various farmer trainings; contract farming should be embraced by the farmers, increasing the level of mechanization and post-harvest handling coupled with a well improved and accessible financial system. The farmers need to be insured against several calamities like bad weather and failure of seed to germinate in the field. With these developments, barley production will boom and farmer’s standard and welfare will automatically improve and more land will be allocated for wheat growing.
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    Community-Based Adaptation to Climate Change in Hoima District
    (Makerere University, 2018) Isingoma, Julius
    Because of high speed at which climate change is happening, most households especially in farming communities are very vulnerable to climate change and its impacts. Therefore, there is need to reduce the vulnerability of communities and households and increase their capacity to adapt. To achieve this, there is need for a strong information base in order to raise awareness among the people. This study was therefore aimed at providing information/ knowledge of the impacts of climate change on households and how they cope up with these impacts as well as providing information on the factors affecting the adaptation process. Due to increased dry spells and shifts in rainfall patterns in Hoima district, rain fed agriculture which is the main economic activity in the area has been exposed to weather and climatic adverse impacts hence increasing vulnerability of rural livelihoods/ farmers. Since adaptation process is costly generally, the resource poor peasant farmers can hardly adopt since adaptation is influenced by economic conditions, social networks, institutions and governance, human resources and technology which are to a big extent lacking. A mixed study design approach was used with a stratified random sampling technique in the four parishes of Kitoba Sub County, Hoima district. Household interviews using Questionnaires were then conducted.Content analysis was used to analyze qualitative data. The findings of this study show that the first rain season has not changed compared to the past seasons. However, the second rain season has become shorter with rain tending to disappear earlier in October/ November period unlike the past when rains extended toward the Christmas/ December period. Therefore, it is clear that the second dry spell has increased of recent compared to the past. The impacts of such changes that were noted have been felt in agriculture in form of erratic heavy rains, flooding in gardens, hailstones, increased crop pests and diseases and crop failure and hence low yields. Shortage or loss of water as most of the water sources tend to dry up and this was evidenced by 98.7% of respondents who said they currently face water use challenges. A small fraction of households have developed coping measures to adapt to the changing climatic conditions through mulching, early planting/change of planting dates, mixed cropping, planting 9 perennial crops, use of improved varieties, agro forestry and crop rotation.The low rate of adaptation to climate change among the rural farmers were attributed to factors such as low education levels, poverty, small size of households, small size of farms, limited farming experience and lack of awareness on the availability of climate change program. Therefore, there is a greater risk of food insecurity posed by climatic changes since farmers are not yet ready to adapt to these impacts in Hoima district.
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    Effect of tourism stop-overs on customers satisfaction: Case study of Igongo Cultural Center and AGIP Motel
    (Makerere University, 2018) Mukalazi, Steven
    This study examined effect of tourism stop-overs on customer’s satisfaction at Igongo Cultural Centre and Agip Motel. Fifty (50) respondents were selected for the study including tourists, tour operators/guides and tourism experts. The objectives were to (i) identify tourist attractions and facilities available at Igongo Cultural Centre and Agip Motel as tourist stopovers that aid in satisfaction, (ii) assess the positive contributions of stop-overs to tourist satisfaction at Igongo Cultural Centre and Agip Motel and (iii) identify challenges that hinder stop-overs (Igongo Cultural Centre and Agip Motel) to satisfy tourists and make recommendations. Interview schedules and documentary review were used to collect data. Interview schedule questionnaires were administered to the key informants including tourists, tour operators/guides and tourism experts. Research revealed that the most popular attractions at Igongo Cultural Centre are the Museum, the 1500AD Solar Eclipse Monument, the Mayenje cow monument, the cultural village and dance, cultural foods and drinks and craft and book shop. Similarly, the research reveals that accommodation, restaurant and bar, transport facilities, recreational facilities, conference and swimming pool facilities as the major facilities contributing to customer’s smile at Igongo Cultural Centre and Agip Motel. The research also revealed that Igongo Cultural Centre and Agip Motel contributes to rest and relaxation of tourists after long distances of travel, it also shows that these stop-overs gives full museum experience which cannot be found elsewhere. The research also showed that Igongo Cultural Centre and Agip Motel gives total satisfaction a client expects, meets expectation and completes the trip of a tourist, adds experience after gorilla trekking experience, gives tourists knowledge about western Uganda cultures and helps tourists to experience hospitable people of Uganda freely and also to interact freely with other tourists which is difficult in the national parks. The research also revealed that Igongo Cultural Centre faces challenges which are majorly, language barriers as most staff members use local language and most know only English among international languages, there is also delay of service delivery, flooding in the compound and noise that comes from the Mbarara town especially for the case of Agip Motel. The stop-overs have been seen to have challenges of limited parking space, underdeveloped attractions, facilities and services, inaccessibility by the disabled clients, unskilled staff, congestion especially during peak season and limited time for stop-overs among the tour guides and tourists. The researcher recommends that Igongo Cultural Centre and Agip Motel to employ multilingual employees, professional and skilled, train their staff to ensure freshness of their skills, develop their attractions, facilities and services to meet the customer expectation, brand themselves and market rapidly if they are to take another step in developing as a major stopover in Uganda, dig trenches to divert floods, install sound proof to control noise pollution problem and that they should as well install ramps to help disabled clients especially those ones with mobility challenges to access the facilities and set moderate prices to encourage tourists and tour guides to visit this area.
