Agrarian Communities Research Articles

Characterization and classification of rice-growing soils on Imo clay shale residua in Eastern Nigeria and current suitability for rice production: I. Omasi-Agu and Omor agrarian communities

The soils on Imo clay shale residua at Omasi-Agu and Omor areas in Anambra State, Nigeria were sampled in order to characterize classify and evaluate their current suitability for rice production following standard scientific procedures. The soils generally belong to loamy textural classes or finer, especially in the subsoil layers. The morphological and physical properties of soils showed that the soils were poorly drained favouring high water retentivity due to low hydraulic conductivity and slow permeability. All these soil conditions support good rice performance. Though the soils at Omasi-Agu contained high levels of exchangeable bases, exchangeable acidity was equally high leading to low base saturation of < 35% but at Omor the base saturation was > 35%. Thus, the soils were, respectively, classified as Typic Kandiaquults (Soil Taxonomy) correlated with Gleyic Cambisols of the World Reference Base for Soil Resources (WRBSR) and Typic Kandiaqualfs (Soil Taxonomy) correlated with Gleyic Cambisols (WRBSR). Even though the soils of Omor appeared to be generally more fertile than Omasi-Agu soils, both have similar constraints to rice production, that is, insufficiency of nutrients (f) and possibility of erosion by flooding (e) in limited areas (< 25%). Therefore, the current suitability of the soils for rice production is suitability class 2 with fertility constraints (S2fe). For sustainable rice production, supplementary addition of nutrients especially P2O5 from triple superphosphate and some minor levelling and bunding are required to control erosion due to flooding in the limited areas.

Rural AI: Serverless-Powered Federated Learning for Remote Applications

With increasing connectivity to support digital services in urban areas, there is a realization that demand for offering similar capability in rural communities is still limited. To unlock the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) within rural economies, we propose rural AI—the mobilization of serverless computing to enable AI in austere environments. Inspired by problems observed in New Zealand, we analyze major challenges in agrarian communities and define their requirements. We demonstrate a proof-of-concept rural AI system for cross-field pasture weed detection that illustrates the capabilities serverless computing offers to traditional federated learning.

Who Goes Where and How?

Nigerien migrants flow into Nigeria everyday for several reasons with the hope of a better life. The ease of access into the porous Nigerian border allows the migrants free flow into the country. This research aims at investigating the purposes and patterns of migration in some parts of northern Nigeria with migrants from southern Niger Republic. Data on the migrants’ demographies and migratory histories was collected through in-depth interviews, the Open Data Kit (ODK), Focus Group Discussions and field observations while the analysis was by the use of the Microsoft Excel. Findings indicate southward movement of the people for bida; and ci rani especially during dry seasons. Other forms of migration include environmentally induced, health and educational. Migrants from remote parts of Niger come into Nigeria due to availability of jobs at the destination, good road networking and most importantly the presence of a network of family and friends that assists in securing these jobs. They use cars, lorries and beasts of burden while some simply trek across the border. In Nigeria, migrants lead a solitary life and engage in various new livelihoods. Patterns have been ascertained to be seasonal and circular and take the form of short-term movements which later lengthens to permanence. The seasonal migration (ci rani) has been historically traced to be an adaptive measure popularly practiced by agrarian communities in the drylands. It is recommended that an improved digitalized database system for the migrants be employed to manage their demographies, migration histories and means of livelihood. This will allow for proper accounting and management of both immigrants and emigrants where at a glance, a migrants profile would show their status as circular, returned or lifetime migrants.

Agrotourism as peripheral and ultraperipheral community livelihoods diversification strategy: Insights from the Okavango Delta, Botswana

