Browsing by Author "Atube,Francis"
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Item Examining the relationship between farmers’ characteristics and access to agricultural extension: Empirical evidence from northern Uganda(Taylor and Francis, 2022-06-02) Okello,Daniel Micheal; Akite,Irine; Atube,Francis; Kalule,Stephen Wamala; Ongeng,DuncanPurpose This study aimed at assessing how farmers’ access to agricultural extension is linked to farmers’ choice of extension service providers, and the crops and livestock activities engaged in at the farm level. Methodology/Design/Approach Cross-sectional data were collected from a sample of 342 farming households. Data analyses were conducted using the descriptive statistics and Probit binary regression model. Findings Results show that farmer access to agricultural extension depends on farmer district location, experience, group membership, use of pesticides, crop and livestock production diversity, and information source diversity. Furthermore, results show that gender, marital status, experience credit access, group membership, and livestock production diversity are the main drivers of farmers’ choice of service providers for an agricultural extension at the farm level. Lastly, leading determinants of access to agriculture for individual farm enterprises include farmer location (district), gender, marital status, education, experience, land owned, access to credit, group membership, ownership of mobile phones, and market information source diversity. Practical Implications Differentiated targeting of agricultural extension across farmer demographic structures and production objectives is not only influenced by varying factors but also important for ensuring that extension services are responsive for food and cash generation needs of local communities. Theoretical Implications This study deepens the literature on farmer access to agricultural extension with results demonstrating differences in factors that determine farmers’ choice of service providers for agricultural extension and the kind of crop and livestock activities engaged at the farm level. Originality/value This research is of high value as it presents empirical results on factors associated with the provision of agricultural extension services where there are many providers and where extension services is targeting different agricultural enterprises.Item Farmers’ adaptation to climate change and crop yield: a case of Amuru and Apac districts of Northern Uganda(International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability, 2022-02-02) Atube,Francis; Okello,Daniel M; Malinga,Geoffrey M; Nyeko,Martine; Okello-Uma,IpoltoWith increasing incidences of the negative impacts of climate change to smallholder farming, an understanding of the effects of farmers’ adaptation options to climate change on crop yield is critical in designing practical measures and policies for increasing food production and food security. This study assessed the effects of smallholder farmers climate change adaptation intensity on crop yield with focus on maize, groundnuts and beans in Apac and Amuru districts, northern Uganda. Cross-sectional survey design was employed for data collection. Data were analysed using both descriptive and econometric approaches. Results showed that the most common climate change adaptation strategies used by smallholders related to varietal adjustments including planting different crop varieties each time, drought-resistant varieties, early maturing varieties, improved seeds and changing the time of planting. Yield comparisons between adapters and nonadapters for the three major crops showed that adapters realized significantly higher yields than non-adapters for most of the climate change adaptation strategies. This study suggests that farmers who used more adaptation strategies realized higher yields than the non-adapters. Our findings call for increased efforts by stakeholders to strengthen agricultural extension services and coverage to enhance smallholder farmers capacity to adapt to the effects of climate change.Item Farmers’ perceptions of climate change, long-term variability and trends in rainfall in Apac district, northern Uganda(CABI Agriculture and Bioscience, 2022-07-14) Atube,Francis; Malinga,Geoffrey; Nyero,Martine; Okello,Daniel.M; Mugonola,Basil; Omony,George; Okello-Uma, IpoltoClimate change poses severe threats to smallholder farmers' agricultural livelihoods and food security in Sub Saharan Africa. Understanding long-term rainfall trends of variability and extremes at local scales and perceptions regarding long-term changes in climate variables is important in planning appropriate adaptation measures to climate change. This paper examines the perception of farmers in Apac district regarding long-term changes in climate variables and analyzes the trend of occurrence in seasonal and annual rainfall in Apac district, northern Uganda. A cross-sectional survey design was employed to collect data on farmers' perceptions regarding long-term changes in climate from 260 randomly selected smallholder farmers’ households across two sub-counties in Apac district by administering semi-structured questionnaires in February 2018. Monthly rainfall data sets from the Uganda Meteorological Authority (UMA) for the period 1980 to 2019 for Apac district were also used to analyze trends of occurrences in seasonal and annual rainfall in the study area. The non-parametric Sequential Mann–Kendall (SMK) tests were employed at a 5% significance level to detect mean seasonal rainfall trends and abrupt change points.