Agriculture & Environment
Gender Dynamics affect Uptake of Agricultural Technologies – Mak SECA Study
A study conducted by Makerere University researchers in Iganga and Bugiri districts indicates that disparities still exist regarding access and sustained use of improved crop varieties among women and men. The men still dominate decision making power which negatively impacts on the sustained use and uptake of improved crop varieties in the two districts. Gender transformative approaches that consider the interest and needs of both men and women, are deemed fit for the design and implementation of interventions and ensure voices and aspirations of men and women are considered.
Between 2020–2022, researchers from Makerere University Department of Extension and Innovation Studies with support from Carnegie Corporation of New York under the Auspices of the Directorate of Graduate Research and Training programme of Supporting Early Career Academics through Post-Doctoral training at Makerere University (SECA) undertook a study titled, “Intra-household Gender Dynamics in Uptake of Agricultural Technologies for Sustained livelihoods in Uganda.”
The study was conducted in Nakigo and Nambaale sub-counties in Iganga and Buwunga and Nabukalu sub counties in Bugiri districts. The study areas were selected because of the intensity of interventions by government and non-state agencies in the area aimed at enhancing resilience of the farming systems and increasing agricultural productivity.
The study, aimed to unravel the power dynamics at the household level that influence sustained use of new crop varieties for equitable and sustainable likelihoods in Uganda. The research therefore adopted a gender approach in examining decision making patterns, power relations and negotiation processes at household level and how these influence access to control over new technologies and ultimately sustained use. This was disclosed during the research dissemination workshops conducted on 6th and 7th October 2022 in the study areas that brought together district administrative and technical officers including, production, extension and agricultural officers, district chairpersons, senior production secretaries, farmers and farmer groups, civil society organisations and community-based organisations.
According to the Principal Investigator, Dr. Losira Nasirumbi Sanya, progress towards attaining food security remains a challenge partly due to low use of science and technological innovations developed over time. While sharing the study findings for validation, Dr. Losira explained that the overall objective of the research was to contribute towards promoting sustainable use of new agricultural technologies and innovations through better understanding of the gendered dynamics that enhance access and sustained use as a pathway to transformation of production systems and increasing productivity.
“The specific objectives were to describe the dissemination and use of agricultural technologies in selected districts of Eastern agro-ecological zone of Uganda; analyse the intra-household gender roles and relations in regard to technology access and sustained use within the institution of the household, and quantify the distribution of the decision-making power within dual adult households and how this influences technology uptake and empowerment among women,” she said.
She said data was collected from men and women using survey questionnaires, focus group discussions and in-depth farmer interviews. The findings indicated that farmers were involved in growing at least eight crops, two of the crops purposely for food security, one for cash and the rest for both food and cash. The crops include maize, cassava, beans, sweet potatoes, ground nuts, rice, soybeans, coffee and bananas among others.
The study revealed that in the past five years, men had more access to training on farming and improved seeds from government related experts and NGOs.The study also revealed that though women went to cluster project [ACDP] and accessed improved seed, only a few continued to use such varieties due to several factors.
The study also established that households had joint and individual plots for women and men. Joint farms according to this research were preferred by men and women to promote harmony and reduce domestic violence, ease management, sharing resources and labour, timely planting and due to limited land.
Men, the study found, preferred their own plots to meet their diverse demands since some were polygamous, and wanted to fulfil family obligations. On the other hand, it was found that women preferred individual farms for financial independence, control over their income and the need to ensure food security.
When it came to access to farming resources such as land, fertilizers, herbicides and seeds, the study indicated that men had more access but women were mostly involved in providing farm labour for planting and weeding.
Findings on the intra-household decision making power indicated that 62% of women accorded themselves a high score of having more decision making power than what men scored them in relation to their input to decision dimensions related to asset ownership and use, productive decisions, use of labour (hired and family), marketing, financial time allocation and access to trainings, extension and group membership. However, 29% of the women gave themselves a lower score than their spouses scored them across the different decision dimensions. The study found perfect agreement in the scores assigned by men and women in only 9% of the households. “Decision making power is directly linked to one’s ability to make choice and action on that choice,” said the PI. “A mismatch between actual and perceived empowerment in decision making signals opportunities for creating awareness among farming communities if we are to achieve the intended goal of equitable access and outcomes.”
The study revealed that the disparities in decision making power affected the use of improved technologies and productivity.
“Women with high decision making power (empowered) were more likely able to sustain use of improved varieties than those with lower scores.Those with low decision making power were highly associated with low use of improved varieties. Those with the ability to make decisions and even when closer to extension services were able to grow more improved varieties though high decision making power was negatively associated with the number of improved varieties grown. This illuminates the fact that women’s empowerment in decision making has potential to contribute to closing the gender gap in sustained use thus the need to be more intentional about women’s participation, decision making and agency in development interventions if we are to achieve greater impact in sustained use of agricultural technologies towards better livelihoods,” Dr. Losira explained.
