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

this situation. Unfortunately only one ARDC (Kachwekano) is located in the southwestern
highlands and e.g. more than 200 km away from the Rwenzori footslopes where farmers could
benefit from highland technologies developed and tested at Kachwekano.
• Insufficient involvement of farmers in the development process
Similar to what is said above, it appears that farmers are often insufficiently involved in the
development process for improved technologies. Rather they are confronted with a final
product and requested to evaluate or, even more often, to adopt it. There were obvious
examples where farmers had received new crop varieties that were clearly superior in some
agronomic characteristics but for example failed to meet farmers’ quality requirements of the
product. Examples are: Kabana 1-5 banana varieties with unacceptable taste, white skinned
Kisoro potato variety where the market demands red-skinned potatoes, small seeded K131
bean variety where farmers prefer large seeded, sorghum varieties not suitable for brewing
and many others.
• Low availability of germplasm
The second major constraint for the adoption of new technologies is the very low availability
of seed and planting materials. While small amounts are often available at research centers, the
availability of germplasm is very restricted in rural areas. Some NGOs and local governments
have initiated seed multiplication and storage schemes that work successfully. Depending on
the biology of the crop, seed multiplication is more or less complicated. But for most of
farmers current seed demands the multiplication can be organized locally. Strengthening seed
multiplication and distribution schemes and introducing a quality control mechanism are of
high priority.
• Unavailability of accompanying information
In other cases, farmers had somehow gained access to improved planting material (some
farmers reported trips to research institutes near Kampala) but did not receive sufficient
information on the agronomic characteristics and the management of these new materials.
Hence, they did not cultivate the crops appropriately or were disappointed with the products
that didn’t meet their requirements. With few exceptions information that exists is in very
technical form or so general (i.e. “use appropriate spacing”) that it is not helpful for farmers
and extension workers.
• Labor intensive
Most of the improved technologies, i.e. for many new varieties, demand higher levels of
management. Other technologies, such as most agroforestry innovations are based on extra
labour demanding initiatives for the farmers, although they may in the long run lead to
reduced workload in some areas, such as reduced weed pressure or higher yields from small
areas. The additional labour requirements may in the long run result in additional employment
opportunities in the rural areas. Initially, the investment in extra work or expenses to employ
labour restrain farmers from adopting innovations, particularly those that do not payback
within one season. Mixes of new technologies, those with short-term and others with medium
term benefits may help to overcome these problems.
• Long period to generate benefits
As indicated above, the economy of many rural households is based on meeting their urgent
needs, with little or no resources for investments. For example: the ‘Kabale’ potato variety
with good quality and good yields requires use of relatively expensive seed and frequent
sprays. Even though the output of the crop usually warrants the investment, most farmers are
not in a position to pre-finance the crop.
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