Adoption of agroforestry land use practices among female small-holder farmers in Nabilatuk District

Abstract

The Study was conducted to explore context-specific strategies tailored to the socio-economic conditions of the dry land regions of Karamoja, which can enhance capacity of female small-scale holder farmers to adopt agroforestry practices. The basic problem that led to this research work was to investigate strategies that enhance female small holder farmers to adopt agroforestry as a sustainable land management practice. The study is a cross-sectional study that applied Focus group discussions and household surveys as data collection methods. The sample size was 116 of which 83 female and 33 male respondents. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to analyze the data. The findings include intrinsic and extrinsic factors that motivate female small holder farmers to adopt agroforestry as a sustainable agricultural practice, as well as institutional, technological and sociocultural factors that influence or prevent female small holder farmer to adopt agroforestry. Shade, boundaries, and alternative food sources in the homestead, as well as support from NGOs, are some of the intrinsic and extrinsic reasons that drive female small holder farmers to adopt agroforestry. Some of the obstacles that prevented the adoption of agroforestry include insecure land tenure, where land is owned solely by elders, and inadequate sensitization. Strategies to enhance adoption of agroforestry are exchange visits/familiarization tours. This can be supplemented by enlisting traditional leaders/elders to steer the agroforestry campaign at the grass root level.