Factors affecting choice of financial services among rural consumers: Emerging experiences from Gicumbi District, northern Province in Rwanda

Enhancement of financial inclusivity of rural communities is often recognised as a key strategy for achieving economic development in third world countries. The main objective of this study was to examine the factors that influence consumers’ choice of a rural bank in Gicumbi district of Rwanda. Data was collected using structured questionnaires and analysed using a binary probit regression model and non-parametric procedures. Most consumers were aware of Popular Bank of Rwanda (BPR) and Umurenge SACCO through radio advertisements, social networks and community meetings. Accessibility, interest rates and quality of services influenced choice of a given financial intermediary. Moreover, the decision to open a rural bank account was significantly influenced by education and farm size (p<0.1). These results indicate the need for financial managers to consider these findings for successful marketing campaigns.

Das Arbeitserziehungslager Breitenau (1940-1945). Ein Beitrag zum nationalsozialistischen Lagersystem

Die Dissertation befasst sich mit der Geschichte des Arbeitserziehungslagers (AEL) Breitenau, das 1940 von der Gestapostelle Kassel auf dem Gelände der Landesarbeitsanstalt Breitenau in Guxhagen gegründet wurde und bis zum Kriegsende bestand. Darüber hinaus wird auch der Frage nachgegangen, wie nach der NS-Zeit mit der Geschichte des Lagers, den Opfern und den Tätern umgegangen wurde. Die Dissertation ist in drei Teile gegliedert. Der erste Teil gibt einen Überblick über die Geschichte der Geheimen Staatspolizeistelle Kassel, der das Lager unterstand und die als zentrale Verfolgungsbehörde für den Regierungsbezirk Kassel zuständig war. Dabei wird vor allem aufgezeigt, wie die Gestapostelle Kassel entstanden ist, wie sie aufgebaut war und wer die Leiter und Mitarbeiter während des Zweiten Weltkrieges waren, die die Verfolgungsmaßnahmen organisierten und durchführten. Der zweite Teil der Dissertation befasst sich mit der eigentlichen Lagergeschichte. Breitenau war eines der ersten Arbeitserziehungslager überhaupt. Die Hauptfunktion bestand darin, ausländische Zwangsarbeiter und Zwangsarbeiterinnen, die sich dem Arbeitseinsatz widersetzt hatten, durch harte Bestrafung gefügig zu machen. Gleichzeitig wurden in das AEL aber auch deutsche und ausländische Gefangene eingewiesen, die aus politischen, rassischen, religiösen oder weltanschaulichen Gründen verhaftet worden waren. Das Lager unterstand zwar der Geheimen Staatspolizei Kassel, wurde aber von den Bediensteten der Landesarbeitsanstalt mit geleitet. Im Verlaufe des Zweiten Weltkrieges waren im AEL Breitenau etwa 8.300 überwiegend ausländische Schutzhaftgefangene inhaftiert, unter denen sich ca. 1.900 Frauen und 6.400 Männer befanden. Bei den Einweisungen wirkten neben der Gestapostelle Kassel und der Gestapostelle Weimar zahlreiche Orts- und Kreispolizeibehörden mit, wodurch ein flächendeckender Verfolgungsapparat entstand. Insgesamt lassen sich über 1.000 letzte Wohnorte von Gefangenen ermitteln. Die Haft- und Lebensbedingungen im Lager waren vor allem für die ausländischen Gefangenen besonders unmenschlich, und es gab mehrere Todesfälle. Nachweislich wurden mehr als 750 Gefangene in Konzentrationslager deportiert, was für viele den Tod bedeutete. Außerdem wurden mindestens 18 polnische Gefangene von Angehörigen der Gestapo Kassel erhängt und noch unmittelbar vor Kriegsende ein Massenmord an 28 Gefangenen verübt. Erst mit dem Einmarsch der amerikanischen Soldaten am Ostersamstag 1945 wurde das Arbeitserziehungslager Breitenau endgültig aufgelöst. Im dritten Teil der Dissertation wird der Frage des Umgangs mit dem damaligen Geschehen nachgegangen. Dabei lässt sich feststellen, dass die Täter und Mittäter von deutschen Spruchkammern und Gerichten gar nicht oder kaum bestraft wurden. Gleichzeitig wurden ihnen verschiedene Möglichkeiten geboten, sich in die Gesellschaft zu integrieren. Die ehemaligen Gefangenen hatten dagegen keinen Anspruch auf Entschädigung, und auch eine gesellschaftliche Würdigung wurde ihnen versagt. Erst seit den 90er Jahren trat hier eine Veränderung ein, die allerdings für viele Verfolgte zu spät kam. Die Geschichte des Arbeitserziehungslagers Breitenau war viele Jahre verdrängt worden. Das Gelände diente bis 1949 als Landesarbeitsanstalt, dann als geschlossenes Erziehungsheim, und seit 1974 besteht dort eine psychiatrische Einrichtung. Erst 1979 wurde durch ein Forschungsprojekt an der Gesamthochschule Kassel die NS-Geschichte „wiederentdeckt“ und 1984 die Gedenkstätte Breitenau eingerichtet, die als Gedenk- und Bildungsort an das damalige Geschehen erinnert.

