Uganda Journal of Agricultural Science (UJAS)
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Effect of market- oriented agriculture on selected agrobiodiversity, household income and food security components
Get PDFCommercialization of agriculture as a government strategy to eradicate poverty at household level has been envisaged in market oriented agricultural production as a way to negate efforts concerning agro-biodiversity and pause a threat to an insurance for household food security
Market opportunities for Ugandan banana products: National, regional and global perspectives
Get PDFBanana (Musa spp.) is the most important food crop in Uganda, and it is also the most important income source for the majority of the Ugandan farmers, especially in the Western Uganda Regions.  
The socio-economic dimensions of smallholder livestock management in Kenya and its effects on competitiveness of crop-livestock systems.
Get PDFThis paper uses data from asurvey of two hundred and fifty cattle keeping households in three cattle keeping systems; intensive, semi-intensive and extensive systems, to assess the contribution of non-market benefits of cattle to the competitiveness and survival of smallholder cattle systems systems in Kenya, from an agricultural development perspective. These benefits of cattle keeping are of special importance in developing countries, where livestock are closely linked to the social lives of farmers and livestock assume finance and insurance roles for households, since financial markets function poorly and opportunities for risk management through formal insurance are generally absent. A complete budget analysis of the cattle enterprise is undertaken to estimate the contribution of non-market benefits to the competitiveness of the smallholder cattle production systems. The results indicate that up to 50-70 percent of the benefits realized from the smallholder cattle systems are non-cash. Further analyses indicate that smallholder cattle production systems are relatively competitive and effecient in utilization of household production factors, when non-market benefits are taken into consideration. This is especially so for extensive systems which are non-market oriented. The importance of non-market roles of cattle in evaluations of smallholder cattle production systems since this will have a bearing on any policy related interventions whose target is households that are wholly or partially dependent on the livestock economy.  
Rural transport and livelihoods in Uganda
Get PDFIn 2002, as part of the three-year action-research project "Improved Food Crop Marketing through Appropriate Transport for poor Farmers in Uganda", a baseline study using both Participatory Rural Appraisals (PRA) and a questionnaire survey was carried out in nine sub-counties of Iganga, Kasese, and Katakwi districts. The baseline study assessed household livelihoods, focusing on ownership of means of transportation and other issues related to livelihood assets, vulnerability context and livelihood startegies. A detailed analysis of cropping and marketing patterns was undertaken in view of the project context. The analysis of the rural transport system included human porterage, intermediate means of transportation (IMTs), motorised transport, road infrastructure, as well as institutions and support services. The baseline study highlighted the shortage of transportation means in rural communities. Bicycles are the main form of IMTs and one of the principle physical assets owned by farmers, particularly in districts with flat terrain. The lack of donkeys, donkey-carts, tractors and trailers, cars and pick-up trucks was evident among the households surveyed, while the ownership of bicycle-trailers and wheelbarrows is very limited. The use of oxen and ox-carts was mainly encountered in Katakwi. In most cases men own the household physical asssets. Ownership by women only appears to become relatively more prevalent if there is a higher number of female-headed households, suggesting that only household heads own assets. Human portarage was found to be the most common mode of transport at community level in all three districts, and, unsurprisingly, farmers expressed a need for better availability of means of transportation. Although motorised forms of transport are used, farmers primarily use them for travel rather than transport purposes. In view of this, oxen, ox-carts, donkeys and donkey-carts, are being introduced and tested in rural communities in the three districts. Partnership arrangements between local organizations and farmer groups, as well as participatory monitoring by the latter, play an integral role in the project
Domestication of medicinal tree species in the Victoria lakeshore region
Get PDFA survey was conducted in the Victoria lakeshore region of central Uganda to identify tree/shrub species that are used and sold by traditional medicine practitioners. A workshop for stakeholders in traditional medicine was conducted. The purpose was to develop criteria for prioritising the tree/shrub species for on-farm growing. These criteria were then used to rank the tree species generated from the survey. Eighty-nine tree/shrub species were identified in this survey, others were mentioned but were not readily available on the market or farms because of scarcity. Several criteria were chosen for prioritizing the tree/shrub species for on-farm planting. These were: the demand (local and international), scarcity, level of domestication, socio-cultural attitudes and adoption potential. The tree species in the survey were ranked using the above-mentioned criteria on a scale of 1 to 5 (1 very low and 5 very high). Total score for each of the species was calculated and the following species were highly scored: Milicia excelsa, syzygium cordatum, Moringa oleifera, Dracaena steudneri, Albizia coriaria, Harungana madagascariensis, Alstonia boonei, Tamarindus indica, Senna floribunda, Ficus sur, Rhus vulgaris and Prunus Africana. The above listed species, including many others such as Warburgia ugandensis, Kigelia africana, Rauvolfia vomitoria, recommended by specialists and traditional medicine pratitoiners were included in our priority medicinal tree species for domestication. This study serves as a foundation for identifying, documenting, propagating and domestication of these multipurpose tree/shrub species
Adoption of Fodder legumes technology through farmer-to-farmer extension approach
Get PDFAdoption studies on fodders legume technologies have shown that spread of the technology is significantly enhanced by informal methods of dissemination especially famer-to-farmer extension. It is not known which type of farmers are involved in this dissemination. The objective of this study was to identify farm and farmer characteristics that influence farmer-to-farmer extension hence identify the type of farmers that can disseminate fodder legume technologies. A random sample of 130 farmers who had been given calliandra in central Kenya responded to a structured questionnaire. Information collected included farm and farmer characteristics and the number of farmers the original farmer had given Callinadra outside the original group. A tobit model was used to analyze the data to get the magnitude of the effects of factors affecting the probability and the intensity of giving out the fodder. Results showed that farmers with positions in farmer groups, with community responsibility, with larger amounts of Desodium spp., on their farms, with more years of the fodder on their farms, with low access to markets, and with off farm income were positively involved in spread of the fodder legume. It was recommended that this type of farmers be targeted with support to increase spread of the technology
Difficulties in assessing outcomes of soil and water conservation extension messages in banana based cropping systems: a case study of student projects at Makarere University, Uganda
Get PDFObservations made on students followin
Selection of assessment methods for evaluating banana weevil damage on highland cooking banana
Get PDFThe banana weevil Cosmopolites sordidus (Germar
Poverty analyses in integrated agricultural research for development.