The potential of agrotourism for livelihoods diversification in remote (peripheral) and extremely remote (ultraperipheral) traditional, agrarian communities is indeed a testament of its uniqueness to enhance rural entrepreneurship development, employment creation and poverty alleviation. In an arid environment such as Botswana's where traditional agricultural concerns are generally impeded by inclement weather conditions exacerbated by climate variability and change scenarios, identifying opportunities in challenges associated with livelihood activities might provide a better pathway for improving rural socio-economic wellbeing and development. Semi-structured interviews and a literature review were used to document the current status and evolution of agrotourism in rural Botswana; and identify the associated constraints and opportunities, which the subsector might offer emerging entrepreneurs. Major findings reveal that agrotourism activities are relatively new and still fledgling in the Okavango Delta, Botswana. While 4.8 percent of the initiatives investigated accounts for agrotourism initiatives that are fully and currently operational in the area, another 4.8 percent constitutes the business initiatives, which are still not fully operational. Findings also revealed that most agrotourism businesses in the Okavango Delta were challenged by inadequate capital outlays constituting an impediment to running a successful business. While bureaucratic bottlenecks associated with registering agrotourism projects is a challenge for some entrepreneurs, a few others are bedeviled by lack of market for their products. The relatively fledgling status of agrotourism in the area might offer a good business opportunity for potential entrepreneurs and the government to fully exploit the socio-economic benefits of the subsector and push a more sustainable environmental conservation agenda, respectively.

Grain size analysis and ecological risk assessment of metals in the sediments of Konsin River and Igboho dam reservoir, Oyo State, Nigeria, under agricultural disturbances.

A large amount of agrochemicals and organic manures are applied on agricultural lands which is one of the major pathways of metal contamination in sediments. The present study was an attempt to appraise the grain-size of sediments and metal status of the Konsin River and Igboho dam reservoir sediments using several indexes as contamination factor (CF), degree of contamination (DC), geo-accumulation index (Igeo), enrichment factor (EF), potential ecological risk index (PERI), pollution load index (PLI), and statistical analysis. A total of seven sampling sites were chosen based on prevalent anthropogenic features and analyzed for the concentration of metals, viz., Cd, Cr, Pb, Mn, Fe, Cu, and Zn. The finding from this study showed high presence of very rough grains at the upstream and sand particles at the downstream. The average values of Cd, Cr, Pb, Mn, Fe, Cu, and Zn range from 0.00 - 2.00, 19.50 - 49.90, 20.80 - 65.30, 593.90 - 2532.90, 22,133.60 - 46,058.60, 19.60 - 66.10, and 81.60 - 191.30mg/kg, respectively. The concentrations of metals in the sediments followed the increasing order of Cd < Cu < Cr < Pb < Zn < Mn < Fe. The observation from this study showed higher affinity of metals to less particle size. The mean concentrations of Cd, Cr, Pb, Mn, Fe, Cu, and Zn were above the toxicity reference value. The Igeo and EF indicated that most of the sites were moderately to strongly polluted due to Cd while the calculated PLI showed progressive deterioration of the environment in most sites. The Pearson's correlation analysis revealed that the presence of metals in the sediments were from anthropogenic and unidentified sources. The status of metals in the study area portends a serious ecological threat to the sediment biota and occupants of the agrarian communities that depend on the water and its produce for survival.

Post-Colonial Agriculture Policy and Agrarian Change in Malawi, 1964–1979

Abstract Agriculture has always been the main occupation and a source of livelihood for the majority of people in Malawi since time immemorial. This implies that any institutional reform implemented on land, agricultural production and marketing of agricultural enterprises directly affects the farming communities. The interest of the article covers institutional reforms from the years 1964 to 1979. The article briefly analyses the colonial era policies and further explores how the post-colonial government took up a very populist approach to change most of the colonial era ordinances not only as a means of consolidating power but also transferring ownership of the means of production like land to the African farmers. However, though these changes were well intentioned, both the colonial and post-colonial institutional frameworks turned out to be the means through which the peasant farmers were oppressed. This state of affairs of systematic oppression of the peasantry experienced through these policies and laws thwarted the attempts for the transformation of peasantry into capitalist or semi-capitalist farmers. The argument of this article, therefore, is that the current state of the peasantry and underdevelopment of the smallholder sector in Malawi draws its origin from the institutions and structures created in the colonial and immediate post-colonial period. It concludes that a positive change in the state of agrarian communities could be hampered more by the very institutional framework set up for agricultural development. Using a qualitative approach in data collection and analysis, the article explores how the post-colonial policies and practices assisted in bringing about agrarian change in Malawi.