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    Opportunities and challenges of developing tourism in Uganda: A case study of Buvuma Island
    (Makerere University, 2018) Gumisiriza, Amuson Yosam
    This study was carried out in Buvuma island Buvuma District to assess the opportunities and challenges of developing tourism in Uganda. The research was guided by objectives which included identifying the actual and potential tourism resources at Buvuma Island in Uganda, examine the tourism opportunities that can be developed at Buvuma Island and to establish the challenges limiting the development of tourism at Buvuma Island. Various research methods were employed including questionnaires administered to both local residents since they were the key beneficiaries. Interviews were conducted with local officials like District like Local council chairpersons, District Community Development Officer among others because they were the key informants and possessed vital information related to the study. Personal observation was also used as a basis to capture information that would not covered by two methods. 40 respondents were randomly selected and data was analyzed using SPSS version 16.0. The results revealed that there were actual tourism resources available in Buvuma Island which includes Lakes like Lake Victoria, hills, caves and stones, local culture, wild animals among others as on the other hand the respondents further identified potential tourist resources and attractions as re varied ranging from forests like Nyabingo forest , boat cruise at lake Victoria accommodation and water spots and birding as the main potential tourism resources found at Buvuma island. Results further revealed that these tourism resources have led to the development of different tourism opportunities which include; employment in tourism related enterprises, supply of goods such as food products and sell of souvenirs like crafts to the tourists, income. Infrastructure development and improved conservation awareness among others. However challenges like limited funds, lack of tourism awareness, poor infrastructure , lack of community participation were hindering the development of tourism at Buvuma island the study recommended that aggressive marketing campaign should be done by both government and private tourism operators to promote Buvuma and that Uganda Tourism board should organize both tourism workshops and seminars in order to equip local community with enough knowledge and skills to use the available tourism opportunities on Buvuma Island.
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    Assessment of knowledge, attitude and practices of mothers on infant and young child feeding in Sheema Municipal Council, Sheema District: A case study of Rwamujojo ward
    (Makerere University, 2018) Atukwatse, Charity
    Malnutrition is a serious challenge in infants (<6 months) and young children (6–23 months) in Sheema district in Uganda. It is a serious problem among this age group. The main contributing factors to this problem are the lack of knowledge by the mothers on proper children nutrition. The study assessed knowledge, attitude and practices of mothers towards proper nutrition among the infant (<6 months) and young child (0-23 months of age) in Rwamujojo ward, Sheema Municipality Sheema district. A cross- sectional study design was used to collect both the qualitative and quantitative data using structured interviews with a designed questionnaire as a guide. Three focus group discussions were conducted with mothers that had consented during the postnatal hospital review visits and immunization. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 20 and chi-square test was used to test for the significance (p≤ 0.05). The results were presented in form of tables and graphs using frequencies and percentages. A total of 316 participants were recruited for the study of which 200 (63.3%) mothers were interviewed and 116 (36.7%) mothers participated in focus group discussion. Majority of the participants (75%) were <19 years of age. The findings showed that 82.0% of the mothers knew that the first feed for the child is breast milk. Out of the (82.0%), 20.2%, introduced other feeds by the second month and 55.2% introduced them during the third and fourth month of age. About 85.0% of the mothers, initiated breastfeeding after one-hour of delivery contrary to the recommended practice of within the first hour by Ministry of Health. Results from the 24-hour recall, showed that housewives fed their children on more classes of complementary food compared to the business women and casual worker mothers whose children were fed only carbohydrates (grains and tubers). Also, the mothers whose husbands were businessmen and farmers served their children more diverse complimentary foods. However, mothers (78%) had a negative attitude on diversifying complementary food believing that feeding children with many different classes of foods can cause abdominal pain and discomfort. Generally, the findings show that majority of the mothers were very young and had knowledge of best feeding practices of the infants (<6 months) and young children (6–23 months) but the nutritional practices and attitude were lacking among the mothers.
