Agricultural Sciences

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    Access to nutrition education and counselling by people living with HIV and aids in Lusaka district Zambia : a hermeneutic phenomenology approach.
    (The University of Zambia, 2024) Malama, Esther
    Proper nutrition plays a crucial role in the well-being of people living with HIV (PLWHIV), impacting their immune system, overall health, and quality of life. Nutrition education and counselling (NEC) are essential components of comprehensive HIV care and support. However, there is limited research exploring how PLWHIV access NEC and how this access influences their nutritional knowledge, motivation, and behavioural skills. The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenological study was to uncover the lived experiences of PLWHIV regarding their access to NEC. The study used a qualitative approach and applied hermeneutic phenomenological research design. A purposive homogenous sample of 25 PLWHIV was used in this study. Semi structured interviews were conducted with 25 PLWHIV receiving care at a health care center. The collected data was analysed using Ajjawi & Higgs six stages of data analysis. The study revealed eight major themes which include: knowledge of nutrition education, acquired nutrition knowledge and skills, accessibility and acceptability of nutrition education and counselling, the benefit of nutrition education, types of nutrition counselling, frequency of nutrition counselling, challenges in accessing nutrition education and counselling, and recommendations from participants. Participants demonstrated a good understanding of nutrition education and reported acquiring knowledge and skills related to healthy eating and dietary practices through NEC. The accessibility and acceptability of NEC varied among participants, with some experiencing positive and others negative aspects. Participants received nutrition counselling, including group and individual sessions, focusing on food intake, health conditions, screening, and maintaining a balanced diet. Transportation issues, a shortage of health personnel, and the limited availability of nutritionists were significant barriers for many participants in accessing healthcare. Participants recommended enhancing nutrition education and counselling access, increasing patient-nutritionist interaction, and integrating nutrition support with trained community health workers to address manpower limitations. Overall, participants perceived NEC as beneficial, leading to improved health and nutritional status. The study demonstrates that nutrition education and counselling play a significant role in improving the dietary practices and overall well-being of PLWHIV. While challenges related to accessibility and acceptability exist, participants generally found nutrition education to be informative and beneficial, leading to positive health outcomes. This study contributes to understanding the strengths and challenges of NEC implementation, supporting the Information-Motivation-Behavioural Skills Model (IMB). It emphasises the importance of tailoring NEC services to meet the specific needs of PLWHIV and enhance their nutritional knowledge, motivation, and behavioural skills. By addressing these aspects, NEC can be an effective tool for promoting better dietary practices and improving the quality of life for PLWHIV. The study's findings offer guidance for improving the accessibility and effectiveness of nutrition education and counselling programmes for PLWHIV. The findings have implications for HIV care and support programmes in Zambia and similar settings, highlighting the significance of NEC in comprehensive HIV care.
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    Uptake of copper and cobalt by pumpkin (cucurbita maxima) and chinese cabbage (brassica oleracea) irrigated with contaminated water on sandy loam and clay loam soils.
    (The University of Zambia, 2019) Volk, John
    Pumpkins and Chinese cabbage are widely grown in peri urban areas with different soil types in Zambia using waste water which is potentially contaminated with heavy metals like copper and cobalt. The objectives of this study were to establish the effect of loading rates of heavy metals on sandy and clay loam soils and establish factors that influence transmission their uptake by pumpkin and Chinese cabbage when grown on sandy and clay loam soils when irrigated with water contaminated with Cu and Co. A green house study in which pumpkin and Chinese cabbage were grown in pots with sandy loam and clay loam soil was used. Irrigation water comprised contaminated water that had four levels of concentrations of Cu and Co in them and a control of fresh water. Comparing the chemical properties of soil before and after the experiment gave the capacities of the soils to adsorb Cu and Co in them. The fractions of Cu and Co measured in the test soils established the form in which the two elements were adsorbed in soils and provided possible explanations of transmission of heavy metals to plants from water and soil. Concentration of Cu and Co in tissues of pumpkin and Chinese cabbage established their capacity to accumulate the two metals. Yields of crops, concentration of Cu and Co in plant tissues and soil tested the relationships that explained the effect of levels of contaminants in irrigation water on crops and soils. The study found that clay loam adsorbed significantly higher (p<0.05) Cu and Co than sandy loam soil. The results show significantly higher (p < 0.05) concentrations of Cu and Co in plant tissue in sandy loam than clay loam soils. It was established clay loam retained more Cu on the organic and exchangeable fractions than sandy loam soil. Clay loam reduced significantly (p<0.05) the transmission of Cu and Co to crops. Lack of significant effects (p<0.05) of concentrations of Cu and Co in plant tissue on yield implies that crops that appear healthy may contain high levels of heavy metals and unhealthy for human consumption. The study confirms that soils with higher clay and organic matter adsorbs higher amounts of heavy metals which could potentially be used in immobilizing the same elements and prevent the contamination of crops grown on them. The lower adsorption capacity of heavy metals by sandy loam would potentially result in higher transmission of heavy metals from water to crops. The concentrations of Cu found in Chinese cabbage (180 mg/kg) and pumpkin (116 mg/kg) were 6 times and 4 times higher respectively, than the normal range for Cu which is estimated to be around 1-30 mg/kg. Without significant negative effects on yield, or physiology from contamination, vegetables may have higher levels of heavy metals that could be unhealthy for human consumption. It is recommended that further studies seek to address understanding of how a wider range of elements each contributed to crop production, and how the various soil fractions of these elements influence availability and their uptake and yield of crops.