Development and Standardization of an Innovative Scale for Measuring the Socio-Economic Status of Agroforestry Farmers in South Gujarat, India

Although trees in the agroforestry system play diverse roles in meeting the food, fodder, wood, and energy requirements of the agrarian community, their multifunctional contribution often remains understudied, especially while assessing the socio-economic status (SES) of farmers. Therefore, we conceptualized, developed, and standardized an instrument to appraise the SES of the farmers who practice agroforestry in semi-arid and sub-humid regions of India. We also determined the consistent performance of the scale by testing the reliability using the test–retest method. We found that the validity of the scale was accepted with a high correlation, confirming the validity and reliability of the new scale. We also prepared certain norms to identify different socioeconomic levels of agroforestry farmers. The scale used 9 major, 14 moderate, and 115 relevant minor indicators to address the dynamism of the SES and the diversification of farming systems. The proposed scale was specially designed and elastic in nature so that it has a wide scope regarding local applicability and utility, such as in multi-farming systems. Hence, this scale might be considered for measuring the SES of farmers who practice agroforestry at cross-regional and national levels.

Whether curse or blessing: A counterintuitive perspective on global pest thrips infestation under climatic change with implications to agricultural economics

The improvement and application of pest models to predict yield losses is still a challenge for the scientific community. However, pest models were targeted chiefly towards scheduling scouting or pesticide applications to deal with pest infestation. Thysanoptera (thrips) significantly impact the productivity of many economically important crops worldwide. Until now, no comprehensive study is available on the global distribution of pest thrips, as well as on the extent of cropland vulnerability worldwide. Further, nothing is known about the climate change impacts on these insects. Thus the present study was designed to map the global distribution and quantify the extent of cropland vulnerability in the present and future climate scenarios using data of identified pest thrips within the genus, i.e., Thrips, Frankliniella, and Scirtothrips. Our found significant niche contraction under the climate change scenarios and thrips may reside primarily in their thermal tolerance thresholds. About 3,98,160 km2 of cropland globally was found to be affected in the present scenario. However, it may significantly reduce to 5530 Km2 by 2050 and 1990 km2 by 2070. Further, the thrips distribution mostly getting restricted to Eastern North America, the North-western of the Indian sub-continent, and the north of Europe. Among all realms, thrips may lose ground in the Indo-Malayan realm at the most and get restricted to only 27 out of 825 terrestrial ecoregions. The agrarian communities of the infested regions may get benefit if these pests get wiped out, but on the contrary, we may lose species diversity. Moreover, the vacated niche may attract other invasive species, which may seriously impact the species composition and agricultural productivity. The present study findings can be used in making informed decisions about prioritizing future economic and research investments on the thrips in light of anticipated climate change impacts.

Annam Mata cha Brahma Remembering Amma(mother) Through the Kongu Food Culture

Perumal Murugan is an acclaimed Indian novelist, essayist and poet who writes in Tamil language. He has been hailed by audiences and connoisseurs alike for his excellent storytelling, attention to detail and representation of the brutal realities of the rural agrarian communities of Kongu Nadu Despite the whirlpool of controversies and threats that surrounded Murugan’s life and writings, nothing has deluded him from the path of being a committed writer determined to use writing as a weapon to expose the societal inconsistencies. The present interview revolves around the role of food in his creative works. It includes a discussion of the various culinary traditions and food paradigms of his ancestral village, the reverence for food and environment amongst agrarian communities, the difference that food preferences create amongst people, and the entry of the fast-food culture due to globalization. Along with his other literary works, the interview also briefly discusses his memoir Amma, where Murugan recollects the cherished food memories of his childhood and also of his mother whose values and love for cooking have shaped both his identity and culinary preferences. Murugan’s penning or narrativizing of these memories through various creative forums has assisted in what David Sutton calls as “prospective memory” (163) aiding the process of how people plan to remember meals and how tasty they would be.

Organic online politics: Farmers, Facebook, and Myanmar's military coup

Despite perennial hope in the democratic possibilities of the internet, the rise of digital authoritarianism threatens online and offline freedom across much of the world. Yet while critical data studies has expanded its geographic focus, limited work to date has examined digital mobilization in the agrarian communities that comprise much of the Global South. This article advances the concept of “organic online politics,” to demonstrate how digital mobilization grows from specific rural conditions, material concerns, and repertoires of resistance, within the constraints of authoritarian violence and internet control. To do so, we examine social media interaction in the wake of the 2021 military coup in Myanmar, an agrarian nation with recent, rapid digital connection that corresponded with a decade-long democratic turn. Analyzing an original archive of over 2000 Facebook posts collected from popular farming pages and groups, we find a massive drop-off in online activity after the military coup and analyze the shifting temporalities of digital mobilization. Crucially, we highlight the embeddedness of online interaction within the material concerns of farming communities, examining how social media become a key forum for negotiating political crisis in Myanmar's countryside. These findings call attention to rural digital subcultures as fertile sites of investigation and point toward the need for future scholarship on data practices that attends to rooted agrarian struggles.

