Although Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) together with Jomo Kenyat... more Although Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) together with Jomo Kenyatta University of Science and Technology (JKUAT) have developed pathogen-free banana cultivars that are early maturing, high yielding and have uniformity in growth from tissue culture laboratory, farmers are still growing by sucker propagation as opposed to TCB method (Kiplagat & Ocholla 2005, Njuguna 2007 & Munya 2008). Evidence from Kenya shows that of the 74,000 hectares of the total arable predominantly used by small holder farmers who are the majority in banana cultivation, only a meager 7% only is currently farmed with Tissue culture bananas (Dubois et al., 2013; Njuguna et al., 2010).Of our interviewees, 70% were male while 30% were female, all together with an average age of 58 years. Also, majority of the interviewed farmers were married with an average family size of 6-7 members. Furthermore, 35% of the farmers had attended tertiary level education while 50% and 15% of the farmers had attended primary and tertiary education respectively. These low literacy levels greatly affect access, interpretation , use and uptake of these various ICT technologies inform of social media, online applications, and even the ability to use smartphones (Irungu et al., 2015; Nthukuri et al., 2021). Although, all the farmers that were interviewed had access to electricity, 83% of the farmers have no access to social media platforms with 75% relying on broadcast media. Furthermore, farmers obtained their information from government agencies like JKUAT, KALRO (31%), CBOs like co-operatives and other farmers (16%), and Non-governmental Organizations (11%). Also, having access to broadcast media inform of radios and televisions such as Kamene Fm and Inooro TV clearly shows that these are important for information flow as they provide information in the local language that’s easily understood (Bandewar et al., 2017; Irungu et al., 2015; Nthukuri et al., 2021). Yet still, 71% of the farmers not only had no access to Smartphones but also didn’t know how to use them. To add on, 79% of the farmers spent less than 50 kshs on airtime and this is mainly used for making phone calls. This clearly shows that farmers are constrained as they don’t have timely access information for use in agriculture with over 60% receiving information only seasonally. This further explains the 67% of the farmers who are unsatisfied with their source information. There was a negative correlation between the level of education and use of ICT tools. Also the age of the farmers was negatively correlated with the use of ICT tools.
NON-BIODEGRADABLE WASTE MANAGEMENT DURING THE COVID19 PANDEMIC IN GULU CITY, GULU DISTRICT., 2021
The advent of the COVID-19 pandemic has increased non-biodegradable solid waste usage and product... more The advent of the COVID-19 pandemic has increased non-biodegradable solid waste usage and production such as sanitizer chemical bottles, glass, gloves, face shields, masks, and other equipment used in the management of COVID-19. These have become indispensable commodities for different purposes which among others include improved hygienic and safety practices to prevent disease transmission among the population. An emerging issue is the question of the best possible environmentally friendly way to dispose-off non-biodegradable solid wastes. This gap led to this research study so as to identify non-biodegradable solid wastes generated and management efforts before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in pece-laroo division, Gulu city, Gulu district.
The specific objectives of the study were to find out the different types of non-biodegradable solid wastes generated, the sources of these wastes, the effects of these wastes on the community, and the non-biodegradable solid waste management strategies employed in Pece division before and during the COVID 19 pandemic.
To achieve these specific objectives, questionnaires that contained both open and closed-ended questions were translated to Luo (Acholi) the local language and pretested before being administered to a total of 100 randomly selected community members from two parishes namely labor-lineparish and lukung parish taking 50 respondents from each parish. Key informant interviews using key informant guides were administered to experts involved in non-biodegradable solid waste management. Additionally, the observation method was also used to ground truth information given. Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS) software Version 25 and Microsoft Excel 2013 were used for descriptive statistical analyses on the study variables to generate frequencies, tables, graphs for interpretation. Chi-square tests were also applied to analyze categorical data and correlations. Results from this study revealed that all respondents (100%) agreed that non-biodegradable solid wastes were present in the study area before and during the pandemic but there was a difference in the composition and quantity of similar nonbiodegradable solid waste generated. The main non-biodegradable waste generated before the pandemic included polyethylene bags (43%), plastic bottles (38%) packaging material (15%), Glass and metal (15%) while during the pandemic the major wastes generated were Plastic (31%), packaging material (29%), masks (21%), sanitizer bottles (18%) and gloves (1%). The study also revealed the different sources of non-biodegradable