During the dissemination workshop, the District Agricultural Officer, Iganga, Mr. Bazalaki Sully Nantatya said, the research has been of great value and has unearthed the dynamics in the communities in regard to gender relations, decision making and uptake of technologies.
He reported that technology uptake in Iganga district has been good because of the capacity building initiative undertaken by a number of partners and projects both through government and non-state actors.
“This research has revealed that adoption of improved technologies has been embraced which has led to increased yields and farmers are very appreciative. Since the start of this research, we have observed that gender relations have improved among participating households when it comes to working in gardens and decision making and that now a wife and husband have come closer and jointly taking lead in implementing farming activities right from planting to marketing. This has been made possible by the approach adopted in this research of having both spouses involved in all activities. Farmers are also realising the use of improved technologies which they feel must be sustained. As a district, we are thinking of enhancing input delivery system to sustain the new interventions and all these have been revealed during the dissemination workshop which has pointed out where things are working out well and not,” he said
The Agricultural Officer, Nambaale Sub County, Gwahaba Richard said farmers easily take up new technologies especially to increase yields but hardly sustain their use.
“We need to wake up as extension officers and district partners and concentrate on gender issues so that men, women and children at the household level embrace these technologies and work together to sustain them,” he said.
Representing the District Chairperson Iganga, the Vice Chairperson, Ali Mukacha appreciated Makerere University for choosing Iganga as a site for the research saying, the study was in line with the government strategy of modernising agriculture and improving farmers’ livelihoods from a peasantry to middle income earners by the year 2030.
He said Nambaale Sub County has been one of the model sub-counties in the district that has participated in many interventions. He pledged the district support towards any research program in the area.
Rebecca Naigaga, a farmer from Iganga districts appreciated the research.
“I have learnt a lot that a husband and wife need to sit together during the planting season and agree on how to rent land, its size, what crops to plant. Then during harvest, we need to agree on what amount to sell and leave for food and what to sell for fees. The other, I have learnt is that, men have more access to land but as women we can also hire,” she noted.
Elias Mutyaba from Nambaale Agro business appreciated the study for changing his mindset and called upon farmers to adopt modern farming practices.
“This time I have changed my attitude. I was so piteous of myself that I was unemployed but with this workshop, I have learnt that farming is also a business where I can earn money. I call upon my fellow farmers to embrace new varieties and use of fertilisers to improve the yields,” he said.
Agriculture & Environment
What two weeks with Farmers in Mwera, Mityana, taught Makerere’s PhD Students about Agricultural Innovation
From walking through farms and tracing agricultural histories to listening to farmers and engaging communities in dialogue, a two-week field course in Mityana District offered Makerere University doctoral students a profound lesson: meaningful agricultural innovation begins with the people it seeks to serve.
When the classroom moved to Mwera, Mityana
For two weeks, the classroom had no walls. Its lessons were written across coffee and banana gardens, cultivated fields, homesteads and the lived experiences of farming communities in Mityana District. From 4 to 16 October 2026, Mwera Parish and the surrounding villages of Kiwande, Kakindu, Kitiddibuli, Bananze and Kireku became an extended classroom for six doctoral students pursuing a PhD in Agricultural and Rural Innovation under Makerere University‘s Department of Extension and Innovation Studies.
The students were undertaking a field course in Action Research in Agri-food Systems, Innovations and Livelihoods, an academic exercise designed to take learning beyond the university and into the communities whose agricultural realities are often the subject of research, policy and development interventions.
Here, there were no neatly arranged lecture halls or powerpoint presentations to explain every agricultural challenge. Instead, there were landscapes to interpret, farmers with stories to tell, and agricultural practices shaped by generations of experience, adaptation and survival.
Under the guidance of Dr. Richard Miiro, Dr. Sarah Akello and Dr. Moses Okech, the students set out to understand farming systems not simply as combinations of crops and livestock, but as complex relationships between people, natural resources, institutions, markets and livelihoods.
What began as an academic exercise would gradually become something more profound. An encounter with the realities of rural life and a reconsideration of what it truly means to support agricultural innovation.
Reading the landscape, listening to farmers
The first lessons came from the landscape itself. Moving through Mwera, Kakindu, Bananze, Kitiddibuli and neighbouring communities, the students conducted transect walks, observed cropping patterns, examined agroecological conditions and interacted with farming households.
Everywhere they looked, the landscape offered clues about how people made a living.
Coffee and banana gardens stood alongside seasonal crops, livestock enterprises and settlements. The arrangement of farms, the crops under cultivation and the resources available to households reflected decisions shaped by soil conditions, land availability, household resources and market opportunities.
Yet, as the students soon discovered, what was visible on the land told only part of the story. Why did neighbouring households practise agriculture differently, even when they appeared to share similar conditions? How had farming systems changed over time? What influenced farmers’ decisions, and what challenges continued to threaten their livelihoods?
