Abstract
Rice growing is an important source of food and income to the farming community in the northern agro-ecological zone (NAEZ) of Uganda. NAEZ comprised of 16 districts which form Acholi and Lango sub-regions and it is categorized by tropical dry climate with bimodal rainfall patterns. However, inspite of the importance of rice in the NAEZ, very little information exists that could support prioritization of development in the sector. This paper therefore, bridges information gap by analyzing characteristics of rice production system in the study area based on data obtained from a field survey conducted during 2016. The study used cross-sectional design to collect data which was analysed using the descriptive statistics of the STATA computer package. The results revealed marked difference in households’ characteristics, production output and input utilization, production practices and constraints between lowland and upland systems. The study has concluded that: climate variability, pest and diseases, lack of improved seed variety, labour related constraints and lack of specialization are potential causes of low rice production and productivity in the NAEZ. However, to improve production performance of the systems, the study recommends promotion of climate smart farming in rice and further research into system based effects of climate on productivity as well as farmers’ adaptation to climate variability.
Highlights
Rice growing in Uganda started as early as 1904 but became noticeable as food crop during the 1950s mainly to feed the Second World War veterans and government institutions such as schools, prisons and hospitals (Odogola, 2006; Bua & Ojirot, 2014)
Rice production gained importance as cash crop after the establishment of Kibimba rice irrigation scheme in the 1960s followed by Doho and Olweny irrigation scheme in the 1970s (Odogola, 2006; GoU, 2009)
As a result of this effort, rice cultivation has rapidly grown in the northern agro-ecological zone of Uganda
Summary
Rice growing in Uganda started as early as 1904 but became noticeable as food crop during the 1950s mainly to feed the Second World War veterans and government institutions such as schools, prisons and hospitals (Odogola, 2006; Bua & Ojirot, 2014). Rice production gained importance as cash crop after the establishment of Kibimba rice irrigation scheme in the 1960s followed by Doho and Olweny irrigation scheme in the 1970s (Odogola, 2006; GoU, 2009). The majority of the rice growers are small holders found especially in eastern and northern parts of Uganda, depending on rain-fed lowland rice production system. Due to the growing importance of rice to the country’s economy, the government of Uganda through agricultural and rice sector development and investment plans is rehabilitating irrigation schemes in the country including Agoro and Olweny irrigation scheme in the NAEZ (GoU, 2009, 2010). In Uganda, rice production is carried out under three systems namely: irrigated system, lowland rain-fed system and upland rain-fed system. In the NAEZ production is currently done under two systems, i.e. rain-fed lowland and rain-fed upland
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