Assessment of the strategies of organic fruit production and fruit drying in Uganda

Organic agriculture in Uganda is developing at a fast pace and despite this trend Uganda is still unable to produce enough fresh and dry organic fruits mainly pineapple to meet the exporters demand. This current research investigated the strategies of farmers at production level by assessing the pros and cons of fruit growing, organic agriculture and fruit drying in order to understand the underlying causal factor for the low production of organic dry fruits in a major fruit producing district of Uganda. The study was carried out in two separate and distinctive areas; one which only produces and export fresh organic pineapple and the other which exports dried fruits (mainly pineapple and papaya). About 10% of the farmers in the two study areas were surveyed using questionnaires which were further followed by semi-structured interviews and participatory rural appraisals activities with various types of farmers in order to understand the different decisions and strategies of farmers. 82% and 74% of farmers in the two study areas grew fruits as it gave better economic returns and for 77% and 90% respectively in the two study areas, the reasons for growing fruit was the ease of selling compared to other crops. All the farmers were relying on coffee husk for growing organic pineapples. However, 50% of the farmers want to grow pineapples (either organic or conventional) but couldn't afford to buy coffee husk. Fruit drying was mainly a strategy to utilize cheap fruits during harvesting seasons for value addition. 71% and 42% of farmers in the two study areas wanted to dry fruits but it was beyond their economic capacity to buy the driers. Decision of the farmers whether to grow fruits or cereals, organic or conventional agriculture and selling the fruits as fresh or dry were dependent mainly on the economic, knowledge and resource availability of each type of practices. It is concluded that the main barrier for an increase in the production of organic dried fruits is at the processing level, and the limited capacity for investments in drying facilities.

