Thaddeo Kahigwa Tibasiima completes PhD on sustainable land use for coffee production in Uganda

His research aimed to provide sustainable soil erosion control on sloping land at high altitudes where Coffea arabica is grown by smallholder farmers. Although C. arabica is naturally suited to growing in agroforestry systems, at high altitudes (above 1400 m) most natural forests are cleared and replaced by coffee. In addition, climate change is predicted to shift the suitable altitude for coffee production at higher altitudes, pushing coffee production into areas with much higher rates of soil erosion. Despite this, the demand for coffee is predicted to increase. Although Uganda is one of the major coffee producing countries, with the Rwenzori region known for its good quality production potential is still low due to land degradation caused by soil erosion. Although several soil erosion control measures are known, adoption is still very low.

The PhD research addressed the above stated constraint by looking at the factors that limit the adoption of soil erosion control measures. These factors are categorised as: limited technical capacity, socio-economic and political constraints. A multidisciplinary approach was adopted to address these complex constraints through the establishment of a multi-site experiment on 26 smallholder farms, observation of practices on the 26 smallholder farms, interviews and focus group discussions (FGD). The two-year experiment was participatory with smallholder farmers. Treatments included undersown annual Mucuna pruriens var. utilis, agroforestry Millettia dura Dunn, a combination of Mucuna pruriens var. utilis with agroforestry Millettia dura Dunn, and a no-legume control where the traditional practice of continuous cultivation was implemented.

Integrating a combination of the annual Mucuna pruriens var. utilis with the agroforestry Millettia dura Dunn increased the availability of essential soil nutrients, increased coffee yields and improved profitability. Socially, according to interviews and FGDs with extension workers, farmers, policy makers and cultural leaders, an integrated approach as elaborated by the 10 elements of agroecology and the use of both scientific knowledge (theoretical) and farmers' lived experience (indigenous knowledge) through participatory frameworks such as the Hylomorphic Framework resulted in a contextualised soil erosion control model that addresses the technical, economic and social constraints of current soil erosion control measures and identifies pathways to sustainable adoption of soil erosion control.

The PhD study was embedded in the APPEAR project Strengthening of Higher Education, Research and Community Outreach in Agroecology in the Rwenzori Region in Western Uganda (AER) - a collaboration between Mountains of the Moon University (MMU) and the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU).

The AER is a community-led and regionally-embedded intervention that addresses the challenges faced daily by the majority in the Rwenzori region: smallholder farmers. As most of the region is mountainous, soil erosion is a reality on every smallholder farm. "I have been working with these communities since 1993, when I started growing my father's coffee. Soil erosion is evident on every farm. Some are even trying to find new places to grow their crops, but the high population can't let them. With the results of my research, the farmers are now happy that they can renew their own old land with Mucuna and Millettia and produce both crops and livestock. I am happy that with my PhD I can advise on different aspects of farming and that I am invited to inspire both young and old farmers. I am now seen as a resource on agroecology throughout the East African community, both in academia and in farmer organisations. I am grateful to the APPEAR programme for giving me the opportunity to expand my scientific and social networks. Three master’s students came to do their research in my mountain community and lived with them where I was born. This exposed me not only to other rich cultures of Austria and Germany, but also to my entire community. The students at BOKU, my PhD supervisors at BOKU and in Uganda maintain contact with me and my community in Uganda. The scholarship has made it real for me to rightly call this world a global village.

Thaddeo Kahigwa Tibasiima is a Ugandan who has been working with smallholder farmers to promote sustainable family farming since 2008. Thaddeo completed a Bachelor of Agricultural Land Use and Management from Makerere University, Uganda in 2007 and a Master of Science in Agroecology from Uganda Martyrs University in 2013. He completed his PhD in Agriculture at the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences (BOKU), Vienna, in May 2023. Since 2008, Thaddeo has worked on several projects in the Rwenzori region, including the Sustainable Agriculture Trainers Network, Iles de Paix-Mpanga Super Farmer Programme, Organic Denmark. As part of his work, Thaddeo gave several presentations at international conferences on the potential of participatory farmer extension systems and agroecology. As a result, he worked hand in hand with several research institutions such as Uganda Martyrs University, National Agriculture Research Organisation and Mountains of the Moon University to link academia with practitioners (farmers) of research findings. As a result, Thaddeo has been involved in the establishment of several agroecological farms in the Rwenzori region.