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    Impact of large-scale agricultural investment support on smallholder agricultural commercialisation: a case of Amatheon Agri Zambia.
    (The University of Zambia, 2024) Kazekula, Eurelia Mutinta
    Smallholder farmers in Africa are perpetually constrained by a number of factors such as limited market access, poor infrastructure, and low production and productivity which in turn affects their levels of commercialisation. One strategy that has been touted as the panacea to the low levels of smallholder agricultural commercialisation is the corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative by foreign-owned large-scale agricultural investments (LSAIs) aimed at transforming traditional subsistence farming into commercially viable enterprises. Using the case study of Amatheon Agri Zambia limited (AAZ), a German-owned company with approximately 40,000 hectares of land in Central Zambia, the overarching objective of this study was to investigate the impact of AAZ’s nucleus out grower scheme programme on smallholder agricultural commercialisation in Mumbwa and Chibombo districts. The study used secondary longitudinal data from 590 households collected in 2018 and 2021 to address three specific objectives: (i) to examine the level of agricultural commercialisation between participants and non-participants of the AAZ out grower scheme; (ii) to determine the key drivers of agricultural commercialisation among smallholder farmers, and; (iii) to estimate the impact of the AAZ out grower scheme interventions on smallholder agricultural commercialisation. Summary statistics were computed to compare the levels of commercialisation between participants and non-participants using three household commercialisation indices generated for maize, soya beans and an aggregate crop index. The three household commercialisation indices were also used as outcome variables for the fractional regression approach to explore the key determinants of smallholder agricultural commercialisation in the context of nucleus out grower schemes. To estimate the impacts of AAZ support on agricultural commercialisation, propensity score matching techniques were used prior to the computation of average treatment effects. Factors such as age of the household head, ownership of agricultural assets, household wealth, maize yield, average maize price per unit, farm size, and distance to Lusaka influenced maize commercialisation. Soya bean commercialisation was influenced by ownership of agricultural assets, yield, and farm-gate prices. Crop commercialisation was influenced by household size, education level, grain sales to AAZ, loan access, agricultural assets, and total land cultivated, with household head age negatively affecting commercialisation. Results further show a general significant increase in commercialisation between the treatment and control groups at both study rounds with soya beans being farmed for commercial purposes. Maize farmers in the AAZ scheme are medium commercialised and overall crops are highly commercialised. There was a decline of soya beans at the end line particularly due to AAZ’s strategic shift to high-value crops and restructuring of its out grower scheme. In the treated group, 61.08% of individuals are engaged in maize commercialisation, compared to 49.45% in the control group. The Average Treatment effect on the Treated (ATT) indicates a significant difference in maize commercialisation between the groups, suggesting that AAZ's support enhances smallholder farmers' maize commercialisation by 61.08% relative to those without AAZ support. However, the average treatment effect for soya bean commercialisation is minimal, with T-statistics showing no significant difference, implying that AAZ's impact on soya bean commercialisation is similar for both treated and control groups. Consequently, 83.0% of households that received AAZ support commercialised soya beans, mirroring the effect on non-participating households. Additionally, the AAZ support does not differ in its impact on overall crop commercialisation between the treated and control groups, indicating that participants and non-participants experience the same level of intervention effect by 74.6% on the marketing of cowpeas, sunflower, groundnuts, and vegetables. In conclusion, this research underscores the positive influence of LSAIs, particularly AAZ, on smallholder agricultural commercialisation in Zambia. Policy recommendations include targeted support to enhance education, promote asset ownership, and improve market access. Additionally, diversifying crops and building resilience against natural shocks are vital. These findings provide valuable insights for policymakers and stakeholders, guiding strategies for sustainable agricultural development in SSA.
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    Nutritional status of HIV/AIDS patients receiving food supplementation and antiretroviral therapy in food insecure enviroments in Chisamba and Kapiri Mposhi districts, Zambia.
