Farmers\u27 Attitudes Towards On-Farm Cultivation of Indigenous Fruit Trees in Adwari Sub-County, Lira District, Uganda

This study was conducted in Adwari sub-county, Lira district to (i) determine the conservation status and threats to indigenous fruit trees (IFTs), (ii) assess farmers’ attitudes towards IFT cultivation, (iii) documents local knowledge on propagation and management of IFTs, and (iv) identify opportunities and constraints to promotion of IFTs cultivation. Semi-structured questionnaires were administered to a total of 120 randomly selected respondents. MINITAB statistical package was used to analyze the data. Logistic regression analysis was performed to show the influence of socio-economic characteristics on farmers’ towards their attitudes to plant IFTs. The population of IFTs was found to be generally declining. The major reasons for decline were charcoal burning and firewood collection. Although, majority of farmers had positive attitudes towards cultivation of IFTs, their attitudes were influenced by gender, education level, farm size and occupation status. Lack of clear markets for indigenous fruits, unclear information about their food values, lack of seedlings in local nurseries, and dearth of information propagation techniques were the major hindrance to cultivation of IFTs. There is a need especially by local governments and local councils to formulate clear strategies on conservation of IFTs for example by establishing a community nursery and propagation center for IFTs. There is a need to address the issue of marketing and pricing of indigenous tree fruit products. Lastly, there is a need of further study to analyze the market environment for indigenous tree fruits compared with alternative possibilities such as exotic fruits or agricultural crops

Permeability of the weathered bedrock aquifers in Uganda: evidence from a large pumping test dataset and its implications for rural water supply

Weathered crystalline-rock aquifers underlie around 40% of sub-Saharan Africa providing water supplies for half of its rural population; they are also prevalent across the tropics. The hydrogeology of these aquifers is complex and better understanding of the controls to aquifer transmissivity, alongside accurate borehole siting and appropriate design, is pivotal to the long-term performance and sustainability of water services in many countries. This study examines a substantial new dataset (n = 655) of aquifer transmissivity values across Uganda derived from previously unanalyzed pumping-test data. These data provide important new insights: weathered crystalline-rock aquifers are distinguished by pervasively low transmissivities (median <2 m2/d) in comparison to other areas in the tropics; highest transmissivities are observed in boreholes <50 m deep, implying that drilling deeper boreholes does not typically improve supply success or sustainability in Uganda; and increased groundwater abstraction through the use of higher-yielding pump technologies will prove challenging in most areas of Uganda and limit their use for piped water supplies. This study highlights the scientific value of data held in drillers’ records, which remain unanalyzed in many countries but may provide useful insight and understanding of aquifer characteristics

A large and persistent outbreak of typhoid fever caused by consuming contaminated water and street-vended beverages: Kampala, Uganda, January - June 2015.

BACKGROUND: On 6 February 2015, Kampala city authorities alerted the Ugandan Ministry of Health of a "strange disease" that killed one person and sickened dozens. We conducted an epidemiologic investigation to identify the nature of the disease, mode of transmission, and risk factors to inform timely and effective control measures. METHODS: We defined a suspected case as onset of fever (≥37.5 °C) for more than 3 days with abdominal pain, headache, negative malaria test or failed anti-malaria treatment, and at least 2 of the following: diarrhea, nausea or vomiting, constipation, fatigue. A probable case was defined as a suspected case with a positive TUBEX® TF test. A confirmed case had blood culture yielding Salmonella Typhi. We conducted a case-control study to compare exposures of 33 suspected case-patients and 78 controls, and tested water and juice samples. RESULTS: From 17 February-12 June, we identified 10,230 suspected, 1038 probable, and 51 confirmed cases. Approximately 22.58% (7/31) of case-patients and 2.56% (2/78) of controls drank water sold in small plastic bags (ORM-H = 8.90; 95%CI = 1.60-49.00); 54.54% (18/33) of case-patients and 19.23% (15/78) of controls consumed locally-made drinks (ORM-H = 4.60; 95%CI: 1.90-11.00). All isolates were susceptible to ciprofloxacin and ceftriaxone. Water and juice samples exhibited evidence of fecal contamination. CONCLUSION: Contaminated water and street-vended beverages were likely vehicles of this outbreak. At our recommendation authorities closed unsafe water sources and supplied safe water to affected areas

Environmental tracers to evaluate groundwater residence times and water quality risk in shallow unconfined aquifers in sub Saharan Africa