solid wastes during the pandemic which included both human/Anthropogenic and environmental factors like town people (30%), businesses around (21%) , running water(19%), wind (18%) and households (12%). The results from the study also show that there were different effects of these wastes on households which included dirty area (31%), blocked water ways (27%), flies and diseases (21%) and bad smell (19%). The health of household members was also affected as majority of the respondents (50%) reported cases of typhoid, while other respondents (38.6% and 8.3%) reported cases of diarrhea and dysentery respectively during the pandemic. The findings from this study indicate that non-biodegradable solid waste had several effects on the environment with the main effect (35%) being soil pollution (35%). Other effects on the environment were blocked water ways (25%), flies and diseases (24%), wastes not rotting (12%), and dirty compounds (4%). The Results from the study also show that before the pandemic, majority of the household (57%) used dumping areas/pits, burning (24%), open dumping and dumping in dark corners (14%). on the contrary, during the COVID-19 pandemic Open dumping was common practice (31.0%) and use of collection centers (20%) although some respondents also still used pits/dumping areas. (43%). Other members of the community (4%) disposed-off the wastes in the drainage channels and this was attributed to the fact the there were inadequate waste collection facilities during the global pandemic (57%)
Although Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) together with Jomo Kenyat... more Although Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) together with Jomo Kenyatta University of Science and Technology (JKUAT) have developed pathogen-free banana cultivars that are early maturing, high yielding and have uniformity in growth from tissue culture laboratory, farmers are still growing by sucker propagation as opposed to TCB method (Kiplagat & Ocholla 2005, Njuguna 2007 & Munya 2008). Evidence from Kenya shows that of the 74,000 hectares of the total arable predominantly used by small holder farmers who are the majority in banana cultivation, only a meager 7% only is currently farmed with Tissue culture bananas (Dubois et al., 2013; Njuguna et al., 2010).Of our interviewees, 70% were male while 30% were female, all together with an average age of 58 years. Also, majority of the interviewed farmers were married with an average family size of 6-7 members. Furthermore, 35% of the farmers had attended tertiary level education while 50% and 15% of the farmers had attended primary and tertiary education respectively. These low literacy levels greatly affect access, interpretation , use and uptake of these various ICT technologies inform of social media, online applications, and even the ability to use smartphones (Irungu et al., 2015; Nthukuri et al., 2021). Although, all the farmers that were interviewed had access to electricity, 83% of the farmers have no access to social media platforms with 75% relying on broadcast media. Furthermore, farmers obtained their information from government agencies like JKUAT, KALRO (31%), CBOs like co-operatives and other farmers (16%), and Non-governmental Organizations (11%). Also, having access to broadcast media inform of radios and televisions such as Kamene Fm and Inooro TV clearly shows that these are important for information flow as they provide information in the local language that’s easily understood (Bandewar et al., 2017; Irungu et al., 2015; Nthukuri et al., 2021). Yet still, 71% of the farmers not only had no access to Smartphones but also didn’t know how to use them. To add on, 79% of the farmers spent less than 50 kshs on airtime and this is mainly used for making phone calls. This clearly shows that farmers are constrained as they don’t have timely access information for use in agriculture with over 60% receiving information only seasonally. This further explains the 67% of the farmers who are unsatisfied with their source information. There was a negative correlation between the level of education and use of ICT tools. Also the age of the farmers was negatively correlated with the use of ICT tools.
NON-BIODEGRADABLE WASTE MANAGEMENT DURING THE COVID19 PANDEMIC IN GULU CITY, GULU DISTRICT., 2021
The advent of the COVID-19 pandemic has increased non-biodegradable solid waste usage and product... more The advent of the COVID-19 pandemic has increased non-biodegradable solid waste usage and production such as sanitizer chemical bottles, glass, gloves, face shields, masks, and other equipment used in the management of COVID-19. These have become indispensable commodities for different purposes which among others include improved hygienic and safety practices to prevent disease transmission among the population. An emerging issue is the question of the best possible environmentally friendly way to dispose-off non-biodegradable solid wastes. This gap led to this research study so as to identify non-biodegradable solid wastes generated and management efforts before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in pece-laroo division, Gulu city, Gulu district.
The specific objectives of the study were to find out the different types of non-biodegradable solid wastes generated, the sources of these wastes, the effects of these wastes on the community, and the non-biodegradable solid waste management strategies employed in Pece division before and during the COVID 19 pandemic.
