Assessment of maize-legume intercrop on the food security and household income of smallholder farmers in Mayuge district

Abstract

In most developing countries smallholder farmers practice cereal-legume intercrop to mitigate risks of crop failure. Maize being one of the most crucial and strategic cereal crops not only in Africa but as well in developed countries. It has a range of uses including but not limited to food, feed, food processing. The maize-legume intercrop requires knowledge on the possible outcomes of the combination in terms of yield and income generation, which information is not readily available. The improvement of household income of small holder maize-legume intercrop farmers as well motivated this study. This study was conducted in Buwaaya Sub county Mayuge district in 8 villages, which involved the usage of a cross sectional survey design where the whole population or its subset was studied by seeking information about a study problem on what is going on at only one point in time. The study population consisted of 100 farmers engaged in maize production with a mixture of other crop farmers. Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) was used with groups of farmers to further strengthen responses picked from sampled households. Random sampling was done at two levels; sampling of parishes was conducted and from each parish interviews were conducted in 100 households that were randomly sampled. This was done at intervals of every four households and purposive interviews that targeted field extension staff and agriculture officers working in the district. Structured and semi structured questionnaires were used of which the questions where both closed and open ended in such a way that participants had freedom to express their views in response to questions asked without the influence of the interviewer. The Statistical Packages for Social Scientists (SPSS) software was used to analyze the qualitative and quantitative data. The results show that 57% of households were headed by men and the rest being women. Where the most respondents were above 30years and married (77%) with the majority 56%, household average size was 6-9 members. Furthermore 57% of respondents intercrop and 35% of the respondents’ source of income was from sell of agricultural produces. This concluded that household income increased with increase in maize-legume intercrop practice and I firmly encourage farmers to intercrop maize and legumes for high yields. Keywords: Respondents, Household Income, Food Security, Maize-Legume Intercrop, Intercropping, Small Holder Farmers.