Disease Risk Levels of Drinking Water Sources in Some Rural Communities in Kwara State, Nigeria

Human health, which can be affected by access to safe drinking water, or lack of it, is an area of common interest to the sustainable development goals (SDG, 6 target 1) and One health Initiative. Hence, this study examined the disease risk associated with drinking water sources in some rural agrarian communities in Kwara State, North-central Nigeria. Water from commonly used drinking water sources in the selected communities were tested for physicochemical properties (pH, Turbidity and Total dissolved solids content), and bacteriological quality. The health risks of the water sources were assessed in terms of presence and count of E. coli. Groundwater sources (wells and boreholes) were the predominant sources of drinking water in the communities. Only three (motorized boreholes) among the twenty-five water sources examined were free of coliforms. E. coli was found in thirteen water sources (a pond and twelves wells); with E. coli counts ranging from 2- 15 cfu/mL. The study revealed the need for urgent interventions to ensure the communities have access to safe water. The rural communities still depend heavily on groundwater as sources of drinking water, most of where portend had high level of disease risk.

Development of a prototype milk screening reagent for the detection of bovine subclinical mastitis using common detergents and Hibiscus sabdariffa petals

Mastitis is an inflammatory condition of the mammary gland of female animals which can either be clinical or subclinical. Subclinical mastitis is that which cannot be diagnosed by physical assessment of the udder, however, it continues to reduce the quality and quantity of the milk leading to economic losses. Diagnosis and treatment of subclinical mastitis is therefore of paramount importance to the farmer, however, the commercially available California Mastitis Test (CMT) reagent commonly used to detect subclinical mastitis is expensive and not readily accessible especially in the rural agrarian communities. This work was conducted to develop a test reagent from locally and readily available materials that can be used by rural farmers in the detection of subclinical mastitis. Different concentrations (1.5%, 3% and 6%) of different household detergents dissolved in water extract of Hibiscus sabdariffa (zobo) have been explored for their suitability to detect somatic cells in cow milk. The reagents were mixed with mastitic and nonmstatitic milk while the test conducted with CMT served as control to which the results from formulated reagents were compared for sensitivity. It was found that a 3% detergent concentration in zobo can be used to obtain gel formation and a colour change from red to dark green corresponding to somatic cell counts and pH respectively, much like the CMT reagent. The test conducted revealed 53.57%, 46.42%, 42.85% and 42.85% of cows’ fore-quarter milk samples were positive to CMT, detergents A, B and C respectively. The combination of household detergent and water extract of Zobo can therefore be an alternative to CMT reagent in the detection of subclinical mastitis, especially in the rural areas. This indicates the potential of using these test reagents for subclinical mastitis screening. Further studies are suggested to standardize and patent this reagent as an alternative for subclinical mastitis diagnostic test.

It’s time for reimagining the future of food security in sub–Saharan Africa: Gender-Smallholder Agriculture-Climate Change nexus

