Strategic nutrient management of field pea in southwestern Uganda

The highlands of southwestern Uganda account for the bulk of field pea (Pisum sativum L.) produced and consumed in the country. The crop fetches a stable price, which is as high as that of beef, but it has remained outside the mainstream of the research process. Low soil fertility, unfortunately, is poised to eliminate the crop. Nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium have variously been reported as deficient on the bench terraces where crop production is primarily done. Strategic nutrient management requires that the most limiting nutrient is known in order to provide a foundation for designing effective and sustainable soil fertility management interventions. A study was conducted on upper and lower parts of the bench terraces on the highlands in south-western Uganda to identify the most required macronutrient( s) in field pea production. Treatments included: 0 and 25 kg N ha-1, 0 and 60 kg P ha-1, and 0 and 60 kg K ha-1, all applied factorially in a randomized complete block design. Parameters assessed included nodulation, nodule effectiveness for BNF and dry weight, shoot dry weight, and grain yield. Nutrient applications that resulted in the highest crop responses were considered as most required, and hence, most limiting to plant growth and yield. Phosphorus based nutrient combinations gave the highest increments in total and effective nodule numbers, as well as dry weight, irrespective of terrace position. On the other hand, N based combinations led to the highest shoot dry matter at flowering (39 % higher over the control). The superiority of N was carried over up to final harvesting, with stover and grain yields edging out the other treatment regimes on either terrace positions. Phosphorus was most limiting nutrient, though the effect manifested in terms of the intensity of BNF indicators, followed by nitrogen, that manifested at later stages of crop growth influencing stover and grain yield.Key words: Nutrients, nodulation, biomass, grain yiel

A hidden crisis: strengthening the evidence base on the current failure of rural groundwater supplies

New ambitious international goals for universal access to safe drinking water depend critically on the ability of development partners to accelerate and sustain access to groundwater. However, available evidence (albeit fragmented and methodologically unclear) indicates >30% of new groundwater-based supplies are non-functional within a few years of construction. Critically, in the absence of a significant systematic evidence base or analysis on supply failures, there is little opportunity to learn from past mistakes, to ensure more sustainable services can be developed in the future. This work presents a new and robust methodology for investigating the causes of non-functionality, developed by an interdisciplinary team as part of a UK-funded development research project. The approach was successfully piloted within a test study in NE Uganda, and forms a basis for future research to develop a statistically significant systematic evidence base to unravel the underlying causes of failur

A protocol paper: community engagement interventions for cardiovascular disease prevention in socially disadvantaged populations in the UK: an implementation research study

Background: Cardiovascular disorders (CVD) are the single greatest cause of mortality worldwide. In the UK, the National Health Service (NHS) has launched an initiative of health checks over and above current care to tackle CVD. However, the uptake of Health Checks is poor in disadvantaged communities. This protocol paper sets out a UK-based study (Sussex and Nottingham) aiming to co-produce a community delivered CVD risk assessment and coaching intervention to support community members to reduce their risk of CVD. The overall aim of the project is to implement a tailored-to-context community engagement (CE) intervention on awareness of CVD risks in vulnerable populations in high, middle and low-income countries. The specific objectives of the study are to enhance stakeholder' engagement; to implement lifestyle interventions for cardiovascular primary prevention, in disadvantaged populations and motivate uptake of NHS health checks. Methods: This study uses both qualitative and quantitative methods in three phases of evaluation, including pre-, per-and post-implementation. To ensure contextual appropriateness the 'Scaling-up Packages of Interventions for Cardiovascular disease prevention in selected sites in Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa: An implementation research' (SPICES) project will organize a multi-component community-engagement intervention. For the qualitative component, the pre-implementation phase will involve a contextual assessment and stakeholder mapping, exploring potentials for CVD risk profiling strategies and led by trained Community Health Volunteers (CHV) to identify accessibility and acceptability. The per-implementation phase will involve healthy lifestyle counselling provided by CHVs and evaluation of the outcome to identify fidelity and scalability. The post-implementation phase will involve developing sustainable community-based strategies for CVD risk reduction. All three components will include a process evaluation. A stepped wedge cluster randomised trial of the roll out will focus on implementation outcomes including uptake and engagement and changes in risk profiles. The quantitative component includes pre and post-intervention surveys. The theory of the socio-ecological framework will be applied to analyse the community engagement approach. Discussion: Based on the results ultimately a sustainable community engagement-based strategy for the primary prevention of CVD risk will be developed to enhance the performance of NHS health care in the UK. The Trial Registration number is ISRCTN68334579

