Scaling out sweetpotato and potato-led interventions to improve nutrition and food security in Tigray and SNNPR, Ethiopia

This flyer is a brief of the ‘Scaling out sweetpotato and potato-led interventions to improve nutrition and food security in Tigray and SNNPR’ project, which is being implemented in the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples’ Region (SNNPR) and the Tigray region in the north of Ethiopia. At present, the project covers a total of 75 kebeles (villages) in 20 woredas (districts) in the two regions. It summarizes the objectives, achievements and lessons of the project between June 2014 and July 2015

Opportunities and threats in the beer-banana value chain in Central Uganda

Poster presented at CIALCA Conference 2011. Kigali (Rwanda). 24-27 Oct 2011

Community mobilization: a key to effective control of banana Xanthomonas wilt

Banana xanthomonas wilt (BXW) remains a major threat to banana, an important food and income crop for 12 million poor small-holder farmers in Uganda. Although, BXW has been controlled to some extent in parts of South-western Uganda, it is still a big problem in banana growing areas of Central and Eastern Uganda. We hypothesized that differential success in BXW control is mainly due to approaches used in the BXW control. This paper therefore, evaluates stakeholder mobilization approaches used in promoting technologies for BXW control in Uganda between 2006 and 2009. Results showed that farmer field schools host communities had more farmers (33%) that had low or no BXW infection (<10 infected plants) as compared to smaller proportions (23.5%) of farmers from communities that were using community action or that were mobilised using the traditional approach (22.9%) to control BXW. There was higher BXW prevalence in communities that were using community action (68.8%) or were mobilised traditionally (66.3%) than in those that hosted farmer field schools (43.4%). Consequently, there was higher (53%) banana production recovery on farms that hosted farmer field schools than those that used other institutional approaches (22%). BXW was better controlled by farmers mobilised using farmers field schools than those mobilized through community or traditional approaches

The impact of school nutritional campaigns on OFSP adoption and food security among smallholder farming households in Tigray region, Ethiopia.

In Ethiopia, the International Potato Center (CIP) and regional partners piloted a 2-year project that promoted production and consumption of vitamin A-rich OFSP as part of diversified diets. The project adopted school-based nutritional campaigns wherein school gardens and school feeding were piloted in 11 schools between 2011 to 2013. The schools served centres for the dissemination of planting material (vines) and transfer of information on benefits of OFSP and its production practices to parents

Farmers’ awareness and perceived benefits of agro-ecological intensification practices in banana systems in Uganda

Declining soil fertility and pests and diseases are major constraints to banana productivity in smallholder farming systems in Uganda. This study explored farmers’ awareness and perceptions on agro-ecological  intensification (AEI) practices for addressing these constraints in five banana-growing districts in Uganda. Stratified random sampling procedure was used to select 60 households for a survey from different agro-ecological zones and banana production systems. The household survey was complemented with focus group discussions to obtain qualitative data on farmer perceptions on benefits and constraints to AEI application on-farm. Thematic content analysis and descriptive statistics were used to analyze data. Results of the study show that most of the interviewed farmers were aware of the AEI practices although not all those aware had adopted the practices. Farmers were motivated to apply AEI practices perceived to offer multiple benefits: pest and disease management, enhanced productivity, soil fertility improvement and ecological adaptability. Major constraints to application of AEI practices by farmers include insufficient knowledge, labour intensiveness and limited access to markets. A transition towards intensification of smallholder banana systems requires that the full range of ecosystem services provided by AEI practices are recognized and valued by farmers. Therefore, empowering farmers with knowledge on their agro-ecological systems and locally adapting AEI practices is essential for realization of benefits and wider adoption of AEI practices.Keywords: Agro-ecological intensification (AEI), awareness, banana, perceived benefits, smallholder, UgandaAfrican Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 12(29), pp. 4603-461

Farmers' awareness and application of banana Xanthomonas wilt control options: The case of Uganda and Kenya

Banana is a key staple and cash crop in east and central Africa. However, the recent outbreak of Banana Xanthomonas wilt (BXW) has threatened farmers whose livelihoods depend on the crop. Since 2002, stakeholders embarked on campaigns to sensitize farmers on the disease and its management. This study evaluated the effectiveness of these efforts by examining farmers' awareness of the disease, control options and their application in Uganda and Kenya. Data on BXW distribution and incidence, farmers' awareness of symptoms, mechanisms of spread and control options of the disease and banana production were collected through household surveys conducted in 2010. The results indicated that most farmers (> 90%) were aware of the disease and its symptoms and more than 50% were aware of the recommended control measures. Farmers obtained information on the disease from multiple sources but farmer-to-farmer interaction was the main source suggesting the key role rural social networks play in managing the disease. Not all affected farmers were able to apply control measures due to cost of intervention, lack of labour and inputs. The study recommends strengthening of linkages among stakeholders for better coordination of efforts and participatory development and promotion of farmer-oriented interventions that address farmer constraints