Browsing by Author "Ekere, William"

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    An analysis of competitiveness of lowland and upland rice production systems in Eastern Uganda
    (African Business and Development in a Changing Global Political Economy, 2012) Letaa, Emmanuel; Hyuha, Theodora S.; Ekere, William
    The paper analyses competiveness of upland and lowland rice production systems in Eastern Uganda. The results show that both systems are generally competitive with lowland rice being slightly more competitive than upland rice. Econometric results show that the most critical factors affecting competitiveness include: education, extension contact and farm size. The results therefore suggest that efforts to promote education (informal and formal), increasing frequency of extension contact and farm size will improve competiveness of both rice systems. Encouraging farmers to adopt available productivity enhancing technologies will increase productivity without encouraging them to encroaching on already degraded wetlands.
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    Determinants of Import Demand of Rice in Uganda
    (International Journal of Applied and Pure Science and Agriculture (IJAPSA), 2017) Hyuha, T.S.; Ekere, William; Bantebya Kyomuhendo, Grace
    Rice has been singled out as one of the crops that play an important role as both food and a cash crop in Uganda. Its importance has become more critical due to increasing demand. The increased demand has created a gap in domestic supply which has to be covered through imports. This study analyses determinants of import demand for rice in Uganda using econometric methods. Population, domestic rice production, own price and own consumption were found to be significant and therefore influencing rice imports in Uganda. Thus there is a need to increase supply through supporting farmers to increase domestic rice production to stabilize prices, If the country is to be self sufficient in rice as a way of saving foreign exchange, it would have to control its high population growth rate or increase domestic production through adopting high yield increasing technologies.
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    Factors Influencing Waste Separation and Utilization among Households in the Lake Victoria Crescent, Uganda
    (Waste management, 2009) Ekere, William; Mugisha, Johnny; Drake, Lars
    Wastes, which are the by-products of consumption, are a growing problem in the urban and peri-urban areas of the Lake Victoria region largely due to high urban population growth rates, consumption habits, low collection rates and hence waste accumulation. Whereas the biodegradable proportion is high and could be reutilized, a few have tapped the economic potential of this waste. This study was conducted to explore the potential alternatives and determinants of waste separation and utilization among urban and peri-urban households in the Lake Victoria crescent. A random sample of households in five urban and peri-urban areas of the crescent were selected and surveyed. Logit models were used to establish the factors influencing waste separation and utilization in urban and peri-urban areas of the lake crescent. Results indicate that, gender, peer influence, land size, location of household and membership of environmental organization explain household waste utilization and separation behaviour. Campaigns for waste separation and reuse should be focused in the peri-urban areas where high volumes of wastes are generated and accumulate. Social influence or pressure should be used to encourage more waste reuse and separation.
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    Market Feasibility of Faecal Sludge and Municipal Solid Waste-Based Compost as Measured by Farmers’ Willingness-to-Pay for Product Attributes: Evidence from Kampala, Uganda
    (resources, 2017) Danso, George K.; Otoo, Miriam; Ekere, William; Ddungu, Stanley; Madurangi, Ganesha
    There is a great potential to close the nutrient recycling loop, support a ‘circular economy’ and improve cost recovery within the waste sector and to create viable businesses via the conversion of waste to organic fertilizers. Successful commercialization of waste-based organic fertilizer businesses however largely depends on a sound market. We used a choice experiment to estimate farmers’ willingness-to-pay (WTP) for faecal sludge and municipal solid waste-based (FSM) compost in Kampala, Uganda and considered three attributes—fortification, pelletization and certification. Our results reveal that farmers are willing to pay for FSM compost and place a higher value on a ‘certified’ compost product. They are willing to pay US $0.4 per kg above the current market price for a similar certified product, which is 67 times higher than the cost of providing the attribute. Farmers are willing to pay US $0.127 per kg for ‘pelletized’ FSM compost, which is lower (0.57 times) than the cost of providing the attribute. On the other hand, farmers require US $0.089 per kg as a compensation to use ‘fortified’ FSM compost. We suggest that future FSM compost businesses focus on a ‘certified and pelletized’ FSM product as this product type has the highest production cost–WTP differential and for which future businesses can capture the highest percentage of the consumer surplus. The demand for FSM compost indicates the benefits that can accrue to farmers, businesses and the environment from the recycling of organic waste for agriculture.
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    Reducing gender gaps in the awareness and uptake of drought-tolerant maize in Uganda: The role of education, extension services and social networks
    (Journal of Gender, Agriculture and Food Security (Agri-Gender), 2019) Fishery, Monica; Habte, Endeshaw; Ekere, William; Abatez, Tsedeke; Lewinx, Paul A.
    Cultivation of drought-tolerant (DT) maize seed reduces drought risk in sub-Saharan Africa. Data from eastern Uganda reveal gender gaps in awareness and adoption of DT maize. Among surveyed male household heads, 67.6 percent had awareness of DT maize varieties and 29.2 percent grew them. Corresponding gures for female household heads were 43.3 percent (awareness) and 5.3 percent (adoption) and those for wives in spousal couple households were 51.0 percent and 11.1 percent. Propensity score matching (PSM) found that awareness of the technology has a decisive role in DT maize adoption. Regression analysis indicated that education exerts the greatest in uence on agricultural technology awareness for female household heads, while social networks matter most for wives of male household heads. Policies leading to gender equity in access to education and agricultural information resources would give women farmers similar awareness of DT maize seed as men farmers and reduce the gender technology gap.