Effective bylaw implementation mechanisms for sustainable potato production in southwestern Uganda

Figures & data

Figure 1. Conceptual framework for establishing mechanisms of effective bylaw implementation.

Figure 2. Rubanda and Kabale districts in southwestern Uganda.

Table 1. Overall Characteristics of Study Participants.

No	Category description	Value	Frequency	Percentage (%)
1	Age
	Minimum	20
	Maximum	70
	Average	45.7
2	Gender
	Male		50	48.1
	Female		54	51.9
3	District
	Rubanda		79	76.0
	Kabale		25	24.0
4	Sub-county
	Kamuganguzi		25	24.0
	Bubaare		37	36.0
	Muko		42	40.0
5	Civil status
	Single		11	10.6
	Married		89	85.6
	Widowed		4	3.8
6	Highest level of education
	No education		8	7.7
	Primary education		66	63.5
	Secondary education		17	16.3
	Tertiary		13	12.5
7	Religion
	Catholic		71	68.3
	Protestant		32	30.8
8	Land management
	Crop farming only		66	61.5
	Crop farming and livestock-keeping		37	35.6
	Livestock keeping only		1	1.0
9	Main crops grown
	Potatoes		30	29.0
	Sorghum		24	23.0
	Sweet potatoes		24	23.0
	Beans		26	25.0
10	Landownership
	Personal		15	14.4
	Owned by family		56	53.9
	Owned by others/rented		33	31.7

Table 2. Farmers’ awareness of bylaws focusing on improved and quality seed, N = 104.

Bylaw	Frequency	Percentage
Spraying with pesticides	103	99
Harvesting only mature potatoes	102	98.1
Cutting off the shoots to allow potatoes to mature	102	98.1
Not growing potatoes on the same piece of the land season after season/doing crop rotation	102	98.1
Putting potatoes on stalls or grass so that they dry well	101	97.1
Preparing land well and leaving it to rest before planting potatoes	101	97.1
Seed potato should have germinated	101	97.1
No harvesting potatoes once it rains	100	96.2
Use fertilisers for seed potatoes	100	96.2
Seed potatoes should be planted on flat areas uphill	99	95.2
Not mixing (planting) different seed potato varieties in the same garden	98	94.2
Seed potatoes should be disease-free and should not peel off	97	93.3
Digging trenches to control infection	97	93.3
Planting the right size of the seed potatoes	95	91.3
Seed potatoes have to be gotten from recognised sources	91	87.5
Separating potato gardens by four metres	84	80.8
Seed potato gardens should be inspected before harvest time	79	76
Seed producers should get an inspection letter from MAAIF	31	29.8

Table 3. Farmers’ awareness of bylaws focusing on soil and water conservation, N = 104.

Bylaw	Frequency	Percentage
Digg trenches	104	100.0
Digging water channels to control floods in valleys	103	99.0
Planting potatoes in lines	104	100.0
Digging contours	104	100.0
Bylaws to stop animal keepers from spoiling people’s gardens	102	98.1
No planting of eucalyptus trees in fields where potatoes are grown	97	93.3
Bush fallowing	14	13.5
Use of fertilisers	7	6.7
Addition of manure	6	5.8

Table 4. Farmers’ awareness of bylaws focusing on market access, N = 104.

Bylaws	Frequency	Percentage
Only mature potatoes should be sold	103	99.0
Ensuring good quality for potatoes, especially those used in making crisps	103	99.0
Careful choice of proper bags for packing potatoes	103	99.0
The stalks are cut off to ensure the skin dries very well	102	98.1
Having collection stores for the potatoes	102	98.1
Penalties for thieves who steal potatoes from gardens while waiting for buyers	101	97.1
Sorting of potatoes before selling them	101	97.1
Collective purchase of inputs	99	95.2
Record-keeping farming activities	99	95.2
Proper storage	98	94.2
Selling at same/standardising prices	94	90.4
Selling potatoes in bulk	94	90.4
Drivers for trucks carrying potatoes to markets should have driving permits	63	60.6
Traders should have trading licenses	2	1.9

Table 5. Descriptive statistics on bylaw awareness among farmers, N = 104.

