TH1.1: Intra-household decision-making and sustained use of agricultural crop technologies: Evidence from smallholder women farmers in rural Uganda

This research used a mixed method approach to examine how intra-household decision-making patterns shape sustained use of crop technologies among agricultural rural households in eastern Uganda. We estimate how empowerment in decision making, measured using indicators drawn from the project level Women's Empowerment in Agriculture Index mediates sustained use of improved crop varieties. Further, spousal differences in decision-making power and technology use are examined. The results indicate that both men and women use diverse improved crop varieties for different purposes. Overall, we observe differential patterns of use of improved crop varieties with a high proportion of women reporting sustained use of food-related crops while a high proportion of men report income crops. There was a significant association between level of decision making power and sustained use of improved crops by men and women. Women with higher level of participation in decision making power have more sustained use of improved varieties for the main crops grown. Note to be taken that a gender gap still exists in access to improved varieties with men having 6years of use on average as compared to 5 years for women. We also find significant differences between men and women in the same household in their rating of the distribution and extent of involvement in key decisions with less agreement (and mis-attribution) observed among men and women in decision-making scores. Women decision makers tend to allocate themselves higher scores than was assigned to them by their counterparts. We conclude that women's empowerment in decision making has potential to contribute to closing the gender gap in sustained use of agricultural technologies. We therefore need to be more intentional about women's participation, decision making and agency in development interventions if we are to achieve greater impacts in sustained use of agricultural technologies towards better livelihoods

The contestations of diversity, culture and commercialization: why tissue culture technology alone cannot solve the banana Xanthomonas wilt problem in central Uganda

Several initiatives by the Government of Uganda, Research Institutes and CGIAR centers have promoted the use of tissue culture (TC) banana technology as an effective means of providing clean planting material to reduce the spread of Banana Xanthomonas wilt (BXW) but its uptake is still low. We examine factors that constrain uptake of tissue culture banana plant- ing materials in central Uganda by considering the cultural context of banana cultivation. Data were collected using eight focus group discussions involving 64 banana farmers and 10 key informant interviews and subjected to thematic analysis. Results showed that banana cultivars in the study communities were important for food, cultural practices and medicine. Cultivars supplied through TC were based on commercial considerations focusing on market value and household income and insufficient attention was given to their cultural importance. Farmers regard banana from TC planting material to be incom- patible with their tastes and preferences for traditional food and drinks, culture and medicine. Furthermore, the plantlets are perceived as complicated to use, and farmers report requiring more knowledge and information on how to plant and maintain the plantlets on-farm. In these aspects, TC planting material does not align with cultural values linked to societal welfare. Future efforts aimed at controlling pests and diseases would benefit from more location-specific and holistic approaches that integrate cultural dimensions alongside planting material hygiene, quality and vigor

How do youth innovate to make agriculture gainful? Challenges and youth entrepreneurs in mid-western Uganda

The global population is expected to increase to 9 billion by 2050, with the youth accounting for 14 per cent of this total. While the world's youth population is expected to grow, employment and entrepreneurial opportunities for youth, particularly those living in low and middle-income countries remain limited, poorly remunerated and of poor quality. The Ugandan population, in particular, is largely comprised of a high youthful population with 78 percent below the age of thirty. Evidence reveals that youth engagement in agriculture is declining, and in recognition of the agricultural sector's potential to serve as a source of livelihood opportunities, this study assesses the factors impeding youth engagement and the drivers of innovation among the youth engaged in agricultural enterprises in Mid-Western Uganda. Anchoring in the Agricultural Innovation System (AIS), cross-sectional survey and case study research designs were employed to establish the innovativeness of youth, and the factors impeding engagement in agricultural enterprises from the youth's perspective. A pairwise ranking of the factors was also independently done. The findings reveal that the significant factors restraining youth engagement in agricultural enterprises as enhancing soil productivity, access to relevant technical knowledge and information, and access to land for production. The major innovations for successful youth engagement in agriculture are irrigation to reduce risks of dependence on rain, mechanization to reduce labour struggle, and market linkages. The case studies' innovation index portrays a high potential of innovativeness of youth to revolutionize and make agriculture gainful and attractive to the youth