Articles published:

1. Tibasiima, T.K., Ekyaligonza, D.M., Kagorora, J.P.K., Friedel, J.K., Melcher, A., Bwambale, B., Akugizibwe, E., Freyer, B. (2023). Impact of Integrating Annual and Perennial Legumes under Coffea arabica on Sloping Land. Sustainability, 15, 2453. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15032453
2. Tibasiima, T.K., Ekyaligonza, D.M., & Bwambale, B. (2022). Can agroecology provide a panacea for sustaining the adoption of soil erosion control measures? A case of smallholder Coffea arabica production in the Rwenzori mountain region, Uganda. Sustainability, 14, 13461. https://doi.org/10.3390/su142013461
3. Tibasiima, T. K., Bwambale, B., Ekyaligonza, D. M., Dietrich, P., Jumba F., Kagorora, J. P. K., and Freyer, B. (2023). “Re-assembling land degradation: towards a nature-society-inclusive soil erosion management strategy. A case of the Rwenzori, Uganda” Front. Sustain. Food Syst. 7:1146222. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2023.1146222
4. Ekyaligonza D.M., Tibasiima T.K., Dietrich P., Kagorora J.P., Friedel J.K., Eder M. & Freyer B. (2022). Short-term trade-offs of organic matter management strategies for smallholder farms. Front. Sustain. Food Syst. 6:1035822. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2022.1035822   
5. Ekyaligonza, D.M., Kahigwa, T. T., Dietrich, P., Akoraebirungi, B., Kagorora, J. P., Friedel, K. F., Melcher, A., & Freyer B. (2022). Biomass contribution and nutrient recycling of organic matter management practices in tropical smallholder annual farming systems. Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica, Section B — Soil & Plant Science, 72:1, 945-956, https://doi.org/10.1080/09064710.2022.2134819
6. Isgren, E., Kahigwa, T. T. "In defense of agroecology: response to Nassib Mugwanya’s “After agroecology”." (2019). The Breakthrough Journal, 11.
7. Jumba, F.R., Tibasiima, T., Byaruhanga, E., Aijuka, J., Pabst, H., Nakalanda, J.M., Kabaseke, C. COVID 19: Lets Act Now: The Urgent Need for Upscaling Agroecology in Uganda (2020). Int. J. Agric. Sustain. 2020, 18, 449–455. https://doi.org/10.1080/14735903.2020.1794428.
8. Bwambale, B., Mertens, K., Tibasiima, T.K., Kervyn, M. (2022). The Socio-Epistemic Process of Indigenous Disaster Risk Reduction: Evidence of Adapting yet Endangered Indigenous Strategies. Int. J. Disaster Risk Reduct., 75, 102953. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2022.102953.
9. Bwambale, B., Tibasiima, T.K. (2021). Framing Indigenous Farming Practices for Adaptation to Climate Change: Evidence from the Rwenzori (Uganda). In Proceedings of the Towards Shifting Paradigms in Agriculture for A Healthy and Sustainable Future; Hohenheim, Germany, 15–17 September.
10. Bwambale, B., Muhumuza, M., Kahigwa, T.T., Baluku, S.M.B., Kasozi, H., Nyeko, M., Kervyn, M., 2023. Foundations of indigenous knowledge on disasters due to natural hazards: lessons from the outlook on floods among the Bayira of the Rwenzori region. Disasters 47, 181–204. https://doi.org/10.1111/disa.12529

Conference presentations

1. Thaddeo Kahigwa Tibasiima, Deous Mary Ekyaligonza, Bosco Bwambale, John Patrick Kanahe Kagorora, Phillipp Dietrich, Francis Richard Jumba and Bernhard Freyer: Reassembling land degradation: towards a nature-society-inclusive soil erosion control strategy: GORILLA conference abstract, 7-10^th December 2022, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.
2. Thaddeo Kahigwa Tibasiima, Deous Mary Ekyaligonza, Bosco Bwambale: The link between agroecology and adoption of soil erosion control in local discourses: Tropentag Conference abstract, 14-16 September, Czech University of Life Sciences Praque, Czech Republic.
3. Bernhard Freyer, Richard Klepsch, Deous Mary Ekyaligonza , Thaddeo Kahigwa Tibasiima, Violet Kisakye, Pierre Ellssel: The myth of agroecology – examples from Uganda: Tropentag Conference abstract, 14-16 September, Czech University of Life Sciences Praque, Czech Republic.
4. Bwambale, B., Tibasiima, T.K. (2021). Framing Indigenous Farming Practices for Adaptation to Climate Change: Evidence from the Rwenzori (Uganda). In Proceedings of the Towards Shifting Paradigms in Agriculture for A Healthy and Sustainable Future; Hohenheim, Germany, 15–17 September.

Deous Mary Ekyaligonza, Thaddeo Kahigwa Tibasiima, Bendicto Akoraebirungi, Bernhard Freyer: Biomass Contribution and Nutrient Balances under Different Organic Matter Management Practices on Smallholder Farming Systems. Tropentag conference Abstract, September 15 - 17, 2021, University of Hohenheim, Germany