Banana Xanthomonas Wilt (BXW) is an important emerging and non-curable infectious plant pathogen in sub-Saharan Africa that can cause up to 100% yield loss, negatively impacting sustainable access to food and income to more than 100 million banana farmers. This study disentangles adopters into partial and full adopters to investigate the factors that are relevant to sustain the adoption process of BXW control practices and quantifies the impact of adopting the practices. Data from a randomly selected sample of 1200 banana farmers in Uganda where the disease is endemic was used. A multinomial logit model was used to determine the factors affecting adoption of control practices and augmented inverse probability weighting was employed to estimate the impacts of adoption on banana productivity and sales. Results show that training a woman farmer and having diverse sources of information about BXW control practices increased adoption of the control practices and reduced the disease incidences. Farmers who adopted all the recommended control practices achieved significantly the highest values of banana production and sales. We conclude that improving information access through farmers’ preferred communication channels, having women-inclusive trainings, and a combination of cultural practices are effective ways for sustaining adoption of the control practices.

Child undernutrition remains a serious public health concern particularly in poor households where limited financial resources hinder proper child nutrition. Improving women’s access to productive resources and employment is crucial for addressing undernutrition. However, maternal employment may reduce the amount of time available for childcare, leading to poor child nutrition and health. This study explored rural community perceptions and experiences regarding maternal employment in relation to aspects of child nutrition and health in northeastern Uganda to inform the design of interventions that can effectively support maternal employment without compromising child nutrition and health. Twelve gender-separated focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted with pastoral and agro-pastoral communities in northeastern Uganda. Data from the FGDs were analysed using a constructivist grounded theory approach. Analysis of the FGD data revealed that cultural norms and economic pressure were crucial factors in maternal employment decisions. We constructed a model that represents maternal employment as a delicate balance to maximize the benefits for child nutrition and health while minimizing the negative consequences. The model comprises the core category, mothers’ solitary struggle for better child nutrition and health, and four interrelated categories: (1) mothers conforming to societal expectations, (2) mediating the effect of maternal employment on child nutrition and health, (3) suffering consequences of maternal employment, and (4) mothers striving for better child nutrition and health. Access to income emerged as the main pathway through which maternal employment leads to better child nutrition and health. However, this benefit often comes at the cost of reduced time for childcare, which is perceived to be detrimental to child nutrition and health. Based on these results, enhancing access to productive resources and employment, particularly for women is crucial for addressing undernutrition. To ensure that maternal employment does not compromise childcare, policies must support the development and access to childcare options that are affordable and appropriate for women in rural areas and in informal employment to effectively balance employment and childcare.