Understanding the Drivers of Adoption of Organic Banana Farming Technologies in Kajara County, South-western Uganda

Dunstan Atwijukye,Nabalegwa Muhamud Wambede,Joyfred Asaba,Remigio Turyahabwe

doi:10.37284/eajab.5.1.579

Abstract

This study aimed at identifying and characterising the major organic banana farming technologies used and assessing the drivers of adoption of the same in Kajara County. A total of 360 respondents were used to obtain primary data. As the study adopted a cross-sectional design, we used questionnaires, interviews, focus group discussions, and field observations to collect the required data. Data was analysed using descriptive statistics and the non-parametric (Chi-square) tests. Results indicate that the major organic banana farming technologies adopted in the study area were mulching, cover cropping, farmyard manure application, pest and weed management. The chi-square test revealed that the marital status, gender, and level of education of the farmers had significant positive effects on the adoption of organic banana farming technologies among the farmers. We concluded that, generally, the rate of adoption of organic farming technologies in Kajara County was low, and therefore, there is a need for emphasising the training of the farmers at local levels so as to equip them with information on the organic farming technologies for sustainable banana farming. We recommend that stakeholders who work on agricultural programs use model farmers in the area to educate and demonstrate the importance of organic banana farming technologies

Highlights

In many parts of the world, soil depletion and imbalanced nutrient use have become serious hindrances to agricultural development, in turn affecting food security and environmental stability (Sun and Cao 2018)
Dessart et al (2019) observed that organic farming systems are suitable for smallholder farmers given that they rely on locally available resources and build on indigenous knowledge which allows for the development of highly productive farming systems that yield a variety of products and services to sustain the livelihood of farmers and increases the food security of farmers’ families while the international market for organic agricultural produce offers good value for their products
The study revealed that mulching the most highly applied organic farming technologies were followed pest management, weed management, use of farmyard manure and use of crop residue employed by smallholder banana farmers in Kajara County

Summary

Introduction

In many parts of the world, soil depletion and imbalanced nutrient use have become serious hindrances to agricultural development, in turn affecting food security and environmental stability (Sun and Cao 2018). A study by Powlson et al (2011) indicated that the soil management techniques used in organic agriculture maintain a stable soil and nutrient balance in the environment, thereby making it a more sustainable way of exploiting the natural resource base. Dessart et al (2019) observed that organic farming systems are suitable for smallholder farmers given that they rely on locally available resources and build on indigenous knowledge which allows for the development of highly productive farming systems that yield a variety of products and services to sustain the livelihood of farmers and increases the food security of farmers’ families while the international market for organic agricultural produce offers good value for their products. Organic production standards prohibit the use of inorganic inputs like artificial fertilisers and pesticides in growing crops, which implies that poisonous chemicals are not introduced into the ecosystem (Liu et al, 2018)

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Discussion

Conclusion