In sub-Saharan Africa, shallow aquifer systems are relied on as the main safe and secure water resource available to rural communities. Information on the sustainability and vulnerability of groundwater abstraction is becoming increasingly important as groundwater development increases. As part of the UpGro Consortium Project- Hidden Crisis, 150 hand pumped boreholes (HPBs), ranging between 15 and 101 m depth were investigated to examine the resilience of aquifer systems in the Ethiopian Highlands, and the crystalline basement rocks of Uganda and Malawi. Environmental tracers (chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), SF6, chloride and the stable isotopes of water), water quality indicators (nitrate and E. coli), and groundwater-level time series data were used to estimate groundwater residence time and recharge at a regional scale (100–10,000 km2) and investigate the risks to water quality and water supply over different timeframes, and geological and climatic environments. Average estimated recharge rates using three different techniques (CFCs, chloride mass balance, water table fluctuation method) were between 30 and 330, 27–110 and 30–170 mm y−1, for sites in Ethiopia, Uganda and Malawi, respectively. These estimates of recharge suggests abstraction from dispersed low-yielding HPBs is sustainable. Comparison of stable isotopes in rainfall and groundwater indicates that there is little evaporation prior to recharge, and recharge events are biased to months with greater rainfall and more intense rainfall events There was a weak correlation between nitrate and CFCs within all three countries, and no correlation between E. coli and CFCs within Ethiopia or Malawi. The presence of E. coli at a large proportion of the sites (Ethiopia = 38%, Uganda = 65% and Malawi = 47%) suggests rapid transit of contaminated surface water into the borehole and its presence in groundwater that has CFC-12 concentrations less than 75 pg kg−1 indicates mixing of very young water with water >40 years old. The rapid transit pathways are most likely associated with damaged HPB headworks and poor construction. In several monitored HPBs, daily drawdown due to pumping, drew the groundwater levels close to the base of the HPB, indicating that these HPBs were located in parts of the aquifer with low permeability, or were poorly designed, offering limited capacity for increased demand. Improved HPB siting and construction, coupled with groundwater level monitoring are required to capitalise on the more resilient groundwater within the shallow aquifers and safeguard adequate and good quality water supply for rural communities

Traditional agroforestry systems, tree uses and management in northern Uganda

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Physicochemical composition of Tamarindus indica L. (Tamarind) in the agro‐ecological zones of Uganda

The relationships between the physicochemical composition of Tamarindus indica pulp and seeds, and agro‐ecological zones and land use types were assessed in Uganda. The objective was to determine the relationship between the physicochemical composition, agro‐ecological zones, and land use types. The samples were processed by manually depulping the T. indica pods, sun‐drying the pulp and seeds, and grinding into powder. The powdered samples were analyzed for β‐carotenoids, vitamin C (ascorbic acid), calorific value, crude oil, acid, and peroxide values. Data were analyzed using ANOVA in the general linear model (GLM). Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to relate the physicochemical properties to the agro‐ecological zones and land use types. There were significant differences (p ≤ .05) in the physicochemical composition variables between agro‐ecological zones and land use types. Land use types showed strong correlations with physicochemical properties while agro‐ecological zones did not show correlations. The results show that in terms of general properties, T. indica pods provide a valuable, rich, and exceptional source of vitamin C, compared to many widely consumed indigenous and conventional fruits and vegetables. The pods from land use types characterized by natural habitats had relatively more nutrient levels than the land use types influenced by anthropogenic activities

Mineral composition of Tamarindus indica LINN (tamarind) pulp and seeds from different agro‐ecological zones of Uganda

Mineral composition of dry Tamarindus indica LINN pulp and seeds was evaluated on samples collected from three different agro‐ecological zones of Uganda (Lake Victoria Crescent, and Eastern and West Nile). The objective of the study was to evaluate the mineral composition of T. indica pulp and seed samples from across Uganda's different agro‐ecological zones and land use types. Separately grounded samples of T. indica pulp and seeds were analyzed for Zn, Fe, Mg, P, Na, K, and Ca. The univariate analysis of variance in the General Linear Model was used to compare differences in mineral composition. Treatment means were separated using Least Significant Difference (LSD) in Post Hoc Tests. The results showed that there were significant differences (p ≤ 0.005) in mineral composition levels of T. indica pulp and seed samples between the different agro‐ecological zones with the exception of P and Na (for pulp). The T. indica pulp and seeds samples from the Lake Victoria Crescent zone and wild land use type had generally higher mineral levels than T. indica samples from other agro‐ecological zones and different land use types. As mineral composition levels were generally higher in the seed than the pulp samples, consumption of T. indica seeds should be promoted. There is also need to conserve individual species both on‐farm and in the wild population, but T. indica mineral concentrations (both pulp and seeds) were higher in the samples from the wild population, making them good for human and animal diets