Assessing factors affecting cocoa growing in Uganda : a case study of Kiziranfumbi Sub County, Kikuube District

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors affecting Cocoa growing in Uganda using Kiziranfumbi sub county in Kikuube District as the case study. Specifically, the study sought (i) to find out the socio-demographic and socioeconomic factors affecting cocoa growers; (ii) to assess the impact of labor input and capital size; (iii) examine the effect of credit services and extension services on cocoa growing. To operationalize these objectives, both qualitative and quantitative data was collected using questionnaires which were administered to 95 cocoa farmers in Kiziranfumbi households in the study area. The data collected was tabulated and later analyzed by use of descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. All respondents were aged 30 years to 89 years with over 70% of them being male while 26% of them were female. 78% (n = 72) were Christians categorized into born-again Christians while 18% (n = 17) were Muslims. An overwhelming majority (69%; n = 66) of cocoa farmers owned between 1 to 5 acres of land under cocoa cultivation; followed by 22% (n =21) who had less than an acre under cultivation while the least percent (8%; n = 8) had about 6 to 10 acres under cocoa production. The study identified low women participation in Cocoa growing in the area. My results revealed that unlike the number of extension visits and credit access, farmer characteristics including gender of the farmer, earnings from the total harvest, contact with extension agents, household size and farming experience had significant influence on cocoa production. Prices of agricultural chemicals should be heavily subsidized to encourage cocoa farmers acquire them.