Assessing the value of agroforestry and food security among households in Isingiro District, South-western Uganda

ABSTRACT

Agroforestry trees have been used to enhance food production through a combination of soil nutrient management. The study aimed at assessing the value of agroforestry and food security among households practicing agroforestry in the Isingiro District. The study employed a cross-sectional survey design using household interviews and randomly sampling 284 households to obtain current qualitative and quantitative data. The study used multiple regressions to predict the value of selected dependent variables. The results indicated that households (49%) in Kabaare Parish, Kigyendwa (33%), and Kikokwa (18%) were food secure. Out of these, households that practiced agroforestry and were food secure accounted for 21% while 79% were insecure. The values of agroforestry and food security include economic, environmental, and social value. The major reasons for practicing agroforestry include an increase in food level and improvement of income. Few households in Kabaare (41%), Kigyendwa (22%), and Kikokwa (37%) had knowledge of agroforestry systems and their values. The variable with a positive but insignificant effect on the value of agroforestry and food production was land acreage, while the land size and monthly income had a negative and insignificant effect. The value of agroforestry and food security in the study area is still low. Therefore, there is a need for understanding households’ psychological and behavioral factors that hinder them from adopting agroforestry practices. It is vital that the government invests in capacity building of household farmers in agroforestry and food production, and reviews land policy to support households to strengthen their income base.

KEYWORDS:

• Agroforestry
• capacity building
• food security
• knowledge of agroforestry

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to the household respondents, key informants, and participants in the focus group discussions who offered their time and energy to respond to the questions. The authors are also thankful to the local leaders who assisted in gathering the needed data and showed keen interest in the topic. A word of gratitude goes to specific individuals who provided relevant information in soft and hard copies. The authors wish to acknowledge their family members who cared for them during the entire exercise.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Author contributions

Manuscript title: Assessing the value of agroforestry and food security in Isingiro District, South-western Uganda

Author 1: Marsiale Kamugisha

• Conceived and designed the plan for writing the paper

• Collected the data

• Contributed data

• Wrote the paper: introduction, methods, presented results and discussed them.

• Searched for the journals in which to publish

Author 2: Henry Mutembei

• Guided the plan for writing the paper

• Contributed in coming up with the appropriate paper

• Supervised the paper in terms of giving comments

• Advised in choosing a genuine journal

Author 3: Thuita Thenya

• Contributed in offering guidance on paper writing

• Contributed in searching for analysis tools

• Supervised paper writing

• Participated on journal analysis by offering the criteria on genuine journal selection

Additional information

Funding

This work received partial support from the African Centres of Excellence (ACE II) World Bank regional Project, (P151847) under 57970 UG (IDA)