Get PDFIt is essential for integrated agricultural research for development (IARD) to relate research on agricultural innovations to the demands of farmers with different livelihoods and farming systems, especially according to poverty and gender differentiation. Uganda has a relatively long experience with poverty monitoring at the level of the national and regional economy. The Uganda National Household Survey (UNHS) and Uganda Participatory Poverty Assessment Programme (UPPAP). However ARD has done little to adapt innovations to demands of males and females or poverty groups. With support from DANIDA, the external monitoring unit (EMU) of DANIDA's Agricultural Sector Programme Support (ASPS), has developed a gender and poverty analysis methodology, which supplements poverty analyse based on the UNHS and UPPAP. This approach measures poverty statistically using a multidimensional set of indicators developed from the rural men's and women's own perceptions. In addition the approach can be used at the household level to analyse demands for adoption of and impact of innovations as expressed and experienced by male and female farmers and different poverty groups. The paper describes briefly how multidimensional and participatory poverty and gender well-bieng indicators were identified. A well-bieng ranking methodology was used to obtain the indicators. They were then extrapolated and tested statistically for representativeness and aggregated in a quantitative index. Based on a conventional questionnaire survey, poverty analyses are presented for five ASPS pilot districts in Uganda. Among other things, the analysis shows how different faces of poverty are expressed through different indicators, such as landholding, sources of non-agricultural incomes, food security, and standard of housing. Due to limitations of space, related analyses of gender inequality are not included in this paper. In the ASPS study as well as studies undertaken in other districts. The poverty analyses have also been to access the extent to which agricultural practices are adopted by farmers of varying well being categories, and how different agricultural interventions reach these categories. Finally the paper discusses the need to base poverty targeted IARD on similiar approaches. 
Experiences with micro finance in improving rural livelihoods: a case for the Farmesa project in East and Southern Africa with focus on Uganda
Get PDFIn sub-Saharan Africa typical goals of rural development include food production and poverty alleviation. Despite varying views on the best ways of achieving these goals, production intensification, exploitation of marginal lands and expansion of trade are among the options often sited. At small holder level accelerated adoption of improved agricultural technologies and practices with focus on markets for enhanced livelihoods are some of the driving factors that can sustain rural development, and that intensification of farming must be part and parcel of the strategies for ensuring livelihood security. This paper focuses on a number of issues related to micro-financial service delivery for food production and poverty eradication as a viable path to enhancing rural development. It defines Micro-finance, outlines the needs for micro-finance and characterizes micro-finance institutions that address needs of different levels of recipients. Farmesa's experience in the step-by-step preparation of smallholder borrowers towards timely loan repayment is given. Special reference is made to the performance of the Farmesa's micro-finance initiatives in Kacaboi and Kasenge parishes respectively, in Kumi and Mukono districts of Uganda. The above stated micro-credit initiative attained a 250% increase in community membership from 163 persons (82 female) in 1998 to 471 members (269 female) by June 2004. This compared very favourably to the total offshore funds of about 16,000,000 released to the project over the same period. Accumulated loan portifolio in the two sites was estimated as Ushs 45,750,000 as of June 2004, up from Ushs 3,880,000 during the first cycle in 1998. Total beneficiaries from the micro-credit scheme grew from 171 members in mid-1998 to nearly 2,000 in 2004. Life examples, case studies and lessons on micro-finance as administered by the Farmesa Project are sited. In conclusion, the paper points out some of the salient challanges in micro-finance management and provides proposals for it's out-scalling among smallholder farmers and the rural poor in Uganda.