Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-j824f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T08:48:05.286Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

DIVERSITY IN SMALLHOLDER FARMS GROWING COFFEE AND THEIR USE OF RECOMMENDED COFFEE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES IN UGANDA

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 February 2015

GHISLAINE BONGERS ,
LUUK FLESKENS ,
GERRIE VAN DE VEN ,
DAVID MUKASA ,
KEN GILLER  and
PIET VAN ASTEN
GHISLAINE BONGERS*
Affiliation:
International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, P.O. Box 7878, Kampala, Uganda Plant Production Systems Group, Wageningen University, 6700 AK, Box 430, Wageningen, the Netherlands
LUUK FLESKENS
Affiliation:
Sustainable Research Institute, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK Soil Physics and Land Management Group, Wageningen University, 6700 AA, Box 47, Wageningen, the Netherlands
GERRIE VAN DE VEN
Affiliation:
Plant Production Systems Group, Wageningen University, 6700 AK, Box 430, Wageningen, the Netherlands
DAVID MUKASA
Affiliation:
International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, P.O. Box 7878, Kampala, Uganda
KEN GILLER
Affiliation:
Plant Production Systems Group, Wageningen University, 6700 AK, Box 430, Wageningen, the Netherlands
PIET VAN ASTEN
Affiliation:
International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, P.O. Box 7878, Kampala, Uganda
*
§Corresponding author. Email: ghislainebongers@gmail.com
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Many smallholder farm systems in Uganda produce coffee as an important cash crop. Yet coffee yields are poor. To increase farmers’ production, a range of agronomic practices have been recommended by national and international agencies. Yet the adoption potential of recommendations differs between farm systems. To understand the differences in adoption potential of recommended coffee management practices in Uganda, we provide a typology of farm systems with coffee, assess the diversity between the farm types, and evaluate the current use of existing management recommendations for each farm type. Through factor analysis and cluster analysis of farms producing coffee, we identified five farm types: large coffee farms, farms with off-farm activities, coffee-dependent farms, diversified farms, and banana–coffee farms. The farm types were based on differences in size, and on the relative contributions of coffee, banana and off-farm labour to total household income. They also differ in the availability of the resources labour, land and cash, in coffee production and revenue, and in current use of most recommended practices. Qualitative analysis indicates that farm types have different constraints and opportunities to adopt recommendations. Our results highlight that an analysis of different farm systems with coffee production, a degree of definition beyond the ‘smallholder coffee farmer’ as a homogenous entity, is important in order to understand the scope for success or failure of recommended practices.

Type
Research Article
Information
Experimental Agriculture , Volume 51 , Issue 4 , October 2015 , pp. 594 - 614
Check for updates
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2015 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Abebe, T., Wiersum, K. F. and Bongers, F. (2010). Spatial and temporal variation in crop diversity in agroforestry homegardens of southern Ethiopia. Agroforestry Systems 78:309–322.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Adesina, A. A. and Baidu-Forson, J. (1995). Farmers’ perceptions and adoption of new agricultural technology: Evidence from analysis in Burkina Faso and Guinea, West Africa. Agricultural Economics 13:1–9.Google Scholar
Andersen, E., Elbersen, B., Godeschalk, F. and Verhoog, D. (2007). Farm management indicators and farm typologies as a basis for assessments in a changing policy environment. Journal of Environmental Management 82 (3):353–362.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baffes, J. (2006). Restructuring Uganda's coffee industry: Why going back to basics matters. Development Policy Review 24 (4):413–436.Google Scholar
Baijukya, F. P., de Ridder, N., Masuki, K. F. and Giller, K. E. (2005). Dynamics of banana-based farming systems in Bukoba district, Tanzania: Changes in land use, cropping and cattle keeping. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 106 (4):395–406.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bidogeza, J., Berentsen, P., De Graaff, J. and Oude Lansink, A. (2009). A typology of farm households for the Umutara province in Rwanda. Food Security 1 (3):321–335.Google Scholar
Blazy, J.-M., Ozier-Lafontaine, H., Doré, T., Thomas, A. and Wery, J. (2009). A methodological framework that accounts for farm diversity in the prototyping of crop management systems. Application to banana-based systems in Guadeloupe. Agricultural Systems 101 (1–2):30–41.Google Scholar
