FACTORS DETERMINING INTENSITY OF CAMEL ADOPTION IN SEMI-ARID NORTH-EASTERN UGANDA

Integration of camel ( Camelus dromedarius ) production in the traditional livestock systems is increasingly gaining significance as a strategy for household adaptation to prolonged and recurrent droughts in African arid and semi-arid lands. There is increasing interest in promoting camels as a strategy to mitigate the effects of prolonged droughts in communities where camels have not been reared before. However, the intensity of camel adoption and the factors that drive camel adoption process in semi-arid Uganda are not clear. The objective of this study was to determine the level of intensity and socio-economic factors influencing the intensity of camel adoption in Karamoja sub-region in Uganda. Econometric results show that age the of a household head was significantly associated with the intensity of camel adoption; whereas household size, credit access and crop area cultivated significantly decreased with the intensity of camel adoption in the region. Increasing camel adoption was possible with increasing access to capital; as well as carefully balancing the competition for labour with crop cultivation.L\u2019int\ue9gration de la production de chameaux (Camelus dromedarius) dans les syst\ue8mes d\u2019\ue9levage traditionnels prend de plus en plus d\u2019importance en tant que strat\ue9gie d\u2019adaptation des m\ue9nages aux s\ue9cheresses prolong\ue9es et r\ue9currentes dans les regions arides et semi-arides d\u2019Afrique. Il y a un int\ue9r\ueat croissant pour la promotion des chameaux comme strat\ue9gie pour att\ue9nuer les effets des s\ue9cheresses prolong\ue9es dans les communaut\ue9s o\uf9 les chameaux n\u2019ont pas \ue9t\ue9 \ue9lev\ue9s auparavant. Cependant, l\u2019intensit\ue9 de l\u2019adoption des chameaux et les facteurs qui motivent le processus d\u2019adoption des chameaux dans la r\ue9gion semi-aride de l\u2019Ouganda ne sont pas clairs. L\u2019objectif de cette \ue9tude \ue9tait de d\ue9terminer le niveau d\u2019intensit\ue9 et les facteurs socio-\ue9conomiques influen\ue7ant l\u2019intensit\ue9 de l\u2019adoption de chameaux dans la sous-r\ue9gion de Karamoja en Ouganda. Les r\ue9sultats \ue9conom\ue9triques ont montr\ue9 que l\u2019\ue2ge du chef de m\ue9nage \ue9tait significativement associ\ue9 \ue0 l\u2019intensit\ue9 de l\u2019adoption de chameaux ; tandis que la taille des m\ue9nages, l\u2019acc\ue8s au cr\ue9dit et la superficie cultiv\ue9e ont consid\ue9rablement diminu\ue9 avec l\u2019intensit\ue9 de l\u2019adoption de chameaux dans la r\ue9gion. L\u2019augmentation de l\u2019adoption de chameaux \ue9tait possible avec un acc\ue8s accru au capital; ainsi que d\u2019\ue9quilibrer soigneusement la concurrence pour la main-d\u2019\u153uvre avec la culture des plantes

The role of variety attributes in the uptake of new hybrid bananas among smallholder rural farmers in central Uganda

Open Access Journal; Published online: 29 Jun 2020Background While advances in agricultural research and development have led to generation of improved new cooking hybrid banana varieties (HBVs) with enhanced yield potential to restore production levels, these have been received with mixed feelings on production and consumption attributes among the farming communities in Uganda. Some farmers prefer HBVs that are comparable to their local varieties in terms of consumption attributes such as soft food, color when cooked, flavor and taste while others prefer high-yielding HBVs to produce surplus output for sale. Methods Using cross-sectional survey data from 242 randomly selected smallholder banana farmers in Nakaseke and Luwero districts in Central Uganda, the study applied a Tobit regression model to analyze the influence of socio-economic factors and variety attributes on the adoption of new hybrid bananas. Results The results on the perception of farmers on banana variety attributes showed that the new HBVs had desirable production-related attributes, while local cultivars were rated superior to hybrids on consumption-related attributes. Evidence further showed that production-related and consumption-related attributes influenced farmers’ decisions in the adoption of HBVs. Further, an assessment of the socio-economic factors that influence the adoption of HBVs showed that education of the farmer, household size, interaction with different banana actors, experience (number of years growing HBVs), and source of planting materials had a significant influence on farmers’ adoption of the new HBVs. Conclusion The study findings provide insights into the need for agricultural research and development initiatives to target the development of banana varieties with multi-traits that meet end-users’ preferences and needs. Facilitating the establishment of multi-actor platforms that bring together the different actors to share information and learn might be useful in increasing the intensity of HBVs adoption