| dc.description.abstract | ineapple is one of the major crops grown in Kayunga district and it has earned farmers’ lots of income and changed their way of life but most farmers grow pineapples on small scale yet it is highly profitable this necessitated this research to find out the factors that hinder its production on a largescale in Kayunga district and the whole country at large. The major purpose of the study was to determine the factors that affect pineapple production in Nazigo sub-county Kayunga district. The specific objectives of the study were; to characterize pineapple farmers, to find out the factors that affect the yield per acre of pineapples and to find out the challenges faced by pineapple farmers. The study was carried out in one parish (Natteta) in Nazigo subcounty.50 respondents were interviewed, all farmers had the same chances of answering the questions and at least 10 respondents were interviewed from each village, Questionnaires and direct observation were the major tools of data collection. The results show that; 80% of the farmers were males and 20% were females, average age of farmers was 41.5years, average output per acre was 9966.7, the total average area under pineapple production was 2.9 acres of land. The study also found out that most farmers grew their pineapples and sold them on the farm due to high transport costs to move pineapples to market centers, the enterprise is dominated by males, most farmers used personal savings, and the highest number of pineapple farmers had not attained education, 88% of the farmers use organic fertilizers in pineapple production and the rest use inorganic. The study revealed limited markets as a major constraint accounted for 17% of all the challenges faced by the farmers. It was followed by price fluctuation and high transport costs which accounted for 10.9% each, high cost of inputs accounted for 10.2%, and 4.8% for limited capital.
The research recommends that the government of Uganda through the ministry of agriculture should educate more farmers so that they gain more experience on the various agricultural practices. This may increase the output of the agricultural produce and the quality of the produce. The government should also construct processing plants in order to add value to pineapples. This will help to reduce on the price fluctuation and losses since perishable pineapples will be processed to produce other products like juice. It also recommends formation of farmer cooperatives as this will help farmers to reduce production costs, increase and encourage collective marketing and bargaining and increase their prices. The findings in this study will help pineapple farmers to know the problems faced during pineapple production and then find ways to solve them, this will increase the yield per acre hence increasing pineapple production. | en_US |