How do youth innovate to make agriculture gainful? Challenges and youth entrepreneurs in mid-western Uganda

The global population is expected to increase to 9 billion by 2050, with the youth accounting for 14 per cent of this total. While the world's youth population is expected to grow, employment and entrepreneurial opportunities for youth, particularly those living in low and middle-income countries remain limited, poorly remunerated and of poor quality. The Ugandan population, in particular, is largely comprised of a high youthful population with 78 percent below the age of thirty. Evidence reveals that youth engagement in agriculture is declining, and in recognition of the agricultural sector's potential to serve as a source of livelihood opportunities, this study assesses the factors impeding youth engagement and the drivers of innovation among the youth engaged in agricultural enterprises in Mid-Western Uganda. Anchoring in the Agricultural Innovation System (AIS), cross-sectional survey and case study research designs were employed to establish the innovativeness of youth, and the factors impeding engagement in agricultural enterprises from the youth's perspective. A pairwise ranking of the factors was also independently done. The findings reveal that the significant factors restraining youth engagement in agricultural enterprises as enhancing soil productivity, access to relevant technical knowledge and information, and access to land for production. The major innovations for successful youth engagement in agriculture are irrigation to reduce risks of dependence on rain, mechanization to reduce labour struggle, and market linkages. The case studies' innovation index portrays a high potential of innovativeness of youth to revolutionize and make agriculture gainful and attractive to the youth. Int. J. Agril. Res. Innov. Tech. 12(1): 39-44, June 202

Intra-household gender division of labour and decision-making on rice postharvest handling practices: A case of Eastern Uganda

Gains in increasing productivity of grain in Sub-Saharan Africa are greatly undermined by the high postharvest losses (PHLs), which compromise the food and income security of households. Rice is one such important food and cash crop experiencing high PHLs. Given the limited mechanization of smallholder farms, PHLs result from practices influenced by knowledge, decision-making power in the household and cultural norms. Gender is an important consideration in the interaction of these factors especially for a duo purpose crop like rice serving both food and income security interests of households. A descriptive cross-sectional survey informed by qualitative focus group discussions was conducted in two major rice producing districts in Eastern Uganda to establish how gender division of labour and decision-making influence PHLs at the household level. The intra-household gender structure, division of labour and decision-making determine the postharvest loses of rice at the household level. Men and boys perform the labour intensive postharvest activities where postharvest losses are high. They also dominate decisions on the practices and technologies used. Due to labour intensity and cultural norms, households without men rely on hired labour, which increases their PHLs resulting from late access to and inadequate supervision of the hired labour. Interventions for reduction of PHLs at the household level must target men with better practices and simple cost-effective technologies

Farmers’ Perceptions of Rice Postharvest Losses in Eastern Uganda

Postharvest losses (PHLs) are a threat to efforts aimed at ensuring food and income security. This study aimed at contributing to the efforts to reduce PHLs through examining smallholder farmers’ perceptions about level of PHLs in Eastern Uganda. A descriptive cross sectional survey involved 83 farmers in focus group discussions and 150 individual household interviews. Principal component analysis and logistic regression were used to establish the determinants of farmers’ perceived ability to reduce PHLs. Results indicate that farmers perceive 66% of the losses occurred at the stages of harvesting, heaping and threshing through spillage. Quality deterioration was perceived to be highest at harvesting and drying. Farmers’ perceived ability to reduce PHLs was lowest at those stages where the losses were highest. This implies that the losses are likely to remain high unless farmers’ mindset about their control beliefs is enhanced. Farmers perceived ability to reduce PHLs is significantly influenced by potential for expansion of rice production, awareness of the modes through which losses occur and ways in which rice is used at household level and household characteristics. Any interventions to reduce PHLs should focus on mobilizing and coordinating farmers into commercial rice production and mind shift through intensifying sensitization