To achieve these specific objectives, questionnaires that contained both open and closed-ended questions were translated to Luo (Acholi) the local language and pretested before being administered to a total of 100 randomly selected community members from two parishes namely labor-lineparish and lukung parish taking 50 respondents from each parish. Key informant interviews using key informant guides were administered to experts involved in non-biodegradable solid waste management. Additionally, the observation method was also used to ground truth information given. Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS) software Version 25 and Microsoft Excel 2013 were used for descriptive statistical analyses on the study variables to generate frequencies, tables, graphs for interpretation. Chi-square tests were also applied to analyze categorical data and correlations. Results from this study revealed that all respondents (100%) agreed that non-biodegradable solid wastes were present in the study area before and during the pandemic but there was a difference in the composition and quantity of similar nonbiodegradable solid waste generated. The main non-biodegradable waste generated before the pandemic included polyethylene bags (43%), plastic bottles (38%) packaging material (15%), Glass and metal (15%) while during the pandemic the major wastes generated were Plastic (31%), packaging material (29%), masks (21%), sanitizer bottles (18%) and gloves (1%). The study also revealed the different sources of non-biodegradable solid wastes during the pandemic which included both human/Anthropogenic and environmental factors like town people (30%), businesses around (21%) , running water(19%), wind (18%) and households (12%). The results from the study also show that there were different effects of these wastes on households which included dirty area (31%), blocked water ways (27%), flies and diseases (21%) and bad smell (19%). The health of household members was also affected as majority of the respondents (50%) reported cases of typhoid, while other respondents (38.6% and 8.3%) reported cases of diarrhea and dysentery respectively during the pandemic. The findings from this study indicate that non-biodegradable solid waste had several effects on the environment with the main effect (35%) being soil pollution (35%). Other effects on the environment were blocked water ways (25%), flies and diseases (24%), wastes not rotting (12%), and dirty compounds (4%). The Results from the study also show that before the pandemic, majority of the household (57%) used dumping areas/pits, burning (24%), open dumping and dumping in dark corners (14%). on the contrary, during the COVID-19 pandemic Open dumping was common practice (31.0%) and use of collection centers (20%) although some respondents also still used pits/dumping areas. (43%). Other members of the community (4%) disposed-off the wastes in the drainage channels and this was attributed to the fact the there were inadequate waste collection facilities during the global pandemic (57%)
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Although, all the farmers that were interviewed had access to electricity, 83% of the farmers have no access to social media platforms with 75% relying on broadcast media. Furthermore, farmers obtained their information from government agencies like JKUAT, KALRO (31%), CBOs like co-operatives and other farmers (16%), and Non-governmental Organizations (11%). Also, having access to broadcast media inform of radios and televisions such as Kamene Fm and Inooro TV clearly shows that these are important for information flow as they provide information in the local language that’s easily understood (Bandewar et al., 2017; Irungu et al., 2015; Nthukuri et al., 2021).
Yet still, 71% of the farmers not only had no access to Smartphones but also didn’t know how to use them. To add on, 79% of the farmers spent less than 50 kshs on airtime and this is mainly used for making phone calls. This clearly shows that farmers are constrained as they don’t have timely access information for use in agriculture with over 60% receiving information only seasonally. This further explains the 67% of the farmers who are unsatisfied with their source information. There was a negative correlation between the level of education and use of ICT tools. Also the age of the farmers was negatively correlated with the use of ICT tools.
commodities for different purposes which among others include improved hygienic and safety practices to prevent disease transmission among the population. An emerging issue is the question of the best possible environmentally friendly way to dispose-off non-biodegradable solid wastes. This gap led to this research study so as to identify non-biodegradable solid wastes generated and management efforts before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in pece-laroo division, Gulu city, Gulu district.
The specific objectives of the study were to find out the different types of non-biodegradable solid wastes generated, the sources of these wastes, the effects of these wastes on the community, and the non-biodegradable solid waste management strategies employed in Pece division before and during the COVID 19 pandemic.
To achieve these specific objectives, questionnaires that contained both open and closed-ended questions were translated to Luo (Acholi) the local language and pretested before being administered to a total of 100 randomly selected community members from two parishes namely labor-lineparish and lukung parish taking 50 respondents from each parish. Key informant interviews using key informant guides were administered to experts involved in non-biodegradable solid waste management. Additionally, the observation method was also used to ground truth
information given. Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS) software Version 25 and Microsoft Excel 2013 were used for descriptive statistical analyses on the study variables to generate frequencies, tables, graphs for interpretation. Chi-square tests were also applied to
analyze categorical data and correlations. Results from this study revealed that all respondents (100%) agreed that non-biodegradable solid wastes were present in the study area before and during the pandemic but there was a difference in the composition and quantity of similar nonbiodegradable solid waste generated. The main non-biodegradable waste generated before the pandemic included polyethylene bags (43%), plastic bottles (38%) packaging material (15%), Glass and metal (15%) while during the pandemic the major wastes generated were Plastic (31%), packaging material (29%), masks (21%), sanitizer bottles (18%) and gloves (1%). The study also revealed the different sources of non-biodegradable solid wastes during the pandemic which included both human/Anthropogenic and environmental factors like town people (30%), businesses around (21%) , running water(19%), wind (18%) and households (12%). The results from the study also show that there were different effects of these wastes on households which included dirty area (31%), blocked water ways (27%), flies and diseases (21%) and bad smell (19%). The health of household members was also affected as majority of the respondents (50%) reported cases of typhoid, while other respondents (38.6% and 8.3%) reported cases of diarrhea and dysentery respectively during the pandemic. The findings from this study indicate that non-biodegradable solid waste had several effects on the environment with the main effect (35%) being soil pollution (35%). Other effects on the environment were blocked water ways (25%), flies and diseases (24%), wastes not rotting (12%), and dirty compounds (4%). The Results from the study also show that before the pandemic, majority of the household (57%) used dumping areas/pits, burning (24%), open dumping and dumping in dark corners (14%). on the contrary, during the COVID-19 pandemic Open dumping was common practice (31.0%) and use of collection centers (20%) although some respondents also still used pits/dumping areas. (43%). Other members of the community (4%) disposed-off the wastes in the drainage channels and this was attributed to the fact the there were inadequate waste collection facilities during the global pandemic (57%)
Although, all the farmers that were interviewed had access to electricity, 83% of the farmers have no access to social media platforms with 75% relying on broadcast media. Furthermore, farmers obtained their information from government agencies like JKUAT, KALRO (31%), CBOs like co-operatives and other farmers (16%), and Non-governmental Organizations (11%). Also, having access to broadcast media inform of radios and televisions such as Kamene Fm and Inooro TV clearly shows that these are important for information flow as they provide information in the local language that’s easily understood (Bandewar et al., 2017; Irungu et al., 2015; Nthukuri et al., 2021).
