Project
Promoting climate resilient seed varieties: smallholder barriers to adoption and willingness to pay for seed of drought tolerant maize varieties in Uganda
Maize is an important crop for diets and incomes of smallholder farmers. With climate affecting agricultural yields, drought-tolerant maize varieties can play an important role in protecting production from drought and protecting livelihoods. However, despite the proven benefits, uptake of these varieties is in Uganda is slow, as farmers rely mostly on home saved seed and low-quality seed from local markets.
This project applied multidisciplinary participatory research tools to examine key barriers for farmers to invest in drought tolerant maize varieties and scaling climate-smart agriculture. Focus group discussions and other participatory rural appraisal tools were used to map the spectrum of agricultural risk, risk management strategies, and behavioural barriers. In addition, the project engaged 592 farmers, male and female, in a framed field experiment to assess the effects of weather-related uncertainties and background risk on the adoption of drought tolerant maize.
This project findings provide insights into barriers to adoption of drought tolerant maize varieties, and in particular the role of risk. Our research shows that farmers face risks across a spectrum of climate and macro-economic factors, as well as risks in their seed and farming choices; and these risks are spanning the entire production cycle from planting until marketing. In addition to these risks, adoption is constrained by information constraints, transaction costs and behavioural barriers. A single technology or innovation, such as drought tolerant maize seed or crop insurance, cannot address all these risks.
We find that smallholder farmers reduce agricultural investments in response to increasing weather risk, but that response to additional risks varies by gender. Male and female farmers prioritise different sources of risk in their farming and investment decisions, leading to a more nuanced understanding of barriers to adoption and the potential role of drought tolerant maize within the farming system
Project output
Mastenbroek A, Gumucio T, Nakanwagi J, Kawuma C. 2020. Community based risk spectrum analysis in Uganda: Male and female livelihood risks and barriers to uptake of drought tolerant maize varieties. CCAFS Working Paper no. 318. Wageningen, the Netherlands: CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS). (https://hdl.handle.net/10568/109419)
Mastenbroek A, Nakanwagi J, Gumucio T. 2021. Smallholder livelihood risk and barriers to adoption of drought tolerant maize varieties in Uganda. ISSD Uganda Policy Brief 17/2021. (http://admin.issduganda.org/assets/images/resources/briefs/brief17.pdf)
Schenkel L. 2020. Spousal decision-making and agricultural investments: The relation between information asymmetries, risk preferences and investments in agricultural intensification in rural Uganda. Wageningen, the Netherlands: Wageningen University and Research, Department of Social Sciences. (https://hdl.handle.net/10568/110709)