Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences
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Browsing Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences by Author "Barungi, Mildred"
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Item How to overcome the challenges faced by private companies engaged in agricultural research and development(Economic Policy Research Centre, 2019) Barungi, Mildred; Nakazi, Florence; Mwesigye, FrancisIn line with their mandates, public institutions, particularly the National Agricultural Research Organisation (NARO), have developed several improved technologies for crops, animals and fisheries. However, most of the developed technologies are yet to be adopted by the intended end-users. Some private companies are making significant contribution towards closing the gap between research, technology generation, dissemination and uptake by farmers. Nonetheless, private companies face various challenges, which limit their overall contribution. This brief recommends specific actions that could ease private sector engagement in agricultural research and development.Item Is Implementing Uganda’s Single Spine Agricultural Extension Reform Feasible?(Economic Policy Research Centre, 2017) Barungi, Mildred; Adong, Annet; Guloba, MadinaUganda has undertaken a number of reforms in extension service provision, ranging from a commodity-focused extension system in the colonial times to a farmer demand-driven extension system (National Agricultural Advisory Services-NAADS). Due to the challenges and unsatisfactory impacts associated with NAADS, in 2014 Cabinet approved MAAIF’s position to develop a more integrated, coordinated and harmonized public extension system—the Single Spine agricultural extension service delivery system. However, the feasibility of implementing the Single Spine reform can only be realised if challenges faced by predecessor agricultural extension systems are addressed immediately. This calls for increasing public financing for agricultural extension service delivery or exploring new financing options, recruiting more staff to fill the vacant technical positions, expediting the development of a framework for implementing the Single spine reform, and creating and maintaining good relations among institutions that contribute to delivering extension services to farmers.Item Land Tenure Insecurity, Fragmentation and Crop Choice: Evidence from Uganda(The African Economic Research Consortium, 2021) Mwesigye, Francis; Barungi, MildredThis study uses household, parcel, and plot-level data to analyze the effect of land tenure insecurity and land fragmentation on crop choice. We use formal land titling as a proxy for de jure land rights, and the perceived transfer rights over parcels as a proxy for de facto land rights. Using two-part model, the study shows that both de jure and de facto land rights significantly increase the likelihood of planting perennial commercial crops, and increase the hectares allocated to commercial crops. The results also show that when the rights to land are weak (i.e., no land titling and no transfer rights), farmers tend to grow annual crops.Item Supply of Improved Rice Seed in Eastern Uganda: The Gap and Required Investment(Economic Policy Research Centre, 2016) Odokonyero, Tonny; Barungi, Mildred; Mbowa, SwaibuThis brief explains the challenges limiting use of improved rice seed in three Eastern Uganda major rice growing districts. Insufficient supply of improved seed is a core constraint to intensification in rice production. There are only four rice seed producers in the three study districts, which renders rice seed to be the hardest input to access by farmers compared to fertilizer, herbicides, and fungicides. Rice seed inaccessibility is further compounded by producers having contractual obligations with external seed companies. The volume of seed required by farmers exceeds the supply capabilities of the four seed producers, creating a gap in the rice seed supply chain. Furthermore, the seed producers rarely multiply the varieties grown by farmers, but rather those demanded by seed companies outside the region. The estimated seed supply gap is about 90 percent of what farmers would require. Therefore, in order to meet local farmer’s requirement for improved rice seed, at least 40 new seed production enterprises should be established and this is estimated to cost slightly over one billion Uganda shillings (US $ 300,000).Item Why Strong Farmer Groups are Ideal in the Marketing of Rice in Eastern Uganda(Economic Policy Research Centre, 2016) Barungi, Mildred; Odokonyero, Tonny; Mbowa, SwaibuAvenues for marketing rice in three districts of Butaleja, Tororo, and Bugiri in Eastern Uganda are studied based on data collected from a community and market survey. Survey results reveal that majority of farmers sell their rice to traders and middlemen, followed by processors and individual consumers. Consistently, relatively high prices are earned when rice marketing is undertaken in groups across all the three districts, and premium prices are realised from improved rice varieties like WITA9 grown by only 26 percent of the farmers. This demonstrates proof that there are income benefits from economies of scale in rice marketing that accrue to farmers that opt to market their rice as a group. However, the majority (over 79%) of farmers still operate as individuals. The study establishes that there are overriding considerations at community level (like urgent need to offset personal needs, lack of information, and limited group storage infrastructure) that weaken farmer groups for bulk marketing, hence sending farmers to operate as individuals. This leads to loss of farm income, and keeps farmers perpetually in poverty; and makes the case stronger to expedite the implementation of government projects such as the “produce storage facilities development project”, spelt out in the Second National Development Plan (NDP II) in the predominately rice growing Eastern Uganda. The findings further strengthen the case for reviving farmers’ cooperative societies in the country.