Enhancing Adoption of Agroforestry in the Eastern Agro-ecological Zone of Uganda

Abstract

Widespread deforestation and increasingly intensive use of land to sustain a growing population has increased soil erosion, lowered soil fertility and reduced agricultural productivity in Uganda. This has raised concern over sustainability of farming systems in the Eastern Agro-ecological zone of Uganda. There is growing evidence that agroforestry can be a potential solution to these problems. However, enhancement of adoption of agroforestry as a viable alternative for farmers in diverse ecological and socio-economic conditions has remained low. The objective of this study was to identify the factors influencing the enhancement of adoption of agroforestry by smallholder farmers. Primary data on household, farm and technology characteristics was collected from 153 farming households. Results show that boundary planting, scattered tree planting, row planting and homestead gardening were the most commonly adopted agroforestry technologies in the study area. The Tobit model showed that sex, age, household size, education level, group membership, access to credit and extension visits had significantly positive effects on enhancing adoption of agroforestry. Mobilizing farmers to join groups, improving the quality and coverage of extension services, consideration of gender issues and intensifying agroforestry training among farmers with low levels of education were suggested as avenues to further enhance adoption of agroforestry in the Eastern agro-ecological zone of Uganda.