There is an ongoing debate regarding how to feed Sub-Saharan Africa's fast rising population in the long run, as well as the implications for food security. To maintain food security, various strategies have been recommended, including a focus on the significance of diversifying and improving people's diets. Proposals have been tabled elsewhere with a primary focus on enhancing agricultural inputs and technology adoption in order to increase agricultural production and productivity, hence strengthening food security. The current opinion piece attempts to contribute to this debate by examining smallholder agriculture and its role to African food security. This discussion proposes a future paradigm shift toward a gendered climate-smart smallholder agriculture and food production and security conceptual framework based on the promotion and development of smallholder agriculture and food production and security. Therefore, it's predicated that the micro-livestock-centered approach can remodel smallholder agrarian households and communities toward a gender-inclusive global climate change adaptive smallholder agriculture to strengthen production, supply, and food security in Sub-Saharan Africa. For Africa, today’s predicament is to ensure food security for the anticipated rapid population expansion, while on the other hand handling an overall net adverse effect of worldwide global climate change, and increased socio-economic ills associated with gender inequality in smallholder agriculture and ensuring long-term agriculture sustainable development. The failure to address gender inequality in smallholder agriculture and food production and pontificate of global climate change effect has thrown Sub-Saharan Africa into a state of perpetual food scarcity and insecurity because of low agricultural productivity and food supply, and by force of circumstances exposing the agricultural communities and its people to extreme poverty and nutrition and food insecurity. Therefore, it's predicated that the micro-livestock-centered approach can remodel smallholder agrarian households and communities toward a gender-inclusive global climate change adaptive smallholder agriculture to strengthen production, supply, and food security in Sub-Saharan Africa. For this purpose, this discussion proposes a future paradigm shift towards a gendered climate-smart smallholder agriculture and food production and security conceptual framework hinged on the promotion and development of the micro-livestock and/or unconventional animal species sub-sector to strengthen food security on the continent. Overall, the discussion emphasizes the importance of taking immediate action to alleviate the negative effects of climate change and address gender inequality through promotion of micro livestock to assist in the development of long-term adaptation measures to maintain smallholder agricultural productivity.

Hantavirus infection as a risk factor for chronic kidney disease of unknown aetiology (CKDu) and its prevalence in endemic areas of Sri Lanka since 2010 according to a retrospective serological analysis.

Background. Chronic kidney disease of unknown aetiology (CKDu) is a major public health problem in Sri Lanka, especially among agrarian communities. Although the cause of CKDu is still unknown, hantavirus infection has been proposed as a risk factor.Methods. This study was performed using serological samples collected from two CKDu-endemic areas, Anuradhapura (2010) and Badulla districts (2010 and 2016), and a non-endemic area, Matale (2016) district. The presence of anti-Thailand orthohantavirus IgG antibodies was investigated in serum samples. Hantavirus seroprevalence and demographic data were epidemiologically analysed.Results. Seroprevalence was higher in CKDu patients (40.6-60.0 %) and healthy individuals in CKDu-endemic areas (17.6-25.5 %) than in healthy individuals in non-endemic areas (3.0 %). Statistically significant odds ratios (ORs) for hantavirus infection in CKDu patients were detected in CKDu-endemic areas [ORs: 3.2 and 3.1; 95 % confidence interval (CI): 1.8-5.5 and 1.8-5.2 in Anuradhapura and Badulla districts in 2010; and OR: 4.4, 95 % CI: 2.3-8.5 in 2016 in Badulla district). Furthermore, the OR for hantavirus infection in Badulla district has increased in the last decade from 3.1 (95 % CI: 1.8-5.3) to 4.4 (95 % CI: 2.3-8.5).Conclusion. Hantavirus infection has been prevalent in two distant CKDu-endemic areas since 2010. The observed significant association of hantavirus seropositivity with CKDu indicates a possible role of hantavirus infection in CKDu pathogenesis.

Social warfare for lithium extraction? Open-pit lithium mining, counterinsurgency tactics and enforcing green extractivism in northern Portugal

The European Union (EU) is highly dependent on importing raw materials for low-carbon infrastructures from around the globe. This material dependence has, since 2019, initiated legislation and efforts to intensify mining within the EU. The Iberian Peninsula remains a principle target area for the EU's critical raw material (CRM) mining initiatives. This article explores the making of the “Mina do Barroso” (Barroso Mine) in northern Portugal, which threatens a “Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System” and will potentially become the largest open-pit lithium mine of Western Europe. This prospective mining project represents an investment and public funding opportunity for mining companies. The European Commission and the Portuguese government are applying increasing political pressures to establish this mine to make international decarbonization benchmarks through rapidly expanding electric vehicles (EVs) and energy storage system (ESS). The Barroso agrarian communities are threatened with extensive socio-ecological impacts, leading locals, (some) climate activists and environmental organizations to reject this mining project. Company personnel and the Portuguese government are confronting growing opposition, blockades and a resolute “Minas Não!” (No to Mines!). We explore the subtle efforts attempting to engineer the social acceptance of the Mina do Barroso, revealing the ‘slow’ social warfare tactics employed by the company to infiltrate rural social bonds, exploit psycho-social vulnerabilities and attempt to disable anti-mining organizing and unity within the region. This article demonstrates the insidious social technologies of pacification employed to engineer extraction and assemble an open-pit lithium mine with severe socio-ecological impacts in northern Portugal.