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    Evaluation of irrigation scheduling at Mubuku Irrigation Scheme
    (Makerere University, 2018) Ngabirano, Ambrose
    This research was to evaluate irrigation scheduling at Mubuku settlement irrigation scheme. The rehabilitation of the scheme resulted into the modification of the water delivery systems with improved water conveyance efficiency. Farmers’ current irrigation practice and methods are based on the rated water flows and design data at the time of schemes establishment. All this required to assess the compatibility and suitability of the current irrigation practice/method at the scheme in relation to the new irrigation infrastructures. It was achieved by determining current water application practices, assessing the suitability of the current irrigation schedule and developing a suitable irrigation schedule for the scheme. This research was called out on the divisions 8, 10 and 12 on phase (ii) of the scheme. Calibration of the main canal and secondary canals was done in order to determine their conveyance capacities which involved measuring their cross-section areas and flow velocities using tape measure and flow meter respectively. The climate data for the scheme was generated using climwat software. The crop water requirements were generated using CropWat software. The planting dates were proposed as 18th February and 18th August for the two seasons since most of the farmers plant their seedlings in periods close to those dates. Water performance indicators i.e. water productivity, equity and adequacy were used to access the suitability of the schedule. The current schedules were found to be unfair to the farmers because much water was supplied to the crops in upper fields compared to those located downstream. Farmers in division 8 and 10 irrigate for three hours with a discharge flow of 104 l/s and 96.2 l/s where as farmers in division 12 irrigate once a week for 7 hours with a discharge of 53.2 l/s. Crops in division 8 were receiving excess water which was wasted as run off where as in division 12, they received less water as expected. The water supplied was not meeting the crop water irrigation demands which resulted to water stress. The water application practices was found to be poor in addition to the un-fair schedule. The field ditches were to be large and located at lower elevation points. The proposed schedules will be able to save 30.52 million litres of water for the 3 holdings under study if implemented. This would approximate to 305.2 million litres of water if the schedules were designed for all 30 holdings on phase ii. This amount of water can irrigate 6 holdings of un-irrigated land without extracting water from river Sebwe. This will result to increased crop production since water will be applied to meet crop water demands.
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    The level of adoption of agroforestry in Mafubira Sub-County Jinja District
    (Makerere University, 2018) Muzira, Carl Roy
    The main objectives of this study were to identify the agroforestry practices implemented by people in Mafubira sub county in Jinja district, to describe the benefits derived from agroforestry and challenges faced after implementation of agroforestry. To achieve these objectives three villages in Mafubira sub county were selected as the sites for the study because they are more accessible and have more farmers in the sub county. This research is descriptive study using quantitative cross sectional design (that is respondents were examined once and at a single point in time) which is necessary for obtaining numerical data. Primary data was collected using a survey questionnaire consisting of structured questions. Closed ended and Likert scales questions were employed and the questionnaire was divided into four sections. Various respondents were drawn from the three villages depending on the number of households. SPSS software was used to process the data extracted from the questionnaires after being carefully sorted and coded and the results were displayed in tables and percentages. This study revealed that: Some farmers in Mafubira sub county were aware and practicing some agroforestry practices majorly being Agrisilviculture. The highest percentage of those implementing agroforestry were having improved and reliable sources of food and also an extra source of income. The major challenge they were facing was that the animals destroy crops and trees at a tender stage and also the long tree gestation period. Findings from this study will provide information to policy makers, local leaders and local farmers on the awareness and benefits of implementing agroforestry.