Variable	Mean	SD	min	Max	Skewness
Farmers’ knowledge of bylaws
Farmers’ overall knowledge of access market	12.15	1.447	5	14	−2.766
Total knowledge of bylaws on soil and water conservation	6.33	.781	4	8	.720
Total knowledge of bylaws on improved and quality seeds	17.69	2.477	5	21	−2.627
Farmers’ overall knowledge of bylaws on seed, soil and water, and market	36.17	3.188	22	40	−1.726

Table 6. Spearman correlation coefficients (rho) between farmers’ awareness and bylaw effectiveness, N = 104.

Variable	Spearman correlation (rho)	p-Value
Total knowledge of bylaws on improved and quality seed	−0.096	0.165
Total knowledge of bylaws on soil and water conservation	−0.267*	0.003**
Farmers’ overall knowledge of access to the market	−0.085	0.195
Farmers’ overall knowledge of bylaws on improved and quality seed, soil and water conservation, and market access	−0.179	0.034*

* Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (1-tailed). **Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (1-tailed).

Table 7. Farmers’ implementation of bylaws focusing on improved and quality seed, N = 104.

Bylaw	Yes	No
	n (%)	n (%)
Harvesting only mature potatoes	104 (100.0)
Cutting off the shoots to allow potatoes to mature	104 (100.0)
Not growing potatoes on the same piece of the land season after season/doing crop rotation	100 (96.2)	4 (3.8)
Putting potatoes on stalls or grass so that they dry well	98 (94.2)	6 (5.8)
No harvesting potatoes once it rains	98 (94.2)	6 (5.8)
Preparing land well and leaving it to rest before planting potatoes	100 (96.2)	4 (3.8)
Spraying with pesticides	101 (97.1)	3 (2.9)
Seed potatoes should be disease and pest-free	101 (97.1)	3 (2.9)
Planting seed potatoes that have not peeled off	101 (97.1)	3 (2.9)
Seed potato should have germinated	101 (97.1)	3 (2.9)
Seed potato gardens should be inspected before harvest time	61 (58.7)	43 (41.3)
Seed potatoes have to be gotten from recognised sources	89 (87.5)	15 (14.4)
Separating potato gardens by four metres	68 (65.4)	36 (34.6)
Digging trenches to control infection	99 (95.2)	5 (4.8)
Not mixing (planting) different seed potato varieties in the same garden	90 (86.5)	14 (13.5)
Sprinkling pesticides on seed potatoes after harvest	96 (92.3)	8 (7.7)
Use fertilisers for seed potato	101 (97.1)	3 (2.9)
Plant potatoes on flat areas uphill	91 (87.5)	13 (12.5)
Plant the right size of seed potatoes	100 (96.2)	4 (3.8)
Plant in lines	13 (12.5)	91 (87.5)
Use clean equipment (hoes, sacks)	1 (1.0)	99 (99.0)
Spray/disinfect stores before harvest	1 (1.0)	103 (99.0)

Table 8. Farmers’ adoption of bylaws focusing on soil and water conservation, N = 104.

Bylaw	Yes	No
	n (%)	n (%)
Digg trenches	103 (99.0)	1 (1.0)
Digging water channels to control floods in valleys	79 (76.0)	25 (24.0)
Planting potatoes in lines	103 (99.0)	1 (1.0)
Digging contours	9 (93.3)	7 (6.7)
Bylaws to stop animal keepers from spoiling people’s gardens	94 (90.4)	10 (9.6)
No planting of eucalyptus trees in fields where potatoes are grown	77 (74.0)	27 (26.0)
Minimum tillage	12 (11.5)	92 (88.5)
Digging ditches	1 (1)	103 (99.0)
Construction of tanks	2 (1.9)	102 (98.1)

Table 9. Farmers’ adoption of bylaws focusing on market access, N = 104.

