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Contribution of Banana Production on Household Income Generation Among Smallholder Farmers in Kitagata Town Council, Sheema District.

(SciencePG, 2024-07-15) Abel Mugume; Rebecca Kalibwani; Gershom Nuwemuhwezi

The study was about contribution of banana production on house hold income generation among Smallholder farmers in Kitagata town council, Sheema District. The specific objectives included to; examine the socio-economic characteristics of smallholder banana farmers, establish innovative strategies to improve banana production and income among smallholder banana farmers and identify the factors affecting banana production and income among smallholder banana farmers. The study adopted a cross-sectional survey that applied both quantitative and qualitative approaches for data collection. Data was captured from a sample of 302 respondents using both questionnaire and interviews. Data was analyzed using SPSS software version 22.0 to generate both descriptive and inferential statistics. The study concluded that there were socio-economic characteristics of farmers which also affected banana production. Such characteristics included; age, marital status, level of education land size and gender. The study also concluded that there were innovative strategies to improve banana production and income among smallholder banana farmers in Kitagata town council, Sheema district. These included; Integrated Pest Management, use of hybrid varieties, Irrigation, mulching, climate-Smart Agriculture through use of drought resistant varieties, agro-forestry, use of fertilizer application and organic manure to replenish soil fertility. The study finally concluded that there were factors affecting banana production and income among smallholder banana farmers. Such as; access to extension and advisory services which had a significant effect on production and smallholder farmer’s income at (p=.004), access to financial services was a strong predictor of production improvement and farmer’s income at (p=.002), a positive and a significant relationship were observed between availability of quality farm inputs and banana production (at p=.023), The study further discovered that ready market was a strong predictor of production and small holder farmer’s income at (p=.003) and Lastly, a positive and a significant relationship were observed between banana varieties grown and banana production as well as income at (p=.005). The study recommends that the government, NGOs, Ministry of Agriculture, Animal, Industry and Fisheries in collaboration be established with the aim of implementing innovative agricultural strategies geared towards banana productivity increments, there is also a need for the government to provide enough facilities to extension agents that will help them facilitate enhanced training to farmers and inform them of new techniques in farming, there is a need for the government to provide some production inputs at subsidized cost.

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Patriarchal Shadows : Gendered Power Relations, Food Production, and Livelihood Struggles among Female-Headed Households in Mbarara District, Southwestern Uganda

(Journal of African Interdisciplinary Studies (JAIS), 2026-06) Charles Godfrey Mukundane; Medard Twinamatsiko; Clementia Neema Murembe; Sedrack Atuhaire

The purpose of this study was to investigate gender dynamics and how their implications on food production, livelihood issues in female headed households in Mbarara District, Uganda. The contention f the study is that female-headed households in sub-Saharan Africa are frequently portrayed as uniformly disadvantaged, yet the specific mechanisms through which gendered power relations shape food production and broader livelihoods remain insufficiently explored from an intersectional, multi-voice qualitative perspective. Drawing on in-depth interviews with ten key informants (KIs), twelve female household heads (FHHs), and five focus group discussions (FGDs) comprising 40 participants in total, this study employs reflexive thematic analysis informed by Connell's Power Relations Theory and Scoones’ Sustainable Livelihood Approach (SLA) to examine how patriarchal norms, resource control, and decision-making dynamics affect agricultural and socioeconomic outcomes among female-headed households in Mbarara District, rural Southwestern Uganda. Findings reveal a “production-control paradox”: women perform the majority of agricultural labour but have limited authority over land, crop choices, and harvest proceeds due to the persistent influence of male kin and extended family structures. This disjuncture perpetuates food insecurity, dietary monotony, economic precariousness, and psychosocial stress. A novel contribution of this study is the foregrounding of women's own voices alongside institutional perspectives, which reveals significant divergences between policy narratives and lived experience. The study demonstrates that food production mediates the relationship between gendered power relations and livelihoods, and that equitable intra-household collaboration, even within patriarchal settings, can substantially mitigate vulnerability. The article argues for gender transformative interventions that go beyond resource access to address the deeply embedded cultural and institutional barriers constraining women's agency in agrarian systems.

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Contribution of Banana Production on Household Income Generation Among Smallholder Farmers in Kitagata Town Council, Sheema District

