Browsing by Author "Freyer, Bernhard"

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Factors influencing adoption of organic matter management on smallholder farms in the Rwenzori region of Uganda
(Springer Nature Link, 2024-04-26) Ekyaligonza, Deous Mary; Tibasiima, Thaddeo Kahigwa; Bwambale, Bosco; Kagorora, Kanahe, John Patrick; Freyer, Bernhard
Context specific studies on the factors influencing the adoption of organic matter management (OMM) practices on smallholder farms could be crucial for soil fertility improvement. This study aimed to understand the factors influencing the adoption of OMM practices by smallholder farmers. A hybridized theoretical framework was used to map the farmers’ adoption process. This framework states: the adoption process of OMM practices can be facilitated if an individual’s characteristics and the institutional-related factors can support it; information about the OMM practices and the required inputs are available, and he/she can apply the required technology with ease. Data collection involved observations on 100 smallholder farms, interviews with 10 smallholder farmers and 18 experts, as well as two focus group discussions with 10 farmers each. The results indicated that a composite of technical, social, cultural, and economic-driven factors influence farmer adoption of OMM strategies. These factors included the farmer characteristics of age, education status, gender, culture, and knowledge about the use and application of an OMM practice; availability of labor and inputs; availability of appropriate equipment; the existence of supportive policy framework and social support. The factors cut across the adoption components of the hybridized theoretical framework: nature of technology, farmer characteristics, and input-related, information transfer-related and institutional-related adoption factors. The study findings can inform decision-makers to make investment decisions. Future studies should assess the feasibility of the hybridized theoretical framework before experts can apply it in devising strategies for the adoption of OMM practices on smallholder farms.
Impact of integrating annual and perennial legumes under Coffea arabica on sloping land
(MDPI Company, 2023-01-30) Kahigwa Tibasiima, Thaddeo; Ekyaligonza, Deous Mary; Kanahe Kagorora, John Patrick; Friedel, Jürgen Kurt; Melcher, Andreas; Bwambale, Bosco; Akugizibwe, Edwin; Freyer, Bernhard
Above-ground biomass cover under Coffea arabica on sloping land is beneficial but difficult to sustain. Interplanting annual and perennial legumes can sustain the above-ground biomass cover, and improve soil fertility, yield, and profitability. This was tested on 26 sloping farms in a four-growing season experiment on undersowing C. arabica with new crop combinations: Mucuna pruriens var. utilis (T1); Millettia dura Dunn (T2); a combination of M. pruriens and M. dura (T3); and the control with a no-cover legume (T4). On each farm, all treatments followed a randomized single-block design. T3 produced 8.7 mt/ha/yr above-ground biomass that was significantly (p < 0.01) higher than other treatments and was increasing with the seasons. Under T3, plant-available nitrogen (N) and potassium (K) increased more than in other treatments. During the fourth season, coffee yield in T3 was 54%, 22%, and 11% higher than in T4, T2, and T1, respectively. The gross profit under T3 was 86% higher than in T4 in the fourth season. This indicates that interplanting a combination of M. pruriens and M. dura under C. arabica on sloping land can sustainably increase above-ground biomass cover, soil’s plant-available N and K, coffee yield, and profitability. Based on the results, the combination of M. pruriens and M. dura is recommended to optimize coffee production under the described conditions.
Understanding Organic Food Qualities in the Global South: An East African Perspective
(Canadian Center of Science and Education, 2012) Jumba, Francis Richard; Freyer, Bernhard; Mwine, Julius; Dietrich, Phillip; Dietrich, Phillip
Quality is a major component of the process of food production, delivery and consumption because it plays an influential role in consumer acceptability of the food. It has been widely suggested that food quality consists of both tangible and intangible (e.g., aesthetic) components although much of the debate has been based in the global north with little focus on southern countries. This paper therefore aims at exploring the concept of quality and more specifically organic food quality in East Africa (Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania). We carry out an extensive review of the relevant literature on food quality from a variety of electronic databases while exploring the cross cutting issues that are intrinsically connected to it in a bid to better understand both its explicit and implicit components. The findings suggest that in addition to the product and process qualities prominent in the global north, organic food in East Africa possesses context specific qualities which appear to play a greater role in the understanding of food quality within rural farming households because they satisfy some of their most pressing needs. This implies that how quality is interpreted will always depend on the situation or circumstances under which the user is operating in whether at the microcosmic (individual) or macrocosmic (regional) level.