Limiting Factors Affecting Agroforestry Adoption in Butta Sub-county, Manafwa District, Uganda

Background: Agroforestry, now considered as a sustainable agricultural system, is being widely promoted all over the world especially in sub-Saharan Africa. Although agroforestry is known to be beneficial to farmers and the environment, its adoption rate falls far behind the projected goals.

Aim of the Study: This study aimed to investigate the limiting factors on agroforestry adoption in Butta sub-county, Manafwa district, Uganda.

Methodology: The household heads used in this study were selected using a combination of multistage stratified random sampling and systematic random sampling. These were further stratified into Adopters and Non-adopters. A sample of 185 small-scale farmers were used in the study.

Results: Results from Multinomial logistic regression analysis suggest that Education level, Farm size, Extension services and lack of income were the most important variables in limiting the adoption of agroforestry in the study area. It was observed that traditional beliefs had no significant effect on limiting Agroforestry adoption in the area. It was also found out that farmers’ interaction with the extension staff was low which affect the adoption rate.

Conclusion: This study revealed that, Illiteracy, Shortage of land, Lack of extension services, Lack of income are the limiting factors that hindered Agroforestry adoption in the study area. Moreover, the denial to plant trees on farmlands may have nothing to do with traditional beliefs in the study area.

Recommendation: This study recommends that extension services should be increased to encourage small-scale farmers to adopt the practice.