Yet still, 71% of the farmers not only had no access to Smartphones but also didn’t know how to use them. To add on, 79% of the farmers spent less than 50 kshs on airtime and this is mainly used for making phone calls. This clearly shows that farmers are constrained as they don’t have timely access information for use in agriculture with over 60% receiving information only seasonally. This further explains the 67% of the farmers who are unsatisfied with their source information. There was a negative correlation between the level of education and use of ICT tools. Also the age of the farmers was negatively correlated with the use of ICT tools.
commodities for different purposes which among others include improved hygienic and safety practices to prevent disease transmission among the population. An emerging issue is the question of the best possible environmentally friendly way to dispose-off non-biodegradable solid wastes. This gap led to this research study so as to identify non-biodegradable solid wastes generated and management efforts before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in pece-laroo division, Gulu city, Gulu district.
The specific objectives of the study were to find out the different types of non-biodegradable solid wastes generated, the sources of these wastes, the effects of these wastes on the community, and the non-biodegradable solid waste management strategies employed in Pece division before and during the COVID 19 pandemic.
To achieve these specific objectives, questionnaires that contained both open and closed-ended questions were translated to Luo (Acholi) the local language and pretested before being administered to a total of 100 randomly selected community members from two parishes namely labor-lineparish and lukung parish taking 50 respondents from each parish. Key informant interviews using key informant guides were administered to experts involved in non-biodegradable solid waste management. Additionally, the observation method was also used to ground truth
information given. Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS) software Version 25 and Microsoft Excel 2013 were used for descriptive statistical analyses on the study variables to generate frequencies, tables, graphs for interpretation. Chi-square tests were also applied to
analyze categorical data and correlations. Results from this study revealed that all respondents (100%) agreed that non-biodegradable solid wastes were present in the study area before and during the pandemic but there was a difference in the composition and quantity of similar nonbiodegradable solid waste generated. The main non-biodegradable waste generated before the pandemic included polyethylene bags (43%), plastic bottles (38%) packaging material (15%), Glass and metal (15%) while during the pandemic the major wastes generated were Plastic (31%), packaging material (29%), masks (21%), sanitizer bottles (18%) and gloves (1%). The study also revealed the different sources of non-biodegradable solid wastes during the pandemic which included both human/Anthropogenic and environmental factors like town people (30%), businesses around (21%) , running water(19%), wind (18%) and households (12%). The results from the study also show that there were different effects of these wastes on households which included dirty area (31%), blocked water ways (27%), flies and diseases (21%) and bad smell (19%). The health of household members was also affected as majority of the respondents (50%) reported cases of typhoid, while other respondents (38.6% and 8.3%) reported cases of diarrhea and dysentery respectively during the pandemic. The findings from this study indicate that non-biodegradable solid waste had several effects on the environment with the main effect (35%) being soil pollution (35%). Other effects on the environment were blocked water ways (25%), flies and diseases (24%), wastes not rotting (12%), and dirty compounds (4%). The Results from the study also show that before the pandemic, majority of the household (57%) used dumping areas/pits, burning (24%), open dumping and dumping in dark corners (14%). on the contrary, during the COVID-19 pandemic Open dumping was common practice (31.0%) and use of collection centers (20%) although some respondents also still used pits/dumping areas. (43%). Other members of the community (4%) disposed-off the wastes in the drainage channels and this was attributed to the fact the there were inadequate waste collection facilities during the global pandemic (57%)