Farmers’ Perceptions of Rice Postharvest Losses in Eastern Uganda

Postharvest losses (PHLs) are a threat to efforts aimed at ensuring food and income security. This study aimed at contributing to the efforts to reduce PHLs through examining smallholder farmers’ perceptions about level of PHLs in Eastern Uganda. A descriptive cross sectional survey involved 83 farmers in focus group discussions and 150 individual household interviews. Principal component analysis and logistic regression were used to establish the determinants of farmers’ perceived ability to reduce PHLs. Results indicate that farmers perceive 66% of the losses occurred at the stages of harvesting, heaping and threshing through spillage. Quality deterioration was perceived to be highest at harvesting and drying. Farmers’ perceived ability to reduce PHLs was lowest at those stages where the losses were highest. This implies that the losses are likely to remain high unless farmers’ mindset about their control beliefs is enhanced. Farmers perceived ability to reduce PHLs is significantly influenced by potential for expansion of rice production, awareness of the modes through which losses occur and ways in which rice is used at household level and household characteristics. Any interventions to reduce PHLs should focus on mobilizing and coordinating farmers into commercial rice production and mind shift through intensifying sensitization

Complexity of agricultural technology development processes: Implications for uptake of new hybrid banana varieties in Central Uganda

Low uptake of improved technologies remains a challenge to enhancing agricultural productivity and food security in developing countries. This paper uses the agricultural innovations systems approach to analyse how the recently released hybrid banana varieties (HBVs) were developed, and how the interplay between processes and actors affect their uptake in central Uganda. The study used a qualitative research design employing a case study approach. Data were collected through 20 key informant interviews and 5 focus group discussions with purposively selected actors and farmer research groups respectively, and analysed using thematic-content analysis in NVivo. Results indicate that the process of developing HBVs is dominated by agricultural research institutions with limited involvement of other actors such as farmers, private sector and extension staff. Further, there is limited integration of social aspects including gender in the banana technology development process. The study, therefore, recommends use of inclusive participatory approaches in breeding of HBVs while paying attention to gender-specific preferences and the intrinsic quality attributes such as food colour, texture, flavour and taste since these are critical drivers for uptake of the new banana varieties

Seed Security Factors Driving Farmer Decisions on Uptake of Tissue Culture Banana Seed in Central Uganda

Despite the promotion of tissue culture (TC) banana to curb the spread of diseases, farmer use of such quality planting material remains low. This study utilizes the Double-Hurdle model on cross-sectional data of 174 banana farmers in Central Uganda to analyze the drivers for uptake of TC banana plant materials. Results show acceptability (β = 0.74; p < 0.01), adaptability (β = 0.69; p < 0.01) and availability for farmer use (β = 1.04; p < 0.01) along with social influence, farmer competences and socioeconomic factors positively influence farmer uptake of the TC banana plantlets. For uptake intensity, the main drivers include acceptability (β = 0.39; p < 0.05), accessibility (β = 0.39; p < 0.01) and farmer competences. This study demonstrates that seed security factors with farmer competencies, social influence and socioeconomic factors influence farmer decisions on uptake of TC technology for banana production. Findings emphasize the need for more involvement of extension services and research institutions in the education and promotion of TC plants in farming communities. We recommend that banana TC developers and promoters focus attention on banana varieties that are acceptable and adaptable to farmer environmental conditions

Unknotting typologies in smallholder farmers investing in seed potato production in South-Western Uganda

ABSTRACTSmallholder farmer participation in seed production ensures seed security among farming communities. Interventions that promote farmer investment in seed production, however, enroll any willing farmer, yet smallholder farmers can be heterogeneously composed of receptive and new intervention-shy individuals. This study sought to identify homogenous typologies of seed potato producers investing in seed potato production in South-Western Uganda. Data collected from 213 farmers and 16 focus group discussions were analyzed using principal component and cluster analysis methods to construct farming typologies. Psychological capital and investment level were major variables in typology distilation. The results revealed 4 seed potato producer typologies including, typology 1 of ‘middle-aged female seed multipliers of moderate psychological capital and low investment level', typology 2 of ‘old-aged seed recyclers of high psychological capital but with the lowest investment level', typology 3 of for ‘young male seed recyclers of moderate psychological capital but with high investment level' and typology 4 of ‘young male seed multipliers of high psychological capital and the highest investment level’. Investing in seed potato production across the typologies was constrained by identical factors, including land shortage, limited access to markets, credit facilities and seed storage facilities. Seed interventionists are recommended to focus on typology 4, 3 and 1 producers. Future typology studies should include psychological factors to introduce practical variability nested in individual interpretations of seemly constant contexts