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    A study on maize production and profitability in Buhimba Sub-County Hoima District
    (Makerere University, 2018) Tumwesige, Gilbert
    The study was to assess the productivity and profitability of maize production in Buhimba sub-county Hoima district. Well-designed questionnaires were used to collect data from 80 maize farmers. The respondents were selected by random sampling so as to avoid bias in the study. These data were coded and entered into SPSS (version 16.0) computer software for analysis. Results of this study show that out of the 80 farmers, majority (57.5%) of farmers were males while only 42.5% were females. Analysis of the marital status showed that (70%) of them were married, singles, (21.25%) and only 8.75% were separated. This means that most people who were married engaged themselves maize production probably due to the fact they have responsibilities and families to take care of as compared to single and separated people. The average gross margin is 160,034.98Uganda shillings implying that the profitability in maize enterprises is still low due to the various factors that influence the level of maize production like education level, experience and also extension services maybe lacking hence the low average gross margin between the respondents. Household size, experience, distance to the market, size of land under maize production and access to credit had a significant effect on the quantity of maize produced by farmers. The major problem the farmers are facing during production is the pest and disease prevalence which has a frequency of 47 and 87% of the respondents mentioned it as their first challenge. Then too much sunshine that can possibly lead to scorching of the plants had a frequency of 35 and 64.8% of the respondents saying it’s one of the challenges that is had to control because it’s natural. Based on the results the study recommend the government of Uganda and other relevant authorities targeting agricultural development and food security focusing on smallholder maize production and marketing with the aim of improving the welfare of the farmers out to adopt recommendations such as improving on the maize marketing system especially the pricing to improve the profitability of the crop in the smallholder farmers and ultimately luring more farmers to cultivate the staple crop. The study recommends the government to recapitalize the grain marketing institution, to improve its operations.
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    Contribution and potential for scaling up of private sector involvement in solid waste management in Uganda: a case study of Oribags Innovations Company, Mpigi District
    (Makerere University, 2018) Tushemereirwe, Jovia
    This study was carried out in Buyala to contribute knowledge to the understanding of the contribution and potential for scaling up of private sector involvement in solid waste management and a case study of Oribags Innovations „U‟ limited. Different methods were used which include; Questionnaires, interviews and observation in order to collect the information about research objectives which were: Contribute to understanding influencing factors for the efficiency and contribution to national environmental management effort of private sector innovations, Assess the community acceptance and contribution of the innovation, Examine institutional and operational strengths and determining the potential for scaling up the innovation. The study showed that two machine are used to recycle wastes and get paper out of it while manual labour is used for the rest of the process of making paper products. Agricultural waste (maize straws, sorghum straws, millet straws banana fibre and pineapple crowns), followed by paper wastes and cotton (70%, 25% and 5% respectively) are the wastes recycled and are collected from Kabale, Rukungiri and Mbarara. Cotton plus paper wastes are also collected from supermarkets and tailors around the city and a few from Buyala Mpigi district. Oribags manufactures books, paper bags, gift boxes and envelopes
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    Development of flavored amaranth juice
    (Makerere University, 2018) Luganda, Dennis Kizito
    Red amaranth is a crop with a rich nutritional profile. It is rich in vitamin C, proteins, iron, folic acid and polyphenols that possess antioxidant activity. Red amaranth plays a big role in preventing cardiovascular diseases, various cancers, iron deficient anemia and also lowers the blood cholesterol levels. However present studies indicate that red amaranth is faced with high postharvest losses (>30%) during the peak season and this is basically attributed to the perishable nature of the crop. The major objective of this study was to develop a vegetable juice from red amaranth. Four products with different flavors were developed namely: unflavored amaranth juice, ginger flavored amaranth juice, vanilla flavored amaranth juice and strawberry amaranth juice. The samples were evaluated for overall consumer acceptability using untrained panelists (n = 40). The nutritional quality (protein, fiber, iron) and antioxidant activity of the most acceptable formulation and that of the control sample were determined using standard methods. Shelf stability was also determined by evaluating changes in sensory acceptability, titratable acidity, pH, color and vitamin C of samples stored at 4 0C for 2 weeks. Ginger flavored amaranth juice was the most liked with an overall acceptability of 7.5 while the unflavored flavored amaranth juice was the least liked with an overall acceptability of 5.4 on a nine point hedonic scale. However, since the overall acceptability of the juices was above 5 (neither like nor dislike) they were both acceptable. The protein, fiber, iron and antioxidant capacity of the amaranth juice ranged between 0.96-1.20%, 1.25-1.37%, 0.19-0.27 mg/100 ml and 44.61-37.61mg/100ml equivalent vitamin C, respectively. Ginger flavored amaranth juice had a significantly (p<0.05) higher antioxidant activity. Ginger flavored amaranth juice had higher total titratable acid (TTA) and pH (0.35%, 4.12) compared to the unflavored amaranth juice (0.25%, 4.14).The vitamin C content (10.32mg/100ml) was the same for both the ginger flavored and unflavored amaranth juice while the colour intensity absorbance varied between 6.32-6.09nm at 538nm reading. There were no significant changes in pH, acidity and color of the juice stored for two weeks and both samples received acceptability scores greater than 5 (neither like nor dislike). It is therefore possible to produce an acceptable antioxidant rich ginger flavored amaranth juice.