Aton Solar Fruit Dryers: Northern Uganda Sustainable Hunger Solution

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Aton Solar Fruit Dryers: Northern Uganda Sustainable Hunger Solution

Written by Abet Tonny

Elsewhere in the world, some people are drowning in flood whilst in Lango sub-region found in northern part of Uganda, it has now been 7 months of drought, skin-roasting heat, hunger and misery. In March 2018, temperature in Lango went to as high as 109 degrees Fahrenheit. Lango has 1.5 million people and over 90% of the populations rely on farming as major source of livelihood. It had rained for some two days last month -March 2019, few confident farmers had proceeded planted their hybrid seeds following advise from the National Meteorological Authority but to their utter heartbreak when no single rain drop was experienced henceforth. Farmers lost hundred millions of shillings. 

The prices of food grains like maize and beans  -the most consumed food grains in Lango, have sky rocketed with a kilogram of beans going for as high as $0.7 in local currency. Consider the basic fact that the largest number of families in Lango live on less than $1 a day reveals that the all struggle is now feeding, a huge number of children have stopped schooling,for there is no money to pay school fees. Several families can hardly afford a meal a day. With this prolonged sunshine and furious heat, hunger, misery and hopelessness rage even more in this community recovering from 20 years of LRA insurgency 

Child nutrition is the most threatened by this climate change castigated hunger. These children should attend school daily and excel but with empty stomach, this is nothing but a wild dream. According to USAID,  "In Uganda, 2.2 million children under 5 years (29 percent) are stunted because of malnutrition." Unlike adults, a child's body highly demands food to meet bodies growth needs. Robust child nutrition has also been proven to contribute highly to a child's academic excellence, general creativity in life  due to well built brain and body health during childhood and adulthood. But with this raging hunger in the sub-region, there is no hope for children as the government program to promote feeding in school failed to be implemented in major corners of the nation.

Fortunately, after 7 months, the mango season has reached in the sub-region. Children feel relieved as they can have something to negotiate with the stomach's urge for food. The season often lasting for a mere 1 month and children are brought back to usual misery as close to 50% of the mangoes ripening go to waste. There is no available technology to store for longer time or process the mangoes as they almost ripen at the same time.

Aton Wellness has a solution for this. For 5 years now, Aton had been innovating sustainable technologies for farmers including this Solar Fruit Dryers. The dryer is long lasting simple technology with heat concentration, air blowing and drying units where sliced fruits are placed and in 2 days they are fully dry. The dried fruit retains the natural taste and sensation of the parent fruit and can be stored for up to 5 years. Several fruits can be dried using this technology not limited to; mango, jack fruit, banana and pineapple. It takes only 30 minutes to learn how to operate and maintain this Aton Solar Fruit Dryer machine. Very affordable and fit for use even for those remote areas or illiterate users.

Aton Solar Fruit Dryer

Fruits like mangoes are very rich sources of sugar in hunger situation helping boost the energy level. However, fruits are majorly consumed for the anti-oxidants -cancer preventing nutrients in them and Vitamin C which helps in making our skin smooth and good looking. Solar dried fruits retain all these nutritious components.

                        

               See 7 surprising nutritional benefits of eating dried mangoes>>>HERE

Aton Solar Fruit Dryer technology can thus be a great boost for families who value the health of their members as it secures consumption of these healthy fruits beyond the natural ripening season.

Line government agencies and NGOs in nutrition, health and livelihood can promote this technology among local people as they hail the creativity of Uganda's own youth in bringing sustainable food solutions to the nation and globe.

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Uganda's Livestock Industry Loses UGX300 Billion Annually due to Ticks attack