Microbial response to restoration of tantalite mine soils in western Rwanda

Artisanal columbite-tantalite (coltan) mining has had negative effects on the rural economy in the great Lakes region of Africa through labor deficits, degradation and loss of farmland, food insecurity, high cost of living, and reduced traditional export crop production alongside secondary impacts that remotely affect the quality of air, water, soil, plants, animals, and human wellbeing. The situation is multifaceted and calls for a holistic approach for short and long-term mitigation of such negative effects. This study focuses on the effects of mine land restoration on soil microbiological quality in the Gatumba Mining District of western Rwanda. Some coltan mine wastelands were afforested with pine and eucalyptus trees while farmers directly cultivated others due to land scarcity. Farmyard manure (FYM) is the sole fertilizer applied on the wastelands although it is insufficient to achieve the desired crop yields. Despite this, several multi-purpose plants such as Tithonia diversifolia, Markhamia lutea, and Canavalia brasiliensis thrive in the area and could supplement FYM. The potential for these “new” amendments to improve soil microbial properties, particularly in the tantalite mine soils was investigated. The specific objectives of the study were to: (a) evaluate the effects of land use on soil microbial indices of the tantalite mine soils; (b) investigate the restorative effects of organic amendments on a Technosol; and (c) estimate the short-term N and P supply potential of the soil amendments in the soils. Fresh soils (0-20 cm) from an unmined native forest, two mine sites afforested with pine and eucalyptus forests (pine and eucalyptus Technosols), an arable land, and two cultivated Technosols (Kavumu and Kirengo Technosols) were analyzed for the physicochemical properties. Afterwards, a 28-day incubation (22oC) experiment was conducted followed by measurements of mineral N, soil microbial biomass C, N, P, and fungal ergosterol contents using standard methods. This was followed by a 12-week incubation study of the arable soil and the Kavumu Technosol amended with FYM, Canavalia and Tithonia biomass, and Markhamia leaf litter after which soil microbial properties were measured at 2, 8, and 12 weeks of incubation. Finally, two 4-week incubation experiments each were conducted in soils of the six sites to estimate (i) potential mineralizable N using a soil-sand mixture (1:1) amended with Canavalia and goat manure and (ii) P mineralization mixtures (1:1) of soil and anion exchange resins in bicarbonate form amended with Tithonia biomass and goat manure. In study one, afforestation increased soil organic carbon and total N contents in the pine and eucalyptus Technosols by 34-40% and 28-30%, respectively of that in the native forest soil. Consequently, the microbial biomass and activity followed a similar trend where the cultivated Technosols were inferior to the afforested ones. The microbial indices of the mine soils were constrained by soil acidity, dithionite-extractable Al, and low P availability. In study two, the amendments substantially increased C and N mineralization, microbial properties compared with non-amended soils. Canavalia biomass increased CO2 efflux by 340%, net N mineralization by 30-140%, and microbial biomass C and N by 240-600% and 240-380% (P < 0.01), respectively after four weeks of incubation compared with the non-amended soils. Tithonia biomass increased ergosterol content by roughly 240%. The Kavumu Technosol showed a high potential for quick restoration of its soil quality due to its major responses to the measured biological parameters. In study three, Canavalia biomass gave the highest mineralizable N (130 µg g-1 soil, P < 0.01) in the Kavumu Technosol and the lowest in the native forest soil (-20 µg g-1 soil). Conversely, the mineralizable N of goat manure was negative in all soils ranging from -2.5 µg N g-1 to -7.7 µg N g-1 soil except the native forest soil. However, the immobilization of goat manure N in the “cultivated soils” was 30-70% lower than in the “forest soils” signifying an imminent recovery of the amended soils from N immobilization. The mineralization of goat manure P was three-fold that of Tithonia, constituting 61-71% of total P applied. Phosphorus mineralization slightly decreased after four weeks of incubation due to sulfate competition as reflected in a negative correlation, which was steeper in the Tithonia treatment. In conclusion, each amendment used in this research played a unique role in C, N, and P mineralization and contributed substantially to microbial properties in the tantalite mine soils. Interestingly, the “N immobilizers” exhibited potentials for P release and soil organic carbon storage. Consequently, the combined use of the amendments in specific ratios, or co-composting prior to application is recommended to optimize nutrient release, microbial biomass dynamics and soil organic matter accrual. Transport of organic inputs seems more feasible for smallholder farmers who typically manage small field sizes. To reduce acidity in the soils, liming with wood ash was recommended to also improve P availability and enhance soil biological quality, even if it may only be possible on small areas. Further, afforestation with mixed-species of fast-growing eucalyptus and legume or indigenous tree species are suggested to restore tantalite mine wastelands. It is emphasized most of this research was conducted under controlled laboratory conditions, which exclude interaction with environmental variables. Also fine fractions of the amendments were used compared with the usual practice of applying a mixture of predominantly coarser fractions. Therefore, the biological dynamics reported in the studies here may not entirely reflect those of farmers’ field conditions.