Understanding Farmers' Use of Improved Maize Seeds in Uganda

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While maize is a key crop for national food security and employment, most maize-growing households have small overall average farm sizes and remain highly vulnerable. The overall cultivated area of maize has been increasing, although such growth has not seen a commensurate gain in yields. The government of Uganda is concerned with this situation and has supported farmers with policies and projects to improve maize yields and, thereby, farm incomes. These projects have generated solid evidence showing that the use of improved seed generates higher productivity and financial returns compared with the use of traditional seeds. In spite of this, the use of improved seeds remains low in Uganda. This paper examines the key factors that influence farmers’ decisions to adopt the use of improved maize seeds. To address this objective, a large sample of more than 3,600 maize farmers was analyzed using a binary logistic regression model. We found that maize farmers tend to use improved seeds when they also use fertilizers and pesticides, when improved seeds are obtained from the government and/or purchased from reputable agro-input dealers, and when credit services are readily available. However, a key factor that prevents small maize farmers from using improved seeds is their overall level of vulnerability. For the majority the risk is too high; rather than embarking on investing in seeds with a promise of higher net returns, they prefer to continue using the relatively cheaper traditional seeds that reduce the risk of family members experiencing hunger and poverty. The government needs to provide an enabling environment to make agricultural insurance available to small farmers if the use of improved seeds is to be expanded significantly.