    (The University of Zambia, 2024) Mwanza, Estella
    The HIV/AIDS pandemic is a challenge to many nations with estimates indicating that by 2022, there were 39 million people in the world living with HIV and in Zambia, the HIV prevalence among adults, 15 years and above, is approximately 11 percent. ART has been known to slow progression of HIV in to AIDS, however food insecurity can negatively affect treatment adherence and nutrition status in people living with HIV/AIDS, hence the need to incorporate food supplements in treatment of HIV patients from food insecure households or communities. However, there is scarcity of empirical evidence on the nutrition status of HIV/AIDS patients receiving food supplements and ART. Therefore, this cross-sectional study investigated the association between nutritional status and food supplementation in HIV-positive individuals receiving ART. Purposive sampling was used to identify two districts with food supplementation programs to HIV/AIDS patients and simple random sampling was employed to select 296 particepants; 140 from Kapiri Mposhi and 156 from Chisamba district. A semi structured questionnaire which included, FFQ was used to collect data from the participants. Weight and height were collected after food supplementation and compared to baseline data from the medical records. Additionally, household demographics, and frequency of physical activity were assessed. Furthermore, any serious illnesses experienced by the participants during the course of taking food supplements that could have affected their weight during data collection were noted. Results showed that most of the participants, 82.5 percent, were not in formal employment and the majority, 60.9 percent, were females. It was also observed that the prevalence of severely undernourished participants reduced from 31.5 percent before supplementation to 8 percent after supplementation, moderate undernutrion reduced from 61.5 percent before supplementation to 44 percent after supplementation and for participants with normal BMI, the prevalence increased from 7 percent before supplementation to 48 percent after supplementation. The improvement in BMI of participants was statistically significant (t = -14.703; p < 0.001). The most consumed foods were cereals (100 percent), vegetables (82.1 percent) and meat products (56 percent). Cooking oil had the least prevalence of consumption (7 percent). It was also learnt that 71.5 percent of the participants were enganged in physical exercises.This study has shown that food supplements impacted positively on the BMI scores of the participants and therefore recommends incorporation of food supplements into HIV care to ensure better treatment outcomes.
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    QTL analysis for resistance to anthracnose in bukoba X kijivu population of common bean (phaseolus vulgaris).
    (The University of Zambia, 2024) Kachapulula, Josephine Ssali Namugerwa
    The fungus Colletotrichum lindemuthianum which causes anthracnose disease in common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) has a high genetic variability that requires deployment of loci with resistance to a wide range of C. lindemuthianum races. Most of the loci have been sourced from the Middle American genepool which are usually small seeded requiring many generations of back crossing to recover the original big seed size in Andean gene pool varieties which are also the required market classes in Zambia. This requires identification of loci with durable resistance from the Andean gene pool to reduce the time and cost of resistance breeding. Two Andean parents were used in this study Bukoba (ADP 7) and Kijivu (ADP 33). From previous studies by Sansala et al., (2023), the Andean variety Bukoba showed resistance to a number of races of C. lindemuthianum however the genetic architecture of this resistance was unknown and thus this study. A population of 158 F4:5 Recombinant Inbred Lines (RILs) were developed from a cross of two Andean parents Bukoba and Kijivu and evaluated at the University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia. The seven races for this study were 19, 38, 51, 167, 263, 1050 and 1105. These were selected based on their prevalence in Zambian bean growing regions and the virulence levels. The population was genotyped using 12000 SNPs out of which 1,838 were polymorphic between the parents and used to build genetic maps. Composite interval mapping was used to identify the quantitative trait loci (QTL). A total of 8 QTLs: ANT01.1, ANT01.2, ANT02.1, ANT04.1, ANT05.1, ANT06.1, ANT10.1 and ANT11.1 with R2 values ranging from 3.6% for ANT06.1 on Pv06 to 70.1% for ANT01.1 on Pv01 were identified. These were both novel and verified conditioning major and minor resistance to the seven races of C. lindemuthianum in this study. ANT01.1 and ANT04.1 were major QTLs while the rest were minor QTLs suggesting the role of both qualitative and quantitative resistance in the mapping population. The major QTLs identified in this study co-localized with previously reported major genes proving their usefulness as target genes for developing durable resistance to anthracnose using gene pyramiding and marker-assisted selection. ANT01.1 co localised with the Co-1 locus a major Andean locus that conditioned resistance to the very virulent races 1050 and 1105 in this study while ANT04.1 controlled four moderately virulent races 19, 51, 183 and 263. This locus co-localises with well-known Middle American loci Co 3, Co-15, Co-16, Co-y and Co-z and the NB-ARC domain cluster that are responsible for resistance to a number of the pathogen’s races. Although ANT02.1 was a minor QTL, but due to its co-localisation with the I-gene, it should be s considered a candidate for gene pyramiding together with the 2 major QTLs identified as a means of deploying the most durable and cost effective breeding strategy for controlling C. lindemuthianum in Zambia with Bukoba as the source of resistance especially in the yellow bean class.