Technologies for intensification in SW Uganda ... - Foodnet - cgiar

years, reported by Bolwig et. al (2001). Also, there were only very limited signs of adoption of
improved technologies. Below we discuss some of the elements leading to low productivity:
o Low levels of use of improved production technology
Very few examples of successful adoption of improved technologies were found in the 7 districts
studied. Much of the farming practice is based on technologies that have been available for more
than 30 years. The few successful adoptions relate to:
• Contract farming, e.g. cotton or tea, where the contracting enterprise determines and
often provides (on credit) all the inputs;
• Where inputs are given out free, e.g. seedlings of clonal coffee, and farmers clearly see
the superior attributes after intensive extension efforts;
• Response to disasters, i.e. where local governments have initiated soil conservation
initiatives after land slides; or replacing bush beans which are severely affected by root
rot with climbing beans tolerant to that disease. Still these efforts require intensive
support by extension;
• Replacing a variety with a clearly superior one without having to make major changes
in the overall farming practice.
Until recently most of the technology development work in Uganda has been conducted at
research institutes which are centered near Kampala. Farmers from the various agroecological
zones with their varied demands and preferences were hardly involved in the research processes.
Consequently, many technologies have attributes unacceptable to the farmers, i.e. unacceptable
food characteristics, high labour demands, low adaptability to highland conditions etc. There is
need to intensify recent decentralization efforts by the National Agricultural Research
Organization to test and adapt technologies with farmers under local conditions. This may also
help to overcome two other critical concerns:
a) the absence of information on the new technologies (i.e. it is common to find a new
variety in farmers’ fields without the farmer or extension staff having any information
about its agronomic characteristics); and
b) the low local availability of seed and planting materials for the improved technologies.
o Soil degradation, erosion and flooding
Farmers, professionals and local leaders in all districts are concerned about soil degradation.
Wherever environmental concerns were ranked, declining soil fertility and erosion ranked among
the top three. Often this was coupled with problems of flooding further downstream. This finding
is not surprising in an area where steep and long slopes foster erosion despite relatively low
erodibility of the soil and the low to moderate erosivity of the rains. Much of the fertile top soil
has been lost and replenishment of soil nutrients leaving the fields through the harvested products,
is only taking place through limited organic inputs in some fields of the farms. Only a handful of
farmers use fertilizer in southwest Uganda, but this is characteristic of the whole of Uganda.
Initiatives to conserve soil and water are usually limited to ‘pilot areas’ and often fragmented
efforts based on actions by individual farmers. Given the non-consolidated structure of most
farms, coupled with long slopes, these efforts are not likely to be very successful. However, a
positive example of local government – driven watershed management was observed in Kabale
District (Raussen et. al, 2001).
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