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Item Experimental Evaluation of Manure Evaporation in The Paddock for a Management Algorithm Development(Academia, 2012-07) Pindozzi, Stefania; Faugno, Salvatore; Okello, Collins; Boccia, LorenzoThe aims of this study was to evaluate the possibility of reducing the weight of manure in paddocks by natural evaporation according to an appropriate management plan. The weight of buffalo manure was recorded by an experimental platform equipped with load cells and installed within the paddock. The data was used for assessing the real evaporation of manure in situ. A model for predicting manure evaporation was developed by adapting a soil evapotranspiration model. On the basis of the model an optimal management strategy was established, which corresponds to minimizing the use of the scraper from the 100th day of the year (DOY) to the 250th DOY. This lead to a potential reduction in weight of the manure by 650 kg/m2/year which corresponds to management cost reduction of about 30%. This approach is effective for reducing the bulkiness of buffalo manure for which the spreading costs per kg of nitrogen and the fuel needs for land application is very substantial considering its low nitrogen content of about 2 mg/m3.Item Study and set-up of a wind tunnel for assessing ammonia emissions from the field(Italian Society of Agricultural Engineering, 2015) di Pertaa, E. Scotto; Bocciaa, L.; Faugno, S.; Okello, C.; Sorrentino, G.; Agizza, M.A.; Pindozzi , S.Item Agriculture 4.0: The Promises for Sustainable Agricultural and Food Systems(Busitema University, 2021-01) Bongomin, Ocident; Okello, Collins; Ocen, Gilbert Gilibrays; Tigalana, DanThe transformative power of industry 4.0 in agricultural and food systems (Agri-food) can be attested from the explosive disruption of agricultural production infrastructures such as connected farms, new farm equipment, and connected tractors and machines which is well-known today as Agriculture 4.0 or Agri-food 4.0. The driving force behind the emergence of Agriculture 4.0 is the dire need to increase efficiency, productivity and quality in agri-food systems, and environmental protection. This has gained attention of many researchers in the recent past and thus, making Agriculture 4.0 a buzzword among the academic literature today. Despite the fact that a number of studies have covered the applications of several disruptive technologies in agri-food, the key technologies that are transforming the agri-food have been ill-defined. Therefore, the present paper aimed at identifying the key disruptive technologies and highlighting their application areas in agri-food. Massive exploratory literature search was conducted on the published papers obtained from the electronic databases including Scopus, ScienceDirect, Wiley, Emerald insight, Taylor & Francis, and Springer. The applications of 11 disruptive technologies in agri-food were analyzed based on 119 published papers. The results showed that 5 key disruptive technologies including Internet of things, Drones, Blockchain, Big Data, and Robotics are emblematic of Agriculture 4.0 epoch. The application areas of these technologies in agri-food are clearly highlighted. The present study revealed the need for extensive research to expand the application areas of the disruptive technologies in agri-food.Item ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS OF VALORISING CATTLE MANURE FOR HOUSEHOLD COOKING ENERGY IN UGANDA(CISA Publisher, 2014-11-20) Okello, C.; Pindozzi, S.; Faugno, S.; Boccia, L.This study employed the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology to evaluate the environmental impacts of utilizing cattle manure as a substrate for biogas generation for cooking energy in Uganda. Results of the study showed that biogas energy systems based of cattle manure has potential environmental benefits in comparison to charcoal produced from natural forests. Under baseline scenario, without recycling of slurry as fertilizer, the biogas system leads to total environmental impacts of over 80% less than that of charcoal system. When slurry is utilized as substitute mineral fertilizers, the environmental impact of biogas system was found to be less than that of charcoal by close to 95%. The study further showed that that use of biogas could lead to considerable reduction on human health impacts compared to charcoal. In conclusion, utilization of cattle manure for biogas production has potential benefit of reducing the environmental impacts due to charcoal production and use in Uganda.Item Study and set-up of a wind tunnel for assessing ammonia emissions from the field(Italian Society of Agricultural Engineering, 2015-06-23) di Pertaa, E. Scotto; Bocciaa, L.; Faugnoa, S.; Okello, C.; Sorrentinod, G.; Agizzad, M. A.; Pindozzia, S.