To answer these questions, the students had to do more than observe. They had to listen. Through interviews, historical inquiries and participatory discussions, farmers shared experiences that offered explanations beyond what could be seen in their fields.
Their accounts revealed that agricultural decisions are not always driven by the desire to maximise yields or profits. Sometimes, a farmer’s choice reflects the immediate needs of a household, limited financial resources, available labour, uncertainty about markets, the need to manage risks or lessons accumulated over years of experience. A farming practice that might appear inefficient to an outsider could, when understood through the farmer’s circumstances, represent a deliberate and practical response to uncertainty.
For the doctoral students, these encounters challenged a conventional assumption about agricultural extension, that experts possess knowledge which must simply be transferred to farmers.
The farmers of Mwera were far from passive recipients of information. They were knowledgeable actors, continuously observing, experimenting, adjusting and making decisions within the opportunities and limitations of their circumstances. It became increasingly clear that effective agricultural extension cannot begin with prescribing solutions. It must begin with understanding the people expected to use them.
Understanding the farming system
As the days progressed, the students began connecting what they had observed in the fields with what they were learning from the farmers. They examined the area’s agrarian history, farming practices, resource use and livelihood strategies, seeking to understand not only how agriculture was being practised, but also why farming systems had evolved in particular ways.
Historical accounts helped explain changes in land use, agricultural production and livelihoods. Observations of the landscape revealed differences in farming opportunities, while conversations with households illuminated the social and economic circumstances influencing agricultural decisions.
Therefore, addressing one problem without understanding its relationship to others can result in interventions that appear technically sound but are difficult for farmers to adopt or sustain. The field experience also challenged the tendency to associate agricultural innovation exclusively with new technologies, improved seeds, machinery or modern production techniques.
Innovation, the students learned, can also emerge from changes in how farmers organise themselves, share knowledge, access information, manage resources, respond to risks or collaborate with institutions. Sometimes, the most consequential innovation is not a new technology introduced onto a farm, but a new relationship, an improved way of working together or a better understanding of an existing challenge.
For students, these insights were particularly significant. They reinforced the importance of understanding the wider social, economic and institutional environment within which agricultural decisions are made. They also demonstrated why successful interventions must be relevant to farmers’ circumstances, inclusive of different farming households and sustainable beyond the period of external support.
When researchers returned to the community
After nearly two weeks of walking through farms, observing agricultural practices, conducting interviews and analysing findings, the students returned to the people who had made their learning possible. This time, however, they were not coming to ask questions. They were coming to share what they had learned and, importantly, to find out whether the community agreed with their interpretations.
At Mwera Community Hall, more than 60 community members gathered for a feedback session, among them were farmers who had participated in the fieldwork and shared their experiences with the students. It was a defining moment in the field course.
The students presented their findings on the landscape, agricultural history, farming practices, livelihood strategies and the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats identified within the farming systems. But the meeting was not intended to be a one-way presentation of academic findings. Community members were invited to validate the observations, question the interpretations, identify gaps and contribute their own perspectives on the challenges facing agriculture in the area.
The discussions brought familiar concerns to the forefront; declining soil fertility, the rising cost of agricultural inputs, crop suitability, pests and diseases, and access to agricultural services.
Through a participatory prioritisation exercise, pests and diseases emerged as the farmers’ leading concern, followed by limited access to farmer advisory services.
The significance of this outcome went beyond identifying two agricultural challenges. It demonstrated why communities must be involved not only in providing information for research, but also in interpreting findings and determining which problems deserve priority attention. For researchers, a challenge may appear important because of its technical or economic implications. For farmers, its urgency may be shaped by daily experiences, the risks it presents to household livelihoods and their ability to respond.
The feedback session therefore became more than the conclusion of a field course. It was an opportunity for the students to subject their academic interpretations to the knowledge and judgement of the people whose lives those interpretations sought to explain.
In that exchange lay an important distinction between conducting research on communities and conducting research with them. The farmers were not merely sources of data. They were contributors to knowledge generation, participants in validating findings and partners in identifying the challenges that mattered most to them. Yet, even as the discussions drew to a close, a larger question remained: What happens after researchers leave?
Rethinking agricultural extension and innovation
The experience in Mwera offered lessons extending well beyond the requirements of a doctoral field course. For agricultural extension professionals, it raised fundamental questions about how farmers are understood, how agricultural problems are diagnosed and how interventions are designed.
The first lesson was the importance of diagnosis before prescription.
Agricultural interventions cannot be adequately designed without understanding the landscape, its history, the diversity of farming households and the social, economic and institutional relationships that influence their decisions. What works for one farmer may not necessarily work for another, even within the same community. Differences in land ownership, labour availability, financial resources, farming objectives and exposure to risk can significantