Constraints and Opportunities for SMEs Investment in Uganda's Oil and Gas Sector

Uganda's Oil Industry has attracted huge foreign investment, but participation by SMEs has remained poor despite their importance in income generation, employment and poverty eradication. Although the Oil industry is highly specialised, it provides indirect investment opportunities for SMEs who make up 80 percent of Uganda's private sector. The opportunities available however have not been sufficiently usurped by SMEs due to the information gap on how to create business partnerships, requirements of the industry and actors in the industry

Constraints and Opportunities for Small and Medium- Sized Enterprises in Ugandas Oil and Gas Sector

Although Uganda has undertaken several strategic interventions since the oil discovery in 2006, specific interventions that promote local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to invest in the oil and gas value chain remain a challenge. In particular, a gap exists on available opportunities for SMEs to participate in the value chain, including potential business linkages and partnerships. In addition, there are  constraints that deter their competitive advantage. It is important to identify these constraints and convert them into opportunities to realise both the local content and the national oil and gas policy objectives

The dynamics of Household labor allocation to biogas production, farm and non-farm activities in central Uganda

This work was supported by funding from the African Union Commission to the Afri-flame network under the project: Adaptation of small-scale biogas digesters for use in rural households in Sub-Saharan Africa, grant number AURG/2/058/2012.Peer reviewedPostprin

Transaction costs and smallholder household access to maize markets in Zambia

This is a full length Research Paper a part of a masters thesis.After liberalization of the Zambian economy, farmers were faced with the responsibility of finding the right buyers, negotiating prices and delivering produce leading to them incurring transaction costs. This study aimed at identifying and quantifying transaction costs factors and their impact on maize market participation for small holder farmers in Zambia. The study used primary data collected from a sample of 240 randomly selected households from Zambia’s central Province. The Heckman’s procedure was used to analyze factors affecting the likelihood and extent of participation in maize markets. The logit results (from the Heckman’s two-stage process) show that ownership of assets such as radios and having access to alternative marketing channels increased the likelihood of market participation while the heckit results (OLS corrected for selectivity bias) shows that ownership of oxcarts, increased family size and experience in maize marketing were the factors that increased quantities of maize marketed. The study recommends provision of market information, improving accessibility to markets as well as increasing access to productive assets as means of alleviating impact of transaction costs.Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD) German Academic Exchange Servic

Total Economic Value of Wetlands Products and Services in Uganda

Wetlands provide food and non-food products that contribute to income and food security in Uganda. This study determined the economic value of wetland resources and their contribution to food security in the three agroecological zones of Uganda. The values of wetland resources were estimated using primary and secondary data. Market price, Productivity, and Contingent valuation methods were used to estimate the value of wetland resources. The per capita value of fish was approximately US$0.49 person−1. Fish spawning was valued at approximately US$ 363,815 year−1, livestock pastures at US$4.24 million, domestic water use at US$ 34 million year−1, and the gross annual value added by wetlands to milk production at US$1.22 million. Flood control was valued at approximately US$ 1,702,934,880 hectare−1 year−1 and water regulation and recharge at US$7,056,360 hectare−1 year−1. Through provision of grass for mulching, wetlands were estimated to contribute to US$ 8.65 million annually. The annual contribution of non-use values was estimated in the range of US$7.1 million for water recharge and regulation and to US$ 1.7 billion for flood control. Thus, resource investment for wetlands conservation is economically justified to create incentives for continued benefits

Smallholder Farmers ’ Decision and Level of Participation in the Potato Market in Uganda

Smallholder potato farmers in Uganda face many production and marketing challenges including limited access to markets and low surpluses for sale into the market. This study sought to underscore the factors that influence smallholder farmers ’ decision to participate in the potato market and level of participation in such markets. Data were collected from 200 smallholder potato farmers in Kabale and Mbale districts. Descriptive statistics and a two-stage Heckman model were used to analyse the data. Results indicated that proximity to a village market positively and significantly (p ≤ 0.05) influenced decision to participate in the potato market. Results of the second stage of the model indicated that non-farm income earned negatively and significantly (p ≤ 0.01) affected the potato farmer’s level of market participation

Economic potential of flexible balloon biogas digester among smallholder farmers: A case study from Uganda

This work was supported by the UK DFID grant on ‘The New and Emerging Technologies Research Competition (NET-RC) initiative (Grant No. DFID NET-RC A06502). We gratefully acknowledge the financial support from DFID. We also extend our thanks to the households participated in the survey. The views expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of DFID or the affiliated organizations. Our final thanks go to the two anonymousreviewers for their invaluable and critical comments that have remarkably improved the paper.Peer reviewedPostprin

Are smallholder farmers willing to pay for a flexible balloon biogas digester? Evidence from a case study in Uganda

This work was supported by the UK DFID grant on ‘The New and Emerging Technologies Research Competition (NET-RC) initiative (Grant No. DFID NET-RC A06502). We gratefully acknowledge the financial support from DFID. We also extend our thanks to the households participated in the survey. The views expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of DFID or the affiliated organizations.Peer reviewedPostprin

What Drives Smallholder Farmers

Smallholder potato farmers in Uganda can be described as subsistence and in some cases self sufficient characterised with low or no surpluses for sale into the market. This study set out to bring to the fore front the factors that lead to observed smallholder farmer

What Drives Smallholder Farmers

Smallholder potato farmers in Uganda can be described as subsistence and in some cases self sufficient characterised with low or no surpluses for sale into the market. This study set out to bring to the fore front the factors that lead to observed smallholder farmer