Assessing the impact of operation wealth creation in improving the standard of living in Uganda: a case study of Muduuma sub county, Mpigi district

Abstract

The main objective of the study was to assess the impact of Operation Wealth Creation in improving the standards of living of households in Muduuma Sub County, Mpigi district. The research was guided by three objectives that is; to document the nature of services and products provided by Operation Wealth Creation in improving rural livelihoods in Mpigi district; to find out the progress and development of Operation Wealth Creation (OWC) in improving rural livelihoods in Mpigi district and to examine challenges facing Operation Wealth Creation in implementing its interventions in rural areas in Mpigi district. These objectives were used to achieve the study purpose. The methodology entailed adoption of a mixed methods research approach. The population includes farmers from Muduuma Sub County in Mpigi district whose number was unknown. As a result of this, Cochran‘s formula of sample size determination was used to select a sample of 61 respondents. Of the 61 respondents, 31 were beneficiaries of OWC and 30 were non beneficiaries of OWC. The data collection tool employed by the study was a structured questionnaire. The questionnaire response rate realized was 100% and all 61questionnaireswere duly completed and returned for analysis. Data was then analysed by use of descriptive statistics, Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23 and Microsoft Excel. From the findings therefore, majority of the respondents stated that they were aged between 30-39 years. In conclusion, the study made a comparison between the OWC beneficiaries and non-OWC beneficiaries and it was found out that, majority of the OWC beneficiaries reported an increase in the production of coffee (93.5%), fruits (87.1%), goats (90.3%)and chicken (71%) from the time when signed up for the OWC programme. The study employed a multiple linear regression model to analysis the challenges affecting the performance of OWC and it was found out that, overall coefficient of correlation and determination (R & R2) were 0.738 and 0.545 respectively. The coefficient of regression (R = 0.738) was an indication of strong and positive relationship between predictor variables and dependent variable. The coefficient of determination (R2 = 0.545) implied that only about 54.5% of the variation in challenges affecting OWC programs can be explained by changes in the totality of concern for standards of living. These study findings therefore will also help address apparent gaps between policy and implementation.