Browsing by Author "Okurmu, Brian"

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Factors influencing the adoption of sustainable intensification among coffee farmers in Paidha sub-county, Zombo district.
    (Busitema University, 2026) Okurmu, Brian
    The study was carried out in Paidha sub-county, Zombo district, West Nile region in Uganda to assess the factors influencing the adoption of sustainable intensification (SI) practices among coffee farmers. The study specifically sought to characterize smallholder coffee farmers, to identify SI practices adopted and their combinations or packages, and to assess the factors associated with the adoption of SI packages. A cross-sectional survey design with a quantitative approach was employed, and primary data were collected from 102 smallholder coffee farmers selected through systematic random sampling, using a structured questionnaire administered face-to-face and orally translated into Alur. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics for objective one and two, and an ordered logit model for predictors. The findings showed that 70 (68.6%) of the smallholfer coffee farmers were male and 32 (31.4%) were female. On education, 33.3% of the farmers had completed primary school as their highest qualification, a further 33.3% had completed secondary school and 22.5% had attained tertiary education. Only 10.8% had no formal education at all. Farmers used nine SI practices, with pruning (99.0%), agroforestry (98.0%) and intercropping (93.1%) the most widely adopted, while mulching (2.0%), crop rotation (3.9%) and integrated pest management (9.8%) were rarely practiced. Farmers were characterized by a dominant agroforestry–intercropping–pruning core around which they layered complementary practices of organic manure, cover cropping and water conservation, with 31.4% attaining the full package. The ordered logit results revealed that primary education, tertiary education and access to extension services significantly increased adoption of SI practices, with extension access raising the probability of attaining the highest intensity category by 28.1 percentage points, whereas credit access unexpectedly reduced it. The study concludes that SI adoption in Paidha is a stepwise process of complementary practice accumulation driven mainly by human capital and information access rather than financial access. It is recommended that extension delivery be strengthened through stepwise, demonstration-based training, that farmer education be scaled up, and that credit products be redesigned to match the long-gestation nature of SI investments; further research should examine the credit–adoption paradox and monitor adoption over time.