(science PG, 2024) Abel Mugume; Rebecca Kalibwani,; Gershom Nuwemuhwezi

The study was about contribution of banana production on house hold income generation among Smallholder farmers in Kitagata town council, Sheema District. The specific objectives included to; examine the socio-economic characteristics of smallholder banana farmers, establish innovative strategies to improve banana production and income among smallholder banana farmers and identify the factors affecting banana production and income among smallholder banana farmers. The study adopted a cross-sectional survey that applied both quantitative and qualitative approaches for data collection. Data was captured from a sample of 302 respondents using both questionnaire and interviews. Data was analyzed using SPSS software version 22.0 to generate both descriptive and inferential statistics. The study concluded that there were socio-economic characteristics of farmers which also affected banana production. Such characteristics included; age, marital status, level of education land size and gender. The study also concluded that there were innovative strategies to improve banana production and income among smallholder banana farmers in Kitagata town council, Sheema district. These included; Integrated Pest Management, use of hybrid varieties, Irrigation, mulching, climate-Smart Agriculture through use of drought resistant varieties, agro-forestry, use of fertilizer application and organic manure to replenish soil fertility. The study finally concluded that there were factors affecting banana production and income among smallholder banana farmers. Such as; access to extension and advisory services which had a significant effect on production and smallholder farmer’s income at (p=.004), access to financial services was a strong predictor of production improvement and farmer’s income at (p=.002), a positive and a significant relationship were observed between availability of quality farm inputs and banana production (at p=.023), The study further discovered that ready market was a strong predictor of production and small holder farmer’s income at (p=.003) and Lastly, a positive and a significant relationship were observed between banana varieties grown and banana production as well as income at (p=.005). The study recommends that the government, NGOs, Ministry of Agriculture, Animal, Industry and Fisheries in collaboration be established with the aim of implementing innovative agricultural strategies geared towards banana productivity increments, there is also a need for the government to provide enough facilities to extension agents that will help them facilitate enhanced training to farmers and inform them of new techniques in farming, there is a need for the government to provide some production inputs at subsidized cost.

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Lived Experiences, Social Support Systems, and Coping Mechanisms Among Parenting Adolescents With Depression in Southwestern Uganda: A Qualitative Phenomenological Study

(Cureus part of Springer, 2026-07-16) Scovia Atwiine; Viola N. Nyakato; Daniel Atwine; Elizabeth Kemigisha

Background: Parenting during adolescence is associated with significant emotional, social, and economic challenges that increase vulnerability to depression and psychological distress. In sub-Saharan Africa, adolescent parents frequently experience stigma, school dropout, poverty, weak social support systems, and limited access to adolescent-friendly mental health services. However, limited qualitative evidence exists regarding the lived experiences of adolescent mothers and fathers with depression in Uganda. This study explored the lived experiences, social support systems, and coping mechanisms of parenting adolescents with depression in southwestern Uganda. Methods: A qualitative phenomenological study was conducted between March 2025 and January 2026 in selected health facilities and neighboring communities in Mbarara District, southwestern Uganda. Purposive sampling was used to recruit adolescent mothers and fathers aged 10-19 years with depressive symptoms, as well as key informants, including caregivers, community leaders, Village Health Team (VHT) members, and health workers. Data were collected through in-depth interviews and key informant interviews using semistructured interview guides. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, translated into English, and thematically analyzed using both deductive and inductive coding approaches supported by NVivo version 12.2 (QSR International Pty Ltd., Melbourne, VIC, Australia). Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Theory guided the interpretation of the findings. Results: A total of 33 participants were interviewed, including 12 (36.3%) adolescent mothers, six (18.2%) adolescent fathers, and 15 (45.5%) key informants. Three major thematic domains emerged: lived experiences, social support systems, and coping mechanisms. Parenting adolescents described significant emotional and psychological distress characterized by persistent worry, hopelessness, social isolation, and severe emotional pain. Depression was strongly linked to poverty, school dropout, unemployment, partner abandonment, stigma, and family rejection. Social support was obtained primarily from parents, grandparents, partners, health workers, and community leaders, although these support systems were inconsistent and often limited. Adolescents primarily relied on informal coping mechanisms, including prayer, peer support, casual labor, resilience, and acceptance of parenthood. Conclusion: Depression among parenting adolescents in southwestern Uganda is shaped by complex interactions among emotional distress, socioeconomic hardship, stigma, and limited psychosocial support systems. Strengthening adolescent-friendly mental health services, family support systems, community sensitization, educational reintegration, and economic empowerment programs may improve the psychosocial well-being of parenting adolescents

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Relationship between land use, seasonality, hydrological conditions, and the adsorption of sulfamethoxazole, ciprofloxacin, and 17β-estradiol onto polyethylene terephthalate microplastics in a small urban river system, Eastern Cape, South Africa

(IWA Publishing, 2026) Edgar Tumwesigye; Chika Felicitas Nnadozie; Frank C. Akamagwuna; Xavier Siwe Noundou; George William Nyakairu; Oghenekaro Nelson Odume

Microplastics (MPs) are increasingly identified as contaminant vectors in aquatic systems. However, the role of land use, seasonality, and hydrological conditions in contaminant- microplastic (MP) interactions remains underexplored. This study investigated the adsorption of sulfamethoxazole (SMX), ciprofloxacin (CIP), and 17β-estradiol (E2) onto polyethylene terephthalate (PET) MPs in the Bloukrans River, South Africa, across four land use sites (municipal, wastewater, agriculture, and control) during summer and autumn. PET MPs were deployed in situ, retrieved, and analysed for adsorbed contaminants using LC-MS/MS. Sulfamethoxazole adsorption differed significantly by site (F(3,16) = 4.161, p = 0.0234) and season F(1,16) = 7.202, p = 0.016), with adsorption highest at wastewater and agriculture impacted sites, and autumn concentrations exceeding summer by 176.5 ng L−1 . CIP adsorption varied significantly only by site (p = 0.0231) but not between seasons. E2 adsorption was non-significant (p > 0.05) for both sites and seasons. The hydrological analysis indicated that river width significantly influenced CIP, while SMX and E2 showed no hydrological dependence. By addressing the paucity of in situ evidence in small urban rivers of Africa, this study demonstrates that land use, seasonality, and hydrological conditions play an important role in influencing the adsorption of the selected compounds by PET MPs.

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