The impact of rice cultivation on the wetland ecosystem. a case study of Nalioba wetland, Banda sub-county, Namayingo district.
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Date
2014-09
Authors
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Publisher
Kampala International University, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
Abstract
Rice, which is a new crop in Uganda, was introduced on a large scale in the 1960’s as a wetland-based crop. The continued use of upland fields for farming has also resulted in loss of soil fertility due to erosion and over use, The rapid population growth and high demand for rice in Uganda, much pressure has been put on wetlands to increase production which has led to their degradation. The objectives of the study were to; establish the factors influencing rice cultivation in in Nalioba wetland, determine the effects of rice cultivation activities to the wetland and identify the measures put in place to manage the wetland during rice cultivation. Both qualitative and quantitative designs were used therefore the study was descriptive in nature. A total of 70 respondents were chosen as the sample size. Simple random sampling method was used to get the 60 respondents and purposive sampling was also used to get the 10 key informants. The study concluded that the greatest factors encouraging rice cultivation in Nalioba wetland are good water supply and the availability of fertile soils while the most common rice cultivation practice carried out in Nalioba wetland is leveling or puddling. The majority of respondents get higher yields of rice between 16-25 bags each bag of 6okgs and they sell each kilogram of their rice at Ugx 2,500&. The most common adverse effect of rice cultivation in Nalioba wetland is low or decreasing crop yields and sensitization is the greatest approach used to manage Nalioba wetland. The study recommended that farmers should obtain new planting varieties each season, introduction of high yielding varieties of other crops, sustainable use of wetlands is through a better understanding of their traditional uses, restrictions and by-laws must be placed, emphasize more grass root sensitization, increase proper funding from NEMA in conjunction with MOFPED to aid more research on how to rehabilitate degraded wetlands should be carried out.
Description
A dissertation submitted to the school of engineering & applied sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of a bachelor’s degree in environmental science of Kampala International University.
Keywords
Rice cultivation, Wetland, Ecosystem, Nalioba wetland, Namayingo district