The effectiveness of agricultural training programs in good agronomic practices on lowland rice productivity in Ziroobwe Luweero District, Central Uganda

Abstract

This study utilized primary data collected from low land rice farmers in ziroobwe ,Luweero district within the central part of Uganda. These farmers received training from JICA on practices such as planting and weeding and they belonged to villages of kiyiiya, bukimu and ziroobwe town. The specific objective of the study was to assess the effectiveness of agricultural training on the productivity of low land rice. The other objectives of the study include: (i) to examine the socio-demographic characteristics of low land rice farmers in ziroobwe, (ii) to evaluate the production characteristics of low land rice farmers in ziroobwe. The study used the mixed methods approach to investigate the effectiveness of training on low land rice productivity. The cross sectional research design was used and data was collected by use of questionnaires and focus group discussions. Descriptive and econometric analyses were made for the quantitative data. Data on socio-demographic characteristics as well as production characteristics of the rice farmers was assessed using statistical methods such as means, percentages and frequencies.The study used the t-test to measure if there was a significant difference between yield prior and after training of the farmers. Rice productivity was measured and standardized in terms of yield per acre (kg per acre). A logistic regression analysis was used to determine the relationship between rice productivity (dependent variable) and other independent variables such as age, education, gender, experience, use of chemical fertilizers, use of pesticides and use of irrigation. The results of the study indicated that there was an increase in the rice yield after training at a 1% level of significance. It was further noted that the level of education, size of the household, application of chemical fertilizer and personal management of farm activities by owners had a positive effect on yield. The coefficient of years of school (69.5088), household size (40.2401), use of chemical fertilizer (156.4804) and personal management of the farm (353.2108) were positive and significant at 1% level of significance ( for years of school and household size) and at 5% level of significance (for use of chemical fertilizers and personal management of the farm).This implied that a marginal increase in the supply of these factors (years of school, household size, use of chemical fertilizers, personal management of the farm) would increase rice productivity by 69.5 kg/acre, 40.2 kg/acre, 156.5 kg/acre, and 353.2 kg/acre respectively.