The study was to assess the contributions of Compassion International to the livelihood of smallholder farmers in the Bushenyi district of western Uganda. The specific objectives were to; (i) assess the household livelihood changes resulting from smallholder participation in Compassion International programs; (ii) assess the level of beneficiary participation in Compassion programs, (iii) analyse the contribution of Compassion International to food production and security, and (iv) examine the challenges being faced by Compassion International that hinder their operations in rural settings of Uganda. The study adopted a descriptive survey design that applied both quantitative and qualitative approaches for data collection. Data was captured from 206 respondents using both a questionnaire and an interview schedule. Data was analysed using SPSS version 16 to generate both descriptive and inferential statistics. The study found that smallholder participation in Compassion International programs has resulted in livelihood changes such as; enhanced child education, household economic and spiritual empowerment, increased access to agricultural inputs, income-generating projects, and enhanced household capacities. The study also found that beneficiaries participated in compassion programs by attending organisation outreaches, seminars, and annual meetings, mobilising local resources towards the cause, participating in project activities, paying annual membership fees, and giving feedback on project activities and operations. Compassion International has contributed towards household food production and security of the household across the district by setting up agricultural support projects, mobilising farmers, providing agro-inputs, and facilitating extension service delivery. The study further established that; poor funding, corruption and misuse of funds, competition and poor power relations with the local government are the key challenges hindering Compassion International’s operations in the Bushenyi district. The study concluded that though smallholder farmer participation in compassion programs has resulted in improved livelihood changes for member households, there remains a huge socio-economic gap in the Bushenyi district. The organisations’ operations are still hampered by a number of challenges. The NGO needs to tackle poverty reduction dynamically, strategically, and comprehensively. This is because poverty is a multidimensional phenomenon that needs a multidimensional approach. There is a need to look at other categories of needy people in society such as the elderly, widows, and disabled persons, rather than placing emphasis on a category.
The use of improved agricultural technologies has been reported as the major strategy to increase agricultural production, increased household incomes and addressing poverty. However, adoption of such improved technologies by smallholder coffee farmers has been slow and this has contributed to the low coffee productivity in the country and the poor performance of the coffee sub sector. The study was meant to examine the effect of institutional factors including extension services, access to market and access to credit on technology adoption among smallholder coffee farmers in Kanungu District, Uganda. The study collected both quantitative and qualitative data from 289 smallholder coffee farmers and 8 key informants respectively in major coffee growing sub counties in Kanungu district. The study revealed that access to extension services and access to market have a positive significant influence on agricultural technology adoption while access to market has no significant influence on agricultural technology adoption. The study concluded that there is a positive significant relationship between institutional factors and technology adoption among smallholder coffee farmers in Kanungu district.
Farm mechanization has been an important aspect in bringing out a significant improvement in agricultural productivity. In Uganda, mechanization acts as a backbone of the present agricultural systems across the country. Despite its recognized role towards agriculture, farmers still perceive its use and need differently mainly in terms of hire costs, traditional culture, size and topography of land, availability and social status. The study was examining farmers’ perceptions towards mechanization in maize production in Kanara sub-county in Kamwenge district. The objectives were to: determine farmers’ perceptions on the usefulness of mechanization on maize production, determine the relationship between socio-economic characteristics and farmers’ perception of mechanization, identify the factors limiting the use of agricultural mechanization among maize farmers, and to establish how best agricultural mechanization could be promoted for sustainable production. The study employed a cross-sectional survey design engaging both qualitative and quantitative approaches for data collection and analysis. Information was gathered from 362 respondents using questionnaire and interviews. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 20 to generate both descriptive and inferential statistics. Farmers’ perceived mechanization to perform more work than humans, reliable, time saving, and accessible and high work accomplishment rate. Farmer perceptions were influenced by socio-economic characteristics for example; age, land size, gender, income level/status, employment status, type of land owned and availability of labor. The study identified the challenges associated with the use of agricultural mechanization such as; less access to mechanization information significant at 5%, land ownership type at 0.03 (5%), household size 0.03 (5%), access to credit 0.04 (5%), years in maize farming at 0.05 (5%), availability and access to implements at 0.09, high costs of hire at 0.02 (1%), slope of the land at 0.07, and fuel costs at 0.00 (1%). These would be solved by extending credit services to the farmers, community capacity building, awareness creation, group formation, promoting mechanization as part of production, establishing contract farming schemes, increasing investment in agricultural mechanization, training and education and forming public–private partnerships. The study concluded that farmers had varying perceptions about agricultural mechanization which depended mainly on socio-economic factors. It recommended the need to promote rural-urban migration as this could create more land and encourage farmers to adopt mechanization since it may create more land reserve.