Exploring barriers to diversified dietary feeding habits among adolescents in the agrarian community, North West Ethiopia.

Adolescence is a critical and neglected age group of the population in any form of nutritional intervention. A comprehensive study that assesses barriers that influence their diversified feeding habit is not well investigated in qualitative approaches. Therefore, this study was conducted to fill this gap by providing evidence on exploring barriers to diversified feeding habits of adolescents in the agrarian community, North West Ethiopia. The aim of the study was to explore barriers to diversified feeding habits of adolescents in the agrarian community, North West Ethiopia. A phenomenological qualitative study design was conducted among adolescents in the age group of 10-19 years, and adults in the age range of 25 to 64 years (representatives of farmers, agricultural, health, and education sectors). We conducted 24 in-depth interviews (12- adolescents, 4-health, 2- agricultural extension, 3-education, and 3-farmer representative) among purposively selected community groups. In-depth interview guides and observation checklist were utilized for data collection. The audio-recorded qualitative data were transcribed word by word into English. Finally, the translated data were exported to ATLAS ti version 7.1 software for thematic analysis based on inductive content analysis. All coded quotations, including memos written throughout the coding process, were then analyzed to identify themes inductively. Dietary habit of adolescents in the study area was predominantly plant-based cereals with low protein, vitamins, and mineral contents. Adolescents have limited consumption of fruits, vegetables, and animal source foods. Adolescents with these feeding habits had suboptimal intake of micronutrients and proteins, which are crucial for their rapid growth stage. Individual-level barriers, family-level influence, dietary tradition of community, agricultural practice (poor agroforestry practice of the community, and poor agricultural practice to produce year-round diverse food items), and week multi-sectorial collaboration for nutritional intervention all influenced adolescent dietary habits. Multiple layers of barriers influenced the diverse dietary habits of adolescents in the study setting. These multiple and interconnected influences ranged from individual level to multi-sectorial collaboration. Nutritional interventions should be implemented at the individual, family, agricultural, and multi-sectorial levels to improve adolescents' diverse dietary habits.

Hydrogeochemical Studies to Assess the Suitability of Groundwater for Drinking and Irrigation Purposes: The Upper East Region of Ghana Case Study

Groundwater is increasingly being used to help meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2 and 6 in many parts of the world, including Ghana. Against this background, hydrogeochemical and multivariate statistical studies were conducted to determine the physicochemical characteristics and suitability of groundwater in some agrarian communities in the Upper East Region of Ghana for drinking and irrigational farming. Additional analyses were also performed to identify potential health risks associated with the groundwater use and to better understand the hydrogeochemical processes controlling groundwater evolution for its effective management. The results showed that the groundwater is typically fresh; moderate to very hard in character; undersaturated with calcite, dolomite, halite, and gypsum; and supersaturated with quartz and amorphous silica. The physicochemical characteristics of the groundwater are controlled by both anthropogenic and natural activities/processes, such as fertilizer application, irrigation return flows, rock weathering, and forward/reverse cation exchange. The total dissolved solids (TDS) (165–524 mg/L), electrical conductivity (EC) (275–873 μS/cm), sodium percentage (Na%; 9.05–17.74%), magnesium ratios (MR) (29.25–53.3%), permeability index (PI) (36.6–74.6%), and sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) (0.20–0.51) point to the possibility of using the groundwater for irrigation, however, with some salinity control. The water quality and health risk analysis also revealed that the groundwater can be used for drinking; however, the high concentrations of fluoride, which can cause noncarcinogenic health issues such as dental and skeletal fluorosis in both adults and children, must be reduced to the WHO required level of 1.5 mg/L.

Overweight and obesity in south central Uganda: A population-based study.