Briggs, L. and Twomlow, S. J. (2002). Organic material flows within a smallholder highland farming system of South West Uganda. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 89 (3):191–212.Google Scholar
Bucagu, C., Vanlauwe, B. and Giller, K. E. (2013). Managing Tephrosia mulch and fertilizer to enhance coffee productivity on smallholder farms in the Eastern African Highlands. European Journal of Agronomy 48:19–29.Google Scholar
Bussolo, M., Godart, O., Lay, J. and Thiele, R. (2007). The impact of coffee price changes on rural households in Uganda. Agricultural Economics 37 (2–3):293–303.Google Scholar
Campanha, M. M., Santos, R. H. S., Freitas, G. B. d., Martinez, H. E. P., Garcia, S. L. R. and Finger, F. L. (2004). Growth and yield of coffee plants in agroforestry and monoculture systems in Minas Gerais, Brazil. Agroforestry Systems 63:75–82.Google Scholar
Carmona, A., Nahuelhual, L., Echeverría, C. and Báez, A. (2010). Linking farming systems to landscape change: An empirical and spatially explicit study in southern Chile. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 139 (1–2):40–50.Google Scholar
Darnhofer, I., Bellon, S., Dedieu, B. and Milestad, R. (2010). Adaptiveness to enhance the sustainability of farming systems. A review. Agronomy for Sustainable Development 30 (3):545–555.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dossa, L. H., Abdulkadir, A., Amadou, H., Sangare, S. and Schlecht, E. (2011). Exploring the diversity of urban and peri-urban agricultural systems in Sudano-Sahelian West Africa: An attempt towards a regional typology. Landscape and Urban Planning 102 (3):197–206.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Duflo, E., Kremer, M. and Robinson, J. (2008). How high are rates of return to fertilizer? Evidence from field experiments in Kenya. The American Economic Review 98 (2):482–488.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ellis, F. and Bahiigwa, G. (2003). Livelihoods and rural poverty reduction in Uganda. World Development 31 (6):997–1013.Google Scholar
FAO (2013). FAOSTAT. Available online:. (Accessed 11 October 2013).Google Scholar
Fleskens, L. (2008). A typology of sloping and mountainous olive plantation systems to address natural resources management. Annals of Applied Biology 153 (3):283–297.Google Scholar
Franzel, S. (1999). Socioeconomic factors affecting the adoption potential of improved tree fallows in Africa. Agroforestry Systems 47:305–321.Google Scholar
Franzel, S., Coe, R., Cooper, P., Place, F. and Scherr, S. J. (2001). Assessing the adoption potential of agroforestry practices in sub-Saharan Africa. Agricultural Systems 69:37–62.Google Scholar
Fresco, L. O. and Westphal, E. (1988). A hierarchical classification of farm systems. Experimental Agriculture 24:399–419.Google Scholar
Gibreel, T. M. (2012). Crop commercialization and adoption of gum-arabic agroforestry and their effect on farming system in western Sudan. Agroforestry Systems 87 (2):311–318.Google Scholar
Giller, K. (2013). Can we define the term ‘farming systems’? A question of scale. Outlook on Agriculture 42 (3):149–153.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harris, D. and Orr, A. (2014). Is rainfed agriculture really a pathway from poverty? Agricultural Systems 123:84–96.Google Scholar
Hernández-Martínez, G., Manson, R. H. and Hernández, A. C. (2009). Quantitative classification of coffee agroecosystems spanning a range of production intensities in central Veracruz, Mexico. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 134 (1–2):89–98.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hillocks, R. J. (2000). Integrated crop management for smallholder farmers in Africa with special reference to coffee in Malawi. Pest Management Science 56 (11):963–968.Google Scholar
ICO (2011). Trade statistics. Available online: http://www.ico.org/trade_statistics.asp. (Accessed 4-10-2011).Google Scholar
Iraizoz, B., Gorton, M. and Davidova, S. (2007). Segmenting farms for analysing agricultural trajectories: A case study of the Navarra region in Spain. Agricultural Systems 93 (1–3):143–169.Google Scholar
Jassogne, L., van Asten, P. J. A., Wanyama, I. and Baret, P. V. (2013). Perceptions and outlook on intercropping coffee with banana as an opportunity for smallholder coffee farmers in Uganda. International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability 11 (2):144–158.Google Scholar
Kamanga, B. C. G., Waddington, S. R., Robertson, M. J. and Giller, K. E. (2009). Risk analysis of maize-legume crop combinations with smallholder farmers varying in resource endowment in central Malawi. Experimental Agriculture 46 (01):1.Google Scholar
Knowler, D. and Bradshaw, B. (2007). Farmers’ adoption of conservation agriculture: A review and synthesis of recent research. Food Policy 32 (1):25–48.Google Scholar
Köbrich, C., Rehman, T. and Khan, M. (2003). Typification of farming systems for constructing representative farm models: Two illustrations of the application of multi-variate analyses in Chile and Pakistan. Agricultural Systems 76 (1):141–157.Google Scholar
