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

o Land fragmentation
Fragmentation, or the scattering of plots within a household, is a common feature of land holdings
in Kisoro, Kabale and Rukungiri Districts. It also occurs to a much lesser degree in the highlands
of Kasese where households may farm one plot near their home, one in the higher elevations (e.g.
for passion fruit) and one in the lowland (e.g. rented for cotton or maize). In Kabale, Kisoro, and
Rukungiri, farmers may operate an average of 8-10 distinct plots of land, depending on the area.
While farmers do seek plots in different topographical locations, the degree to which
fragmentation appears on the landscape is deemed excessive by most of them (Place, 1995).
These plots are scattered in many directions and the majority are not usually visible from the
homestead (Place, 1995). A good portion of the plots is located over an hour’s walk from the
home and incentives to manage such plots are low. Fragmentation has been found to be an
important factor in observed abandonment of land areas in Kabale District (Bamwerinde and
Place, 2000). This highly disjunctive pattern of land ownership makes concerted soil
conservation and management efforts exceedingly difficult. In addition to fragmentation, the
small size of plots tends to reduce incentives for mixed farming or integrated crop-organic input
systems, as farmers prefer not to reduce land area under priority crops. Household rights over
land are very strong with almost all plots being inherited or purchased. A minority of the plots is
rented out seasonally. Women’s land rights are inferior to those of men, and this does have an
impact on women’s participation in longer-term decision making such as tree planting (Place,
1995).
2.3.2 Markets and prices
With very few exceptions all farmers sell some of their products and are linked to markets.
Particularly in Bushenyi District, a common statement was that farmers are able to produce a wide
range of commodities but are limited by market access. Below are some of the main observations:
o Low and fluctuating prices
We were not able to visit large parts of the districts to examine how farmgate prices varied across
the southwest. Instead, we relied on prices collected at selected markets by Foodnet, other
secondary sources, and a few validation exercises with key informants. Prices for most major
commodities vary both spatially and temporally. This is demonstrated in Figures 2.5 thru 2.7.
Figure 2.5 shows a typical pattern of price seasonality, using Kasese as an example. For nearly all
major commodities, prices have a single peak period, around January to February and then begin a
slow but eventually profound fall in price. Because many prices move together, this implies that
Kasese markets are poorly integrated into regional or national markets in general. It also suggests
that there are few gains to be made by farmers through selection of alternative crop mixes. It is
likely that seasonality of price changes is less severe in other places better connected to markets,
but we did not have comprehensive data on this.
Instead, we were able to find (again through Foodnet) price data for selected commodities in 3
market centres, Mbarara, Kasese, and Kabale. Mbarara, like Bushenyi, is a major producer of
matoke. As can be seen, matoke prices are generally much lower and less variable in Mbarara
than in the other two district sites, which are net importers of matoke. In contrast, maize prices
move in the same manner, with some seasonal variation, in all 3 locations. It is interesting that a
maize producing area (the lower elevation areas in Kasese District) faces similar price levels and
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