A new pathway for livelihood improvement and adaptation to climate change: growing vegetables in Hoima, Uganda. Final technical report.

The crowdsourcing vegetable pilot project was implemented in Hoima, Uganda, from March 2019 to the beginning of 2021, by East-West Seed Knowledge Transfer and the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, in collaboration with the World Vegetable Centre and the National Agricultural Research Organisation of Uganda and notably the Bulindi Zonal Agricultural Research and Development Institute in Hoima. The main objective of this novel collaborative initiative was to support resource-poor farmers to cope better with climate change through increased availability and diversity of climate-smart vegetable varieties. In addition, the pilot project aimed at strengthening farmers’ capacity to make better use of vegetable crop diversity for multiple livelihood purposes, including nutrition and income generation. This report 1) highlights the extent to which the project’s objectives were achieved; 2) assesses, to the extent possible (given the outbreak of Covid-19, which seriously hindered field operations during much of 2020) the project’s positive and negative impacts; 3) assesses to what extent the objectives of the project are consistent with beneficiaries’ requirements and the country’s priorities; and, 4) examines if the project’s benefits will continue after the pilot has ended

Vegetables open new avenues for farmers’ livelihood improvement: promising results from Hoima, Uganda

This second progress report, covering the period from October 2019 to March 2020, presents the first results of a one-year pilot project to introduce vegetable growing activities in Hoima, Uganda, as a means to strengthen farmers’ adaptive capacity to deal with climate change, diversify income sources and improve household nutrition. Pilot farmers in Hoima district, Kyabigambire sub-county, trained by a team from East West Seed-Knowledge Transfer Uganda, the Alliance of Bioversity international and CIAT and the National Agricultural Research Organisation (NARO) of Uganda, evaluated the performance of various varieties of five vegetable species, identified the strengths and weaknesses of the experimental process and made recommendations for further research

What growing vegetables can do: experiences from Hoima, Uganda

This brief presents the main results and lessons learned from a pilot project to grow vegetables, diversify farming and improve livelihoods in the Hoima area of Uganda, coordinated by East West Seed Knowledge Transfer (EWS-KT), Bulindi Zonal Agricultural Research and Development Institute (BUZARDI) of the National Agricultural Research Organisation (NARO) of Uganda, the World Vegetable Centre, and the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT. Pilot farmers acquired new crop knowledge and management skills and successfully tested ten varieties of five vegetable species. They shared experiences and insights with more than a thousand fellow farmers from the district. Four vegetable production groups were formed that will continue and expand vegetable production

One year prevalence of psychotic disorders among first treatment contact patients at the National Psychiatric Referral and Teaching Hospital in Uganda.

IntroductionHospital based studies for psychotic disorders are scarce in low and middle income countries. This may impact on development of intervention programs.ObjectiveWe aimed to determine the burden of psychotic disorders among first treatment contact patients at the national psychiatric referral hospital in Uganda.MethodsA retrospective patient chart-file review was carried out in March 2019 for all patients presenting to the hospital for the first time in the previous year. Patients were categorised into those with and without psychotic disorders. We collected sociodemographic data on age, gender, occupation, level of education, ethnicity, religion and home district. We determined the one year prevalence of psychotic disorders among first treatment contact patients. Using logistic regression models, we also determined the association between psychotic disorders and various exposure variables among first treatment contact patients.ResultsIn 2018, 63% (95% CI: 60.2-65.1) of all first time contact patients had a psychosis related diagnosis. Among the patients with psychotic disorders, the median age was 29 years (IQR 24-36). Most of the patients were male (62.8%) and unemployed (63.1%). After adjusting for patients' residence, psychotic disorders were found to be more prevalent among the female gender [OR 1.58 (CI1.46-1.72)] and those of Pentecostal faith [OR 1.25 (CI 1.10-1.42)].ConclusionAmong first treatment contact patients in Uganda, there is a large burden of psychotic disorders. The burden was more prevalent among females as well as people of Pentecostal faith who seemed to use their church for faith-based healing. Incidence studies are warranted to determine if this phenomenon is replicated at illness onset