The Adoption and Impact of Improved Maize and Land Management Technologies in Uganda

In spite of the fact that the Ugandan National Agricultural Research System has developed and released several production-enhancing technologies over a century, yields of most major crops at the farm level have been low. Given that about 80 percent of Uganda’s labor force is employed in agriculture, the scope for sustainable poverty reduction in Uganda depends very much on improving agricultural productivity. It is in this context, this paper examines why there has been poor adoption of production-enhancing technologies in the production of maize, which is a major crop in Uganda and what the impacts of the exiting production environment are on factor payments. This study reveals that farmers do not pay proper attention to soil fertility management, which acts as a major constraint to increase yields. The analysis also indicates the need for vibrant rental market for land to provide access to landless tenants who are found to be the economically efficient.Production-enhancing technologies, maize, land management, poverty reduction, Crop Production/Industries, Land Economics/Use,

EXTERNALITIES, RISK AND THE PRIVATE PROPERTY-OVERGRAZING PARADOX: THE CASE OF PRIVATE CATTLE FARMS IN NYABUSHOZI COUNTY, WESTERN UGANDA

Livestock Production/Industries,

Development pathways and land management in Uganda: causes and implications

This paper investigates the patterns and determinants of change in livelihood strategies (“development pathways”), land management practices, agricultural productivity, resource and human welfare conditions in Uganda since 1990, based upon a community- level survey conducted in 107 villages. Six dominant development pathways emerged, all but one of which involved increasing specialization in already dominant activities: expansion of cereal production, expansion of banana and coffee production, non- farm development, expansion of horticultural production, expansion of cotton, and stable coffee production.Sustainable livelihoods., Land use Economic aspects., Agricultural productivity Uganda., Population growth.,

DEVELOPMENT PATHWAYS AND LAND MANAGEMENT IN UGANDA: CAUSES AND IMPLICATIONS

This paper investigates the patterns and determinants of change in livelihood strategies ("development pathways"), land management practices, resource and human welfare conditions in Uganda since 1990, based upon a community-level survey conducted in 107 villages. The pattern of agricultural development since 1990 involved increasing specialization and commercialization of economic activities, consistent with local comparative advantages and market liberalization. Six dominant development pathways emerged, all but one of which involved increasing specialization in already dominant activities: expansion of cereal production, expansion of banana and coffee production, non-farm development, expansion of horticultural production, expansion of cotton, and stable coffee production. Of these, expansion of banana and coffee production was most strongly associated with adoption of resource-conserving practices and improvements in resource conditions and welfare. Other strategies are needed for areas not suited for this pathway. Other factors also influenced land management and resource and welfare outcomes. Road development was associated with improvements in many welfare and some natural resource conditions, except forest and wetland availability. Irrigation was found to reduce pressure to expand cultivated area at the expense of forest and wetlands, and is associated with improvement in some welfare and resource indicators. Government and non-governmental organization programs were found to contribute to improvements in several resource and welfare indicators, though there were some mixed results. Such programs may cause declines in one area by focusing on improvements in another area. Thus, trade-offs appear to be inherent in many efforts to improve agriculture or protect resources. Population growth had an insignificant impact on most indicators of change, though there is some evidence of population-induced agricultural intensification. The findings support neither the pessimism of some neo-Malthusian observers or the optimism of some neo-Boserupian observers regarding the impacts of population growth.International Development, Land Economics/Use,

STRATEGIES TO INCREASE AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY AND REDUCE LAND DEGRADATION: EVIDENCE FROM UGANDA

This paper estimates a structural econometric model of household decisions regarding income strategies, participation in programs and organizations, crop choices, land management, and labor use, and their implications for agricultural production and land degradation; based upon a survey of over 450 households and their farm plots in Uganda. The results generally support the Boserupian model of population-induced agricultural intensification, but do not support the "more people-less erosion" hypothesis, with population pressure found to contribute to erosion in the densely populated highlands. Agricultural technical assistance programs have location-specific impacts on agricultural production and land degradation, contributing to higher value of crop production in the lowlands, but to soil erosion in the highlands. By contrast, NGO programs focusing on agriculture and environment are helping to reduce erosion, but have mixed impacts on production. We find little evidence of impact of access to markets, roads and credit, land tenure or title on agricultural intensification and crop production, though road access appears to contribute to land degradation in the highlands. Education increases household incomes, but also reduces crop production in the lowlands. We do not find evidence of a poverty-land degradation trap, while poverty has mixed impacts on agricultural production: smaller farms obtain higher crop production per hectare, while households with fewer livestock have crop production. These findings suggest that development of factor markets can improve agricultural efficiency. Several other factors that contribute to increased value of crop production, without significant impacts on land degradation, include specialized crop production, livestock and nonfarm income strategies, and irrigation. In general, the results imply that the strategies to increase agricultural production and reduce land degradation must be location-specific, and that there are few "win-win" opportunities to simultaneously increase production and reduce land degradation.Agricultural productivity, land degradation, agricultural development strategies, Uganda, farm size-productivity, Land Economics/Use, Productivity Analysis,

Strategies for sustainable land management and poverty reduction in Uganda:

"The government of Uganda, with help from its development partners, is designing and implementing policies and strategies to address poverty, land degradation, and declining agricultural productivity. Land degradation, especially soil erosion and depletion of soil nutrients, is widespread in Uganda and contributes to declining productivity, which in turn increases poverty. The report has four major objectives: (1) to examine the causes of land degradation in Uganda; (2) to identify the determinants of income strategies and land management decisions and their impacts on agricultural productivity, soil erosion, and household income; (3) to assess the trade-offs and complementarities among these different objectives; and (4) to analyze the soil nutrient depletion in eastern Uganda to determine the factors that influence it." from Text

Technology Adoption and Dissemination in Agriculture: Evidence from Sequential Intervention in Maize Production in Uganda

経済学 / EconomicsWe use a randomized control trial to measure how the free distribution of modern inputs for maize production affects their adoption in the subsequent season. Information collected through sales meetings where modern inputs were sold revealed that the average purchase quantity of free-input recipients was much higher than that of non-recipients; that of the neighbors of recipients fell in-between. Also, credit sales had a large impact on purchase quantity, and the yield performance of plots where the free inputs had been applied positively affected the purchase quantities of both recipients and the neighbors with whom they shared information on farming. JEL Classification Codes: O13, O33, O55http://www.grips.ac.jp/list/jp/facultyinfo/matsumoto_tomoya

Collective action in the management of canal irrigation systems: The Doho rice scheme in Uganda

Devolution of natural resource management (NRM) from governments to user groups has often been justified on the premise that local users have comparative advantage and self-interest over government agents in managing and monitoring such resources. Examples of successful collective action in various areas have also fuelled the drive to devolve NRM to local users (Meinzen-Dick, Raju, and Gulati 2000). It is on this basis that the government of Uganda decided to devolve management of the irrigation system at the Doho Rice Scheme (DRS) to the DRS Farmers’ Association. The operation and maintenance of such irrigation schemes requires a high degree of coordination, yet with devolution, the state withdraws from this role. Therefore, the success of the devolution policy in improving NRM is highly dependent on the ability and willingness of the farmers to organize successful collective action, but this outcome cannot be assumed—the more so when devolution calls for more time and cash contributions from the farmers. The need to examine farmers’ willingness to participate in collective action after the withdrawal of government support motivated this case study, because it is critical for effective implementation of the devolution policy and the development of strategies for sustainable collective action at DRS.PRIFPRI