Purpose: This study sought to assess the level of adoption of supplementary feeding, associated socioeconomic factors and the relationship between supplementary feeding and dairy cattle production among smallholder dairy farmers in Mbarara District. Methodology: The study adopted a mixed approach to collect both quantitative and qualitative data from 198 smallholder farmers and 12 key informants using a semi-structured interview guide and key informant interview guide respectively. Cluster sampling was used to divide the target population into clusters and then selected elements from each cluster using Simple Random Sampling technique. Collected data was compiled, sorted, and entered into Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSSv26.0) for analysis. Findings: The study revealed that 81.3% of smallholder farmers adopted supplementary feeding. However, the level of supplementary feeding varied among smallholder farmers of different socioeconomic characteristics. Basically, there was low level of adoption of supplementary feeding among farmers with few household members, having little knowledge about supplementary feeding and little funds to finance the costs involved in application of supplementary feeds. In relation to dairy cattle production, there was a positive significant relationship between the level of adoption of supplementary feeding and milk yield. Unique contribution to practice and policy: This study suggests to policy makers and other relevant authorities to formulate polices that emphasize adoption of supplementary feeding among dairy farmers in order to increase milk production in cattle.
Background. This study concerns the prevalence, risk factors and prevention of depression in the adult population in three sub-counties in Mbarara district. Depression is a common mental disorder which presents with a wide array of symptoms including loss of energy, poor sleep, poor eating habits, fatigue, irritability and social withdrawal. The main objective of the present study was to determine the prevalence and factors associated with depression and to identify measures that can be implemented to reduce risk factors of the disease among adults in Nyamitanga, Rugando and Rwanyamahembe sub-counties in Mbarara district. Methods. A cross-sectional design was used to capture data from a study sample size of 383 participants who were involved in completion of screening tests for depression. Scores from a 7-item version of Hopkins Symptom Checklist for Depression were averaged and the probable depression determined for each participant using a cut-off of 1.75. Logistic regression analyses were used to examine associations between depression outcomes and socio-demographic, behavioural and medical history variables. Results. The analyses revealed that the prevalence of depression among adults in the area stands at 27.7%. Depression was significantly associated with discrimination (AOR = 2.33, 95% CI = 1.22–4.45, P = 0.010), household size (AOR = 0.54, 95% CI = 0.32–0.93, P = 0.026), level of education (primary education: AOR = 0.36, 95% CI = 0.15–0.88, P = 0.024; secondary education: AOR = 0.30, 95% CI = 0.12–0.76, P = 0.011; tertiary education: AOR = 0.37, 95% CI = 0.15–0.92, P = 0.032) and drug-abuse related problems (AOR = 4.44, 95% CI = 1.34–14.74, P = 0.015). Measures for reducing the development of depression (which were identified by study participants) include guidance and counselling, awareness campaigns and self-help projects, improved access to quality medical services as well as stress management and spiritual care services. Conclusions. These findings show that depression prevalence in the study area, estimated at 27.7%, is high and worrying. Previous studies carried out in Mbarara district and other parts of Uganda have also reported similarly high estimates. They also show that discrimination, household size, level of education and drug-abuse are important risk factors associated with the prevalence of depressive disorders. Strategies targeted at early interventions and ultimately depression prevention need urgent attention in order to reduce risk factors of the disease.
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