Determinants of adoption of climate-smart agricultural technologies among smallholder coffee farmers in Western Uganda

Abstract

Promoting the adoption of climate-smart agricultural technologies (CSATs) is crucial for helping smallholder coffee farmers maintain high yields in the face of climate change. However, farmers remain reluctant to adopt CSATs, which results in low coffee productivity in Uganda. This research examined the factors influencing the adoption of CSATs in Western Uganda. Data were collected from 236 coffee farmers in the Mbarara district using a well-developed and pretested questionnaire. The multivariate Probit model (MVP) was employed in the data analysis to account for the correlation among the binary outcome variables. The descriptive results showed that 5%, 98%, 16%, 70%, 32% and 86% of the farmers adopted timely harvesting, rainwater harvesting, pesticides, minimum tillage, agroforestry and mulching, respectively. Multivariate Probit results showed that age, education, farming experience, land size, market distance, farm income, marital status, non-farm income, access to credit, group membership, training in climate-smart agriculture (CSA) and household size significantly influenced the adoption of CSATs. Policy takeaways from the study include equipping farmers with knowledge of CSA and connecting them to accessible credit options, such as village savings and loan associations. Farmers should be encouraged to participate in agricultural programs on radio, television and social media, as well as training and demonstrations organized by extension officers.