Uganda's Livestock Industry Loses UGX300 Billion Annually due to Ticks attack Written by Abet Tonny According to United Nation's Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), the world loses 7.3 dollars (approximately 26,000 shillings) per animal per year fighting ticks. A research study conducted in Uganda's Mburo National Park community led by a Makerere University Dr. Ocaido, the effect of ticks on animal production in Uganda is  enormous. In the analysis of their research data, it was revealed that of the total disease control costs, the pastoralists and ranches in the area were spending 85% and 73% respectively to control ticks and tick-borne diseases. This result might not be so surprising with the prevailing fact that in Uganda, in every 10 cattle you find grazing, at least 8 of them are under severe attack from ticks -a condition scientists term as 'tick infestation.'  In the most recent national survey conducted by Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS), Uganda has 11.4 million head of cattle and when you apply your simple mathematics multiplying the total head of cattle (11,400,000) with the yearly loss per animal (26,000) the result should be 299,592,000,000 and this is approximately 300 billion Uganda shillings lost annually battling with ticks. The major threat however is that this loss may double in the next few years as researchers confirm rises in tick resistance to available control chemicals even as veterinary drugs simultaneously become ineffective in managing tick-borne diseases across the nation. The untold battle with ticks in Uganda had definitely lasted thousands of years and it is only growing worse. Animal health practitioners feel weary and exhausted scratching everywhere for solutions to the animal industry's toughest terrorists -ticks but with little success to boast. It is important to appreciate that farmers and investors have already lost much in their animal production related investments owing to raging ticks and tick-borne diseases.  Battle with ticks is a great concern globally. The crave to understand it deeply overwhelmed me. There was no better person to unveil this reality than a local animal farmer. And on 15th March 2019, I decided to pay a strategic visit to Patrick Okello. Patrick is an elderly farmer with 10 heads of cattle, 8 females and 2 males. His farm is some 20 km away from Lira town. Patrick has supplied milk to urban dwellers for the last 30 years. He has Ankole breed of cattle -well managed and healthy cattle kept in free range.  Asking Patrick on whether he had ever had to battle with ticks on his cattle, how he can rate the financial loss and general heartache associated with ticks management, Patrick had these revelations: "There are a number of diseases that keep disturbing these animals. The diseases get more severe if I don't spray to kill ticks on their skin." Patrick continues to narrate that last year 2018 he lost one cow to disease that the veterinary doctor told him is tick-borne. Patrick had delayed for six (6) months minus spraying against ticks. "The problem is that if you start spraying periodically and you skip, the effect of ticks can be overwhelming and death of animal can occur like that one of last year. Sometimes I wish I don't spray my animals like my other friends but I also fear the milk production of my cows will drop so much and the calves would grow so slowly and poorly," Patrick talks as if cursing and applauding the tick control chemicals at ago.  Then on the issue of costs associated with managing ticks, Patrick revealed that each year he spends at least 60,000 to buy tick control chemicals and meet associated costs like transport. The farmer continued that he spends 150,000 to pay a local veterinary doctor who comes thrice a year to treat his animals. Patrick also unveiled to me that sometimes the tick control chemicals -acaricides he buys turn out to be ineffective and that he would have to buy another acaricide. In a nutshell, Patrick loses 210,000 shillings yearly in battle with ticks on his 10 cattle implying he loses 21,000 shillings per cattle per year battling with ticks. In situation where the acaricides do not work, Patrick would spend close to 25,000 shillings per cattle per year. All in all, the reality on ground 80% agrees with FAO's analysis. But when you factor in losses associated with reduced milk volume, lower price at selling point for the animal due to weight issues, death of animal due to tick-borne disease among others, the losses are massive. Ticks are small wingless blood-sucking insects. They are seen when in different sizes, one can encounter a tick as small as a pinhead when unfed or around 10 millimeter (size of maize seed) after sucking blood. There are different species of ticks all presenting with beautiful shades of colours. The colours can range from brown through gray to black or a mix of all the above or more colours. Ticks attack animals like cattle, pigs and poultry. However, their attack on cattle is the most renowned and economically significant one. The attacks on cattle have direct and indirect effects. Parasitic diseases like babesiosis, theileriosis and anaplasmosis are transmitted by ticks to cattle and very rampant in Uganda. These diseases directly lower the market value and reduce productivity of the cattle. The common manifestations of these diseases on cattle include: fever, anaemia, decreased appetite, reduction in milk production, lower endurance of oxen when ploughing, general weakness, lower weight gain, abortion, lower pregnancy rate and death in cattle. Fast development of resistance of ticks to control chemicals -acaricides is greatly worrying scientists in Uganda as farmers and investors face a sharp rise in production costs. Most veterinary input shops and practitioners still continue to stock and recommend some of the tick control chemicals farmers consider as 'not working.' Makererere University  RTC Laboratory based in College of Veterinary Medicine responded to the cry of local farmers. A special research study which result would justify or nullify the claim about 'acaricide ineffectiveness' by local farmers was designed by a team of five (5) experienced researchers. The outcome of this research would be very enlightening. The special laboratory investigation at RTC Laboratory revealed that up to 90% -9 in every 10 tick population showed resistance to synthetic pyrethroid acaricides. Synthetic pyrethroid chemical is the most recommended type given it is considered the safest to the environment and human health. Unfortunately, the farmers have been lamenting about its ineffectiveness and this high profile research study offered concrete scientific backing to the farmers' claim. According to lead researcher in this research project - Dr. Vudriko, ticks were sampled from 17 districts in Uganda in 54 farms. The researchers used 'Larval packet test method' to screen 31 tick populations from 30 farms for ability of the locally available tick control chemicals to kill them. These scientists at Makerere University used the following classes of tick control chemicals; amidine, synthetic pyrethroid (SP), organophosphate (OP) and mixture OP-SP (COF). The researchers then proceeded to assess 'resistance' based on World Health Organization criteria for screening insecticide resistance. Vudriko confirms that even upon doubling the doses of the synthetic pyrethroid, 6 in 10 ticks still showed resistance to the chemical. Close to half -43% of ticks were also resistant to mixture of tick control chemicals that the researchers termed co-formulations, chlorfenvinphos and amitraz registered 13% resistance from ticks. Amitraz is has been one of the best tick control chemical but the incidence of tick resistance to it has started emerging.  The RTC study was the first to report emergence of high level of resistance of ticks to synthetic pyerthroid and resistance to wide range of chemicals in what the scientists termed as 'super SP resistant and multi-acaricide resistant Rhipicephalus ticks in Uganda.' Most importantly, the researchers are worried that in the absence of technical interventions, farmer-led solutions aimed at troubleshooting for efficacy of multitude of tick control chemicals at their disposal are expected to potentially cause negative collateral effects on future chemical tick control options, animal welfare and public health.  Finally, unlike human drugs that are present in different types, there are very few panels of chemicals for managing ticks. The most intriguing bit is that ticks are so far significantly resistant to 60% of these chemicals. Unless the government of Uganda is planning to invent a novel tick control chemical, non-regualted usage of acaricides will mean in the next few years, ticks will become resistant to all available chemical types and the country will have no option but to down-size on the animal production industry as animal farming can't last any long without robust tick control strategy involving use of tick control chemicals. Thanks for reading. Please feel free to give a comment below.