Assessing climate smart agriculture adaptation strategies of smallholder farmers in Busano sub county Mbale district.
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Date
2026
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Busitema University
Abstract
In Uganda, coffee is a major cash crop and source of household income but climate change notably erratic rainfall patterns, prolonged droughts, rising temperatures, pests, diseases, and soil degradation immensely affects its production. This study identified the main climate-smart agriculture adaptation strategies among smallholder coffee farmers and determined the factors influencing their adoption. The study employed a cross-sectional survey research design using a quantitative approach. A sample of 150 smallholder coffee farmers was selected. Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS Version 26). Descriptive statistics, including frequencies, percentages, means and standard deviations, were used to analyze the adaptation strategies employed by farmers, while a multivariate regression model was used to determine factors influencing the choice of climate-smart agriculture adaptation strategies. The findings revealed that farmers adopted a wide range of climate-smart agriculture practices categorized as cultural, mechanical, chemical, biological and agronomic strategies. The most adopted practices included intercropping (98.0%), timely weeding (96.0%), inorganic fertilizer application (95.3%), pruning (90.7%), moisture retention practices (90.7%), planting cover crops (88.7%), pesticide application (86.7%), and selective harvesting (85.3%). However, adoption of advanced practices such as irrigation equipment (10.7%), soil amendments (14.0%), soil moisture management (16.7%), soil testing (34.0%), and bio-pesticides (30.7%) were low. The regression results indicated that age, household size, farming experience, farm size, and access to credit significantly influenced farmers’ choice of adaptation strategies. The model explained 76.0% of the variation in adaptation choices (R² = 0.760), indicating strong explanatory power. The study concludes that smallholder coffee farmers in Busano Sub-county are actively adopting climate-smart agriculture practices to cope with climate variability and climate change. However, their adaptive capacity remains constrained by limited access to financial resources, agricultural technologies, and extension services. The study recommends strengthening agricultural extension services, improving access to affordable agricultural credit, investing in irrigation and other climate-resilient technologies to enhance sustainable coffee production and improve farmers’ resilience to climate change. I recommend further studies on Evaluating whether these adopted CSA practices actually lead to measurable improvements in coffee yields, household income, and long-term climate resilience over time, Investigating the specific financial, institutional, and technical bottlenecks preventing farmers from adopting higher-cost or knowledge-intensive practices like soil testing (34.0%), bio-pesticides (30.7%), and irrigation equipment (10.7%).
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Undergraduate research report
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Citation
Mbaga, H. (2026). Assessing climate smart agriculture adaptation strategies of smallholder farmers in Busano sub county Mbale district. [Unpublished undergraduate research report]. Busitema University.