School of Food Technology, Nutrition and Bioengeneering (SFTNB) Collection
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ItemDevelopment and performance assessment of a solar-powered vaccine refrigeration system for off-grid rural health facilities(Makerere University, 2026)Safe vaccine storage – vaccine efficacy depends on a safe cold chain. However, many rural and off-grid healthcare centres in Uganda suffer from frequent power crises, high cost of energy, as well as lack of proper cold chain equipment and infrastructure. Consequently, in order to keep safe storage conditions (between 2 and 8 °C) and to lessen dependence on electricity and the cost of cooling with low environmental impact, we developed a 50-litre solar refrigerator. This concept integrates 50 W of solar PV, a 100 Ah battery, grid back-up and a 50 W vapor compressor using R290 (propane). The use of R290 was chosen as part of the move to refrigerants which do not negatively impact climate change. R290 has a Global Warming Potential (GWP) of roughly 3 as opposed to1,430 for R134a. The system was tested in Busamuzi Health Centre II, Buvuma District. We recorded temperatures with an Arduino every 15 minutes. I also employed thermodynamic simulation, statistical analysis, and a Total Equivalent Warming Impact assessment. This device kept the internal temperature stable at an average 4.1C. The average value fluctuated between 3.8 and 4.4C most of the time. The Stability Reliability Index value is 96.8%, as, after achieving the target temperature, the value never fell outside 2- 8 °C. The steady-state COP was 5.80, much better than the target of 3.0 of the study. It used around 468 watt-hours per day. The statistics showed that the real performance was significantly different from the performance of our simulation (p < 0.05). Simulations also showed that refrigerants behave very differently. The system took 165 minutes to reach the desired storage temperature, which was above the target of 120 minutes. The results overall indicate that the combination of solar power, a 100 Ah battery, a grid power option, and R290 refrigeration is a good way to improve vaccine cold storage in rural areas, especially given the low environmental impact of the system. Recommend adjustingcompressors sizeand Insulation with some more test cases of hot conditions, safety, and certification for mass production.
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ItemDeterminants of consumer preference for tomato varieties in Wakiso District(Makerere university, 2019)The cross-sectional household survey was carried out in Wakiso district to determine the tomato varieties and attributes preferred by household consumers, the study covered two Counties such as Kyadondo and Busiro as well as Kira municipality. The article presents the tomato varieties and attributes preferred by household consumers, the relationship between food type/preparation and tomato consumption, factors hindering consumption of different forms of tomatoes. It also presents discussion, recommendations and conclusions from the findings that could help to avert the foregoing. Descriptive statistics (frequency tables, percentages and graphs) were generated from data entry and used to analyze characteristics of household consumers and there preferred tomato varieties. A sample of 81 convenient household consumer respondents both female and male residing in Kyadondo, Busiro counties and Kira municipality were interviewed on the most preferred varieties and this was computed in percentages where 65.43% preferred money maker , 33.3% preferred Cal / Kamongo, 27.16 % preferred East Africa seed tomatoes ,78% of household tomato consumers preferred elongated tomatoes, 70% of the consumer respondents preferred round tomatoes, 1% preferred extra large tomatoes. On the quality of tomato attributes 75.31% preferred all the quality attributes like (appearance, texture, and flavor). 24.69% preferred appearance, 22.22% preferred tomatoes based on texture, 2.47% based on flavor. Basing on food preparation technique in relation to tomato consumption, 74% preferred fried food compared to boiled food at a level of 8 %. Chi-square test was used to analyze the two categorical variables with p-value < 0.05 level of significance at 95% confidence interval. 81% of respondents agreed that pesticide application on tomatoes hinder household consumption than 19 % who disagreed, 71% agreed that economic accessibility is a hindrance factor on fruit and vegetable consumption and 10 % disagreed. Protective Policies to favor household tomato consumers against miss-use of pesticides, improving on households‘ economic sustainability to enhance their level of income, meal frequency and this could help Uganda reach the world recommended level of tomato consumption.
