The Effects of Maize Price Fluctuations on the Livelihood and Income of Maize Farmers: A Case Study of Kigumba Sub-County, Kiryandongo District

Abstract

The study assesses the effects of maize price fluctuations on the income and the livelihood of maize farmers in Kigumba sub-county, the specific objectives are to establish whether socio- economic factors are associated with copying mechanism due to shock in maize price fluctuation, establish whether farmers who diversify experience similar shock of maize price fluctuation, establish whether the varieties of maize that farmers grow influence the shock of maize price fluctuation. Purposive sampling technique was used and a sample of 57 respondents was used in the study, primary data was used and it was obtained by use of a questionnaire. A sample consisted of 39 male and 18 female respondents who were randomly selected from the sub-county within 10 villages. The respondents were predominantly male and married and Pearson chi-square technique was used. Analysis indicates that there is no significant relationship between the level of income of the respondents and their gender (p>0.05) at 5% level of significance. In conclusion majority(84.2%) of the respondents are affected negatively by maize price fluctuations on both their livelihood and level of income and the least(15.8%) are affected positively. Therefore there is need to stabilize the prices of maize in order to raise farmer’s income so as to improve on the standards of living of the farmers of Kigumba sub-county.