Lin, B. B. (2007). Agroforestry management as an adaptive strategy against potential microclimate extremes in coffee agriculture. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 144 (1–2):85–94.Google Scholar
MAAIF (2010). Agriculture for food and income security. In Agriculture Sector Development Strategy and Investment Plan: 2010/11–2014/15, 160 Kampala: Ministery of Agriculture, Animal Indistry & Fisheries.Google Scholar
Moguel, P. and Toledo, V. M. (1999). Biodiversity Conservation in Traditional Coffee Systems of Mexico. Conservation Biology 13 (1):11–21.Google Scholar
Nainggolan, D., Termansen, M., Reed, M. S., Cebollero, E. D. and Hubacek, K. (2013). Farmer typology, future scenarios and the implications for ecosystem service provision: A case study from south-eastern Spain. Regional Environmental Change 13:601–614.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
NEMA (2009). Uganda. Atlas of our changing environment. 220 Kampala, Uganda: National Environmental Management Authority.Google Scholar
Oduol, P. and Aluma, J. (1990). The banana (Musa spp.) — Coffee robusta traditional agroforestry system of Uganda. Agroforestry Systems 11 (3):213–226.Google Scholar
Pender, J., Jagger, P., Nkonya, E. and Sserunkuuma, D. (2001). Development pathways and land management in uganda: Causes and implications. In EPTD Discussion Paper No. 85, Vol. 85, 131 Washington D.C.: International Food Policy Research Institute.Google Scholar
Rice, R. (2003). Coffee production in a time of crisis: Social and environmental connections. SAIS Review 23 (1):221–245.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Righi, E., Dogliotti, S., Stefanini, F. M. and Pacini, G. C. (2011). Capturing farm diversity at regional level to up-scale farm level impact assessment of sustainable development options. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 142 (1–2):63–74.Google Scholar
Shepherd, K. D. and Soule, M. J. (1998). Soil fertility management in west Kenya: Dynamic simulation of productivity, profitability and sustainability at different resource endowment levels. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 71 (1–3):131–145.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Somda, J., Kamuanga, M. and Tollens, E. (2005). Characteristics and economic viability of milk production in the smallholder farming systems in The Gambia. Agricultural Systems 85 (1):42–58.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tittonell, P., Muriuki, A., Shepherd, K. D., Mugendi, D., Kaizzi, K. C., Okeyo, J., Verchot, L., Coe, R. and Vanlauwe, B. (2010). The diversity of rural livelihoods and their influence on soil fertility in agricultural systems of East Africa – A typology of smallholder farms. Agricultural Systems 103 (2):83–97.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
UBOS (2010 A). Uganda Census of Agriculture 2008/2009. Volume III: Agricultural Household & Holding Characteristics Report. 582, Uganda: Uganda Bureau of Statistics/Ministery of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries.Google Scholar
UBOS (2010 B). Uganda Census of Agriculture 2008/2009. Volume IV: Crop Area and Production Report. 178 Kampala, Uganda: Uganda Bureau of Statistics/Ministery of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries.Google Scholar
UCDA (2008). Arabica Coffee Production Handbook. 51 Kampala, Uganda: Uganda Coffee Development Authority.Google Scholar
USAID (2011). Feed the Future: Multi-year Strategy 2011–2015. 58: The U.S. Government's Global Hunger and Food Security Initiative.Google Scholar
Van Asten, P., Wanyama, I., Mukasa, D., Nansamba, R., Kisaakye, J., Sserubiri, I., Bongers, G. and Jassogne, L. (2012). Mapping and evaluating improved intercrop and soil management options for Ugandan coffee farmers. In Technical Report, 90: International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA)/ Livelihoods and Enterprises for Agricultural Development (LEAD).Google Scholar
Van Asten, P. J. A., Kaaria, S., Fermont, A. M. and Delve, R. J. (2008). Challenges and lessons when using farmer knowledge in agricultural research and development projects in Africa. Experimental Agriculture 45 (01):1.Google Scholar
Van Asten, P. J. A., Wairegi, L. W. I., Mukasa, D. and Uringi, N. O. (2011). Agronomic and economic benefits of coffee–banana intercropping in Uganda's smallholder farming systems. Agricultural Systems 104 (4):326–334.Google Scholar
You, L. and Bolwig, S. (2003). Alternative Growth Scenarios for Ugandan Coffee to 2020. In EPTD Discussion Paper NO. 98, 53 (Ed I. F. P. R. Institute). Washington D.C.: International Food Policy Research Institute.Google Scholar
Zorom, M., Barbier, B., Mertz, O. and Servat, E. (2013). Diversification and adaptation strategies to climate variability: A farm typology for the Sahel. Agricultural Systems 116:7–15.Google Scholar