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ItemPerformance evaluation of water delivery systems at Ngenge Irrigation Scheme( 2024)Water delivery performance is the degree to which whether the system delivers water at the required rate at the right place and time. This study was carried out for three month on a single irrigation season from November to January 2024. Water delivery performance of the scheme was evaluated by comparing irrigation water demand with actual irrigation water supply by using four (4) indicators classified water delivery indicators. To estimate the crop water requirements and irrigation water requirement of the project, CROPWAT for windows (CROPWAT 8.0) which have five data input modules (climate/ETO, rain, crop, soil and crop pattern) and three calculation modules (crop water requirement, schedule and scheme) was used. The water delivery performance indicators of the canal such as adequacy, efficiency, dependability and equity were computed for the successive months. To estimate these indicators, the values of delivered water (QD) and required (QR) of the irrigation scheme were taken as basic variables. The number of irrigations in one season (T) was considered as the time period; and the number of fields (R) will be taken as the sub-region.
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ItemKnowledge, attitudes towards exclusive breastfeeding and dietary patterns of mothers of infants 0 to 6 months in Kitgum Municipality.( 2024)Knowledge, attitudes towards exclusive breastfeeding and dietary patterns of mothers of infants 0 to 6 months in Kitgum Municipality. Background: Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) is recommended for the first six months of age of and infant by the World Health Organization. The practice of EBF is influenced by maternal knowledge and attitudes as well as socio-demographic factors. Promotion of exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months of infant‟s life is considered as one of the most effective strategies for reducing infant morbidity and mortality in resource limited settings. Every year, optimal breastfeeding practices can prevent about 1.4 million deaths worldwide among children under five. This study explored the knowledge, attitudes towards exclusive breastfeeding and dietary patterns of breastfeeding mothers with infants 0 to 6 months in Kitgum municipality. Identifying factors associated with EBF practice and dietary practices of the mothers. Methods. A cross sectional study design was used, where all the data were collected using a structured questionnaire which included questions about the socio-demographic characteristics, knowledge attitude and practices, dietary data were recorded using a 24 hour recall of foods consumed. Data analysis was done using SPSS and Microsoft excel soft wares. Chi square test was done to determine association between socio-demographic characteristics and practicing exclusive breastfeeding. Results: This study indicated that 65.5% (n=72) of the mothers generally had high EBF knowledge with 98.2% being aware of EBF, 73.6% of the mothers had a positive attitude towards EBF, 69.1% of the mothers were practicing exclusive breastfeeding, age of the infant was significantly associated with exclusive breastfeeding, P<0.001. The study also indicated that grains, white tubers, roots food group was the most consumed (94.5%) and other vitamin A rich fruits and vegetables food group being the least consumed (3.6%). Conclusion: Generally the mothers had good knowledge and positive attitude but the practice of exclusive breastfeeding was suboptimal, and most of the mothers had diets with high energy dense foods from the grains food group. The dietary pattern showed a gap in intake of vitamin A rich foods, animal source foods. These findings highlight the need to enhanced nutritional education and support programs to improve dietary diversity and sustain optimal EBF practices.
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ItemThe design, setup and evaluation of a vermicomposting system for Imvepi Refugee Camp, Terego District(Makerere University, 2025)This study designed and evaluated the effectiveness of vermicomposting in transforming dewatered fecal sludge (FS) at Imvepi refugee camp into a nutrient-rich, stabilized compost using fruit and vegetable waste as bulking agents. The main objective was to design a sustainable vermicomposting system for efficient dewatered fecal sludge management. It also aimed at assessing the changes in nutrient contents; nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and organic carbon (C) across different treatment combinations: sludge only (F1), sludge with fruit waste (F2), and sludge with vegetable waste (F3) all mixed in the ratio of 50%:50%. The experiment was conducted using triplicated treatments, and nutrient analysis was performed using standard laboratory methods. Results indicated that the incorporation of bulking agents significantly influenced nutrient dynamics and compost maturity. F3 showed the highest nitrogen content (2.36%) and a C:N ratio of 10.89, falling within the ideal range for mature compost (10:115:1), while F2 recorded the highest carbon content (30.54%) but had a higher C:N ratio (17.58) with high microbial activity, indicating incomplete stabilization. ANOVA revealed significant differences in nitrogen and carbon across treatments at 5% level of significance (p < 0.05), but not in phosphorus. Comparisons with traditionally stored sludge (6 months) revealed that vermicomposting substantially improved nutrient retention. The study concludes that vermicomposting, particularly with vegetable waste, is an effective method for managing FS and producing high-quality compost suitable for agricultural application in resource-constrained settings such as refugee settlements.