Improving nutrition with agricultural biodiversity

This guide describes the process and procedures for collecting important information required to assess local farming systems and agrobiodiversity, household food consumption norms and the nutritional status of vulnerable groups within a given population using specific indicators. Additionally, this guide provides a framework for practical implementation of a holistic program that focuses on creating a customized intervention based on community-specific data. The manual strives to combine perspectives from the following models and approaches: 1. Farming Systems Model (FAO/WB) 2. Agroecological Model (NAFRI, FAO) 3. Indigenous Food Culture Documentation (CINE/IDRC/FAO) 4. Measuring Nutritional Functional Diversity (Columbia EI) 5. Positive Deviance Model (The Positive Deviance Initiative) 6. FANTA Nutritional Assessment Guides (USAID) 7. Food Security and Livelihoods Model (ACF International) 8. Ethnobotanical Documentation: A User’s Model (ICH/UNESCO) The development of this manual also could not have been possible without the guidance of previously published manuals by the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Food Programme (WFP) and the Centre for Indigenous Peoples’ Nutrition and Environment CINE. This manual recommends a 7 phase process to approach communities of focus holistically and with a trajectory of long-term improvement

Improving nutrition with agricultural biodiversity

This guide describes the process and procedures for collecting important information required to assess local farming systems and agrobiodiversity, household food consumption norms and the nutritional status of vulnerable groups within a given population using specific indicators. Additionally, this guide provides a framework for practical implementation of a holistic program that focuses on creating a customized intervention based on community-specific data. The manual strives to combine perspectives from the following models and approaches: 1. Farming Systems Model (FAO/WB) 2. Agroecological Model (NAFRI, FAO) 3. Indigenous Food Culture Documentation (CINE/IDRC/FAO) 4. Measuring Nutritional Functional Diversity (Columbia EI) 5. Positive Deviance Model (The Positive Deviance Initiative) 6. FANTA Nutritional Assessment Guides (USAID) 7. Food Security and Livelihoods Model (ACF International) 8. Ethnobotanical Documentation: A User’s Model (ICH/UNESCO) The development of this manual also could not have been possible without the guidance of previously published manuals by the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Food Programme (WFP) and the Centre for Indigenous Peoples’ Nutrition and Environment CINE. This manual recommends a 7 phase process to approach communities of focus holistically and with a trajectory of long-term improvement

A hidden crisis: strengthening the evidence base on the current failures of rural groundwater supplies

New ambitious international goals for universal access to safe drinking water depend critically on the ability of development partners to accelerate and sustain access to groundwater. However, available evidence (albeit fragmented and methodologically unclear) indicates >30% of new groundwater-based supplies are non-functional within a few years of construction. Critically, in the absence of a significant systematic evidence base or analysis on supply failures, there is little opportunity to learn from past mistakes, to ensure more sustainable services can be developed in the future. This work presents a new and robust methodology for investigating the causes of non-functionality, developed by an interdisciplinary team as part of an UPGro catalyst grant. The approach was successfully piloted within a test study in NE Uganda, and forms a basis for future research to develop a statistically significant systematic evidence base to unravel the underlying causes of failure

Nitrogen-neutrality: a step towards sustainability

We propose a novel indicator measuring one dimension of the sustainability of an entity in modern societies: Nitrogen-neutrality. N-neutrality strives to offset Nr releases an entity exerts on the environment from the release of reactive nitrogen (Nr) to the environment by reducing it and by offsetting the Nr releases elsewhere. N-neutrality also aims to increase awareness about the consequences of unintentional releases of nitrogen to the environment. N-neutrality is composed of two quantified elements: Nr released by an entity (e.g. on the basis of the N footprint) and Nr reduction from management and offset projects (N offset). It includes management strategies to reduce nitrogen losses before they occur (e.g., through energy conservation). Each of those elements faces specific challenges with regard to data availability and conceptual development. Impacts of Nr releases to the environment are manifold, and the impact profile of one unit of Nr release depends strongly on the compound released and the local susceptibility to Nr. As such, Nneutrality is more difficult to conceptualize and calculate than C-neutrality. We developed a workable conceptual framework for N-neutrality which was adapted for the 6th International Nitrogen Conference (N2013, Kampala, November 2013). Total N footprint of the surveyed meals at N2013 was 66 kg N. A total of US$ 3050 was collected from the participants and used to offset the conference’s N footprint by supporting the UN Millennium Village cluster Ruhiira in South- Western Uganda. The concept needs further development in particular to better incorporate the spatio-temporal variability of impacts and to standardize the methods to quantify the required N offset to neutralize the Nr releases impact. Criteria for compensation projects need to be sharply defined to allow the development of a market for N offset certificates Online supplementary data available from stacks.iop.org/ERL/9/115001/mmediainfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio