Agricultural modernisation interventions, livelihoods and sustainable land management in Nakisunga Sub-County, Mukono District

Abstract

Agricultural modernization has been identified as a key driver of socio-economic development in Uganda that has seen several interventions implemented to that effect. However, these have not been evaluated in respect to their role in improving livelihoods and land management. This study therefore, examined the contribution of agricultural modernization through the NAADS and OWC programs to livelihoods and sustainable land management in Nakisunga Sub-County, Mukono District. The specific objectives were to; (i) establish the nature of agriculture in Nakisunga Sub-County, (ii) establish the agricultural modernization strategies that NAADS and OWC have applied and (iii) evaluate the contribution of NAADS and OWC to livelihoods and sustainable land management in Nakisunga Sub-County, Mukono District. A cross-section survey design was adopted with a mixed research approach where both qualitative and quantitative methodologies were employed. Data were collected from 198 farmers and 10 key informants using self-administered structured questionnaires, key informant interviews supplemented by review of secondary data and field observation. Data processing and analysis was done using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and subjected to the Pearson correlation coefficient. Results indicate that agriculture in the area is dominated by mixed farming, largely carried out on small-scale using family labour, traditional tools and equipment. A comparison of the two programs with regards to agricultural modernization strategies reveals that OWC has performed better than NAADS in applying these strategies in the area except training of the farmers. However, NAADS contributed more than OWC to the improvement of livelihoods and land management practices in the area through increasing the farmers’ physical, social, human, financial and natural capital assets. In view of the above findings, the following have been recommended: OWC should consider providing quick and high yielding inputs to enable the farmers increase their productivity even with on a small scale. Moreover, there is need for OWC to provide targeted training to the farmers in better farming and land management practices. OWC also ought to consistently provide enough and good quality seeds and seedlings so as to improve livelihoods of the farmers through increased food security and income. This should be accompanied by a suitability analysis of the local soil and climatic conditions so as to enable OWC supply inputs that can thrive in area. Additional effort is needed for OWC to increase access to marketing opportunities and financial credit for the farmers. There is also need for OWC to procure more processing equipment to add value on the farmers’ produce as well as reducing post-harvest losses.