Browsing by Author "Ronald Kawooya"

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Analysis of Tea Agroforestry System: The Case of Kyenjojo District in Uganda
(European Journal of Agriculture and Food Sciences, 2023-10-17) Ronald Kawooya; Charles Mugisa; Vivian Namutebi; Douglas Jjemba Mutebi; Veleriano Turyahebwa; Lawrence Mugenyi; Kenneth Atugonza; Julius Ssemyalo
Uganda is one of the countries in east Africa where agroforestry farming system has spread in twelve agro-ecological zones. Agroforestry practices are critical in all agro-based sectors like tea industry because of benefits like provision of fuel wood for curing tea. The purpose of this study was to understand the current agroforestry practices adopted by smallholder tea estate farmers and investigate options for scaling up the technology to alleviate the fuelwood scarcity faced by tea industries. The study involved a survey that was conducted in Kyenjojo district located in Western Uganda in June 2020. A total of 65 small holder tea farmers (respondents) were interviewed during the study. A purposive sampling method was used and data analyzed with SPSS to generate descriptive statistics that included frequencies, percentages, tables, graphs and charts. Results showed that shade was the most benefit of agroforestry trees by a proportion of 33% towards tea growing and followed by climate modification at 24%. Protection of the environment was also revealed as one of the leading benefits of tea agroforestry with a proportion of 34%, as well as trees acting as a source of poles at 23%. Eucalyptus at 34% was the most dominant agroforestry tree used at tea farm level as a woodlot, followed by Grevillea robusta at 28%. The most dominant adoption method of tea agroforestry practices at tea farm level was through farmers learning from fellow farmers at 34%, followed by adoption by trainings at 23%. Planting of agroforestry trees was the only remedy stated by farmers as an effort done to retain trees on farm. As a recommendation towards increased uptake of agroforestry at farm level, farmers identified certification and other factory-based incentives such as Rain Forest Alliance being the most important. Based on the identified benefits of tea-agroforestry systems, efforts should be made by Public, Private and Development partners to make all tea farmers aware of the existing and appropriate agroforestry practices while developing appropriate incentive models for increased adoption of tea agroforestry system in Uganda.
Characterisation and Mapping of Soils in Major Coffee Growing Regions of Uganda
(Journal of Agricultural Science, 2023-12-15) Gerald Kyalo; Peter Charles Apunyo; Majaliwa Mwanjalolo; Charles Kizza Luswata; Ronald Kawooya; Emmanuel Iyamulemye Niyibigira
There is limited information on the soil nutrient status, site specific fertilizer and agronomic recommendations for coffee in Uganda hence limiting its production and productivity. Therefore, this study was undertaken to characterize the soils under coffee farms and provide fertilizer and land management recommendations for coffee farming in selected districts in Uganda. 717 soil samples were collected from 45 coffee growing districts that were purposively selected to represent the major coffee growing regions of Eastern, Northern, Western, Mid-west and West Nile. 35 districts were sampled from Robusta coffee growing areas and 10 districts from Arabica coffee growing areas. Parameters considered in the laboratory analysis included; pH, total organic carbon, total nitrogen, available P, exchangeable Calcium (Ca), Sodium (Na), Magnesium (Mg), and Potassium (K) and micro elements: Iron (Fe), Zinc (Zn), Copper (Cu), Manganese (Mn) and Boron, soil texture, bulk density and hydraulic conductivity. Soil nutrient levels distribution maps for Robusta and Arabica coffee growing regions were generated in ArcGIS for the entire country. The soil chemical and physical properties were subjected to analysis of variance using Genstat 14th edition. The soil mapping results showed that, the overall average soil macro-nutrients concentrations were significantly different across regions (p < 0.05) with Eastern having the highest levels of macro elements (CEC of 19.28 meq/100 g, Base Saturation (BS) of 43.40%, pH of 5.78, N of 0.20%, K of 1.64 meq/100 g, P of 107.68 mg/kg and OM of 3.31%) followed by Western region. No significant difference (p > 0.05) was recorded for the micronutrients across the different regions, except Zn (p < 0.05). This study showed that Phosphorus and Potassium were generally moderate to high levels in most of the regions sampled while Nitrogen and organic matter were moderate to low. Results from this study provide a general picture of the nutrient status across all coffee growing regions in Uganda and highlight the required modifications for increased production and productivity.