Obesity is a rapidly growing global health challenge, but there are few population-level studies from non-urban settings in sub-Saharan Africa. We evaluated the prevalence of overweight (body mass index (BMI)>25 kg/m2), obesity (BMI>30 kg/m2), and associated factors using data from May 2018 to November 2020 from the Rakai Community Cohort Study, a population-based cohort of residents aged 15 to 49 living in forty-one fishing, trading, and agrarian communities in South Central Uganda. Modified Poisson regression was used to estimate adjusted prevalence risk ratios (PRR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) in 18,079 participants. The overall mean BMI was 22.9 kg/m2. Mean BMI was 21.5 kg/m2 and 24.1 kg/m2 for males and females, respectively. The prevalence of overweight and obesity were 22.8% and 6.2%, respectively. Females had a higher probability of overweight/obesity (PRR: 4.11, CI: 2.98-5.68) than males. For female participants, increasing age, higher socioeconomic status, residing in a trading or fishing community (PRR: 1.25, CI 1.16-1.35 and PRR: 1.17, CI 1.10-1.25, respectively), being currently or previously married (PRR: 1.22, CI 1.07-1.40 and PRR: 1.16, CI 1.01-1.34, respectively), working in a bar/restaurant (PRR: 1.29, CI 1.17-1.45), trading/shopkeeping (PRR: 1.38, CI 1.29-1.48), and reporting alcohol use in the last year (PRR: 1.21, CI 1.10-1.33) were risk factors for overweight/obese. For male participants, increasing age, higher socioeconomic status, being currently married (PRR: 1.94, CI 1.50-2.50), residing in a fishing community (PRR: 1.68, CI 1.40-2.02), working in a bar/restaurant (PRR: 2.20, CI 1.10-4.40), trading/shopkeeping (PRR: 1.75, CI 1.45-2.11), or fishing (PRR: 1.32, CI 1.03-1.69) increased the probability of overweight/obesity. Non-Muslim participants, male smokers, and HIV-positive females had a lower probability of overweight/obese. The prevalence of overweight/obesity in non-urban Ugandans is substantial. Targeted interventions to high-risk subgroups in this population are needed.

RURAL FARMERS’ LIVELIHOOD VULNERABILITY TO CLIMATE CHANGE EFFECTS: THE CASE OF DODOTA DISTRICT, ARSI ZONE, OROMIA, ETHIOPIA

Climate change has wide-reaching effects on the agrarian communities like Ethiopia since its dominant economy, agriculture, is vulnerable to climate extreme events. The conditions largely undermine the life system of the rural farming communities. Thus, this study examines livelihood vulnerability of rural farming communities to climate change effects in Dodota District, Arsi Zone, Oromia, Ethiopia. Data for this study was acquired from households of 360 selected using systematic random sampling. Key informant interviews, group discussion, and semi-structured household interviews were used for generating primary data relevant to this study. Vulnerability indices, descriptive statistics and ordinal logistic regression were applied for analysis of generated data. The results of vulnerability indices have shown that the vulnerability of farmers’ livelihoods to the effects of climate change was moderate. At household level, it has been revealed that about three fourth of the respondents participated in the study were classified as highly (50%) and moderately (24%) vulnerable to effects of climate change while for the remaining 18% and 8% of respondents, the vulnerability was low and very high respectively. Similarly, the ordinal logistic regression analysis result revealed that access to forage, occurrence of natural hazards, access to water bodies, land cultivation, oxen to plow, access to irrigation, access to adequate extension service and access to agricultural inputs have a significant relationship with climate change effects on farmers’ livelihood. Thus, it has been suggested that livelihood diversification is feasible strategy to reduce vulnerability of the households as there are rivers in the local areas.

TRANSFORMATION OF RURAL HOMESTEADS IN THE URBAN FRINGE AREAS OF BANGLADESH: A CASE OF KAKON HUT, RAJSHAHI

The early agrarian community was established in the northern part of Bangladesh because of its unique Barind tract formation. Rural homesteads were the core building block of these settlements. Though 70% of Bangladeshi still live in rural areas, the rural homesteads are being transformed rapidly. Many socio-economic indicators such as population density, limited expansion opportunity, access to modern technology and diverse types of materials and many more are working as a core driving force behind these changes. This article investigates the transformation pattern of the rural homesteads in Kakon Hut Paurashava of Godagari Upazilla in Rajshahi District, in terms of both spatial pattern and construction materials, to develop an in-depth understanding of the impact of adaptation of modern techniques, technologies, and materials in the urban fringe areas. This research is based on an empirical research strategy and consequently progressed through qualitative data collection, observation, questionary survey, and key person interviews. The study produces a thorough analysis of three core types of homesteads in the site area. Finally, a comparative analysis of traditional homesteads with the existing types that have gone through the transformation process is produced to identify the spatial and material transformation in these settlements.