Bylaws	Yes	No
	n (%)	n (%)
Only mature potatoes should be sold	103 (99.0)	1 (1.0)
The stalks are cut off to ensure the skin dries very well	97 (93.3)	7 (6.7)
Ensuring good quality for potatoes, especially those used in making crisps	94 (90.4)	10 (9.6)
Sorting of potatoes before selling them	8 (84.6)	16 (15.4)
Careful choice of proper bags for packing potatoes	88 (84.6)	16 (15.4)
Proper storage	87 (83.7)	17 (16.3)
Record-keeping farming activities	72 (69.2)	32 (30.8)
Selling at same/standardising prices	71 (68.3)	33 (31.7)
Having collection stores for the potatoes	70 (67.3)	34 (32.7)
Selling potatoes in bulk	6 (60.6)	41 (39.4)
Collective purchase of inputs	58 (55.8)	46 (44.2)
Drivers for trucks carrying potatoes to markets should have driving permits	28 (26.9)	76 (73.1)

Table 10. Summary of scores on the adoption of bylaws on improved and quality seed, soil and water conservation, and market access, N = 104.

Variable	Mean	SD	min	Max	Skewness
Level of implementation of bylaws
Implementation of improved and quality seed	17.48	3.08	2	20	−3.80
Implementation of soil and water bylaws	4.47	.93	3	7	−0.279
Implementation of market access bylaws	8.84	2.860	2	12	−0.693
Overall implementation of all seed, SW and market access bylaws	30.79	4.89	11	38	−1.54

Table 11. Spearman correlation coefficients (rho) between bylaw effectiveness and bylaws implementation mechanisms, N = 104.

Variable	Spearman correlation (rho)	p-Value
Implementation/adoption level
Number of implemented improved and quality seed bylaws	−0.209*	0.016
Number of implemented soil and water bylaws	−0.073	0.230
Number of implemented market access bylaws	−0.088	0.186
The overall number of implemented seeds, SW and market access bylaws	−0.198*	0.022

Table 12. Farmers’ roles in the implementation of bylaws, N = 104.

Farmers’ roles in the implementation of bylaws	No. of farmers	Percentage
Member of the quality committee	37	35.6
Attend farmers’/group meeting	92	88.5
Implement what we are trained in, e.g. digging trenches	92	88.5
Decide on penalties for those who do not adhere to the bylaws	82	78.8
Sensitising fellow farmers	4	3.8

Table 13. Percentages and frequencies of farmers’ resources for bylaw implementation.

Description	Frequency	Percentage
The type of land ownership
Personal	15	14.4
Owned by family	74	71.2
Owned by others/rented	15	14.4
The type of land management
Crop farming only	66	63.5
Crop farming and livestock-keeping	37	35.6
Livestock keeping	1	1.0
Financial sources for farmers
From SACCOs	73	70.2
From saving earnings	88	84.6
Loans from traders/ payments in advance for their harvest	24	23.1
Level of education
No Education	8	7.7
Primary Education	66	63.5
Secondary Education	17	16.3
Tertiary	13	12.5

Table 14. The coefficients of multivariate regression for bylaw effectiveness, bylaw implementation and mechanisms.

Variable	Coefficients (β)	p-Value	95%(CI)
Level of implementation on seed bylaws	−0.013	0.047	−0.026; −0.000
Education
None (Ref.)	Ref. (1)
Primary	0.020	0.799	−0.139; −0.180
Secondary	−0.112	0.216	−0.292; −0.067
Tertiary	−0.088	0.344	−0.271; −0.095
Farmer roles	−0.127	<0.001	−0.171; −0.084
Land use
Crop farming	Ref. (1)
Crop and livestock farm	−0.129	<0.01	−0.219; −0.038
Livestock keeping	−0.101	0.618	−0.501; −0.300