Browsing by Author "Turyahabwe, Remigio"

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    Assessment of landslide susceptibility and settlement exposure via geospatial techniques in Bulambuli distrcit, Eastern Uganda
    (Environmental Research Institute, 2025-10-15) Mulabbi, Andrew; Esagu, John Calvin; Gertrude, Akello; Turyahabwe, Remigio
    Landslide susceptibility is a significant concern in Elgon County, Uganda, particularly during the rainy season. This vulnerability is attributable to several factors, including steep slopes, fertile soils, and dense settlements on volcanic ridges. Landslide susceptibility maps are important in mitigating the risk particularly at the local level. The objectives of this study were 1) to model landslide susceptibility via an interpretable machine-learning model, 2) to identify the most influential factors for landslide susceptibility in the study area, and 3) to assess the exposure of settlements to landslide risk. This study employed the XGBoost model trained on nine conditioning factors via GIS data. Exposure analysis was performed through the zonal statistics and spatial overlay of the landslide susceptibility map with the settlement footprint data and classified into four risk exposure classes. The results show that the XGBoost model attained an AUC of 95.2%, indicating its precision. The results further revealed that approximately 50% of the slopes are susceptible to landslides and that 76% of the settlements in the study area are highly exposed to landslide risk. Bulugunya, Sisiyi, Lusha, and Buginyanya subcounties located on the middle slopes are the most susceptible areas in Elgon County and have relatively high settlement exposure because of the overlap of dense settlements with unstable terrain. The SHAP analysis identified slope, elevation, and the NDVI as the key influencing factors of susceptibility. This study highlights the importance of conducting detailed, local-scale landslide susceptibility and risk exposure mapping as necessary for risk and vulnerability assessment. The generation of such maps has the potential to inform land-use planning and risk-reduction strategies, thus offering significant advantages over regional models. Furthermore, by interpreting the XGBoost model, this study provides valuable insights into the decision-making processes of machine learning models, promoting their practical application in designing appropriate disaster mitigation plans.
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    Factors affecting adoption of climate change adaptation strategies by small holder farmers in mountain and lowland agro-ecological zones of Eastern Uganda
    (Universitas Muhammadiyah Surakarta, 2022-12-05) Turyahabwe, Remigio; Turybanawe, Gumisiriza; Asaba, Joyfred; Mulabbi, Andrew; Geofrey, Geoffrey
    Several challenges confront farmers in tropical rural areas, but climate change can only be overcome by adopting climate change resilience strategies. This study assessed the factors affecting the adoption of strat-egies to enhance climate change resilience in the Muyembe sub-county, Bulambuli district, Uganda. We used questionnaires, interviews, focused group discussions, and field observations to collect the required data, which was analysed using basic descriptive statistics and a logistic regression model. The results indi-cate that the dominant climate change resilience strategies adopted in the study were soil/water conservation (65%), drought-resistant crop varieties (59.4%), and irrigation (55.6). In addition, the logistic regression indicated that gender and family size were the most important factors influencing the adoption of climate change resilience strategies with coefficients -0.86 and P<0.05, and0.18 and P<0.05, respectively. On the other hand, financial constraints and adulteration of farm inputs were the dominant barriers to adoption most farmers with 93.4% and 74%, respectively. We concluded that many farmers remain locked in indigenous practices that have made them vulnerable to climate change effects characterized by low yields, crop failure, low incomes, poverty, and food insecurity. We recommended that government should support the adaptation strategies to climate change by the smallholder farmers technically by providing both ground and surface water irrigation facilities and financially by providing agricultural loans as well as focusing on promoting awareness and advancing education on climate change to farmers through knowledge and skill sharing plat-forms such as training, conferences, and seminars.
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    Factors affecting the adoption of soil and water conservation practices by small-holder farmers in Muyembe Sub-County, Eastern Uganda
    (University of Ghana, 2022-03-14) Turyahabwe, Remigio; Wambede, Nabalegwa Muhamud; Asaba, Joyfred; Mulabbi, Andrew; Turyabanawe, Loy Gumisiriza
    Farmers in tropical rural areas are confronted with several challenges but outstanding among these challenges is soil degradation arising from soil erosion. This study involved identifying the dominant soil and water conservation practices and assessing the factors affecting their adoption in the Muyembe sub-county, Eastern Uganda. A total of 500 respondents were used to obtain primary data. As the study adopted a crosssectional design, we used questionnaires, interviews, focus group discussions and field observations to collect the required data. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and the non-parametric (Chi-square) test. The results indicated that the dominant soil and water conservation practices adopted in the study area were, contour cropping (77%), mixed cropping (59% and crop rotation (51%). The remaining five practices had less than a 50% adoption rate. The chi-square test revealed that the age and gender of the farmers had a significant association with the levels of the adoption of soil and water conservation practices among farmers at P<0.001. We concluded that the adoption of soil and water conservation practices was low, which left the majority of farmers vulnerable to soil erosion effects such as low yields and crop failure. We recommend that stakeholders who work on soil and water conservation programs use model farmers in the area to educate and demonstrate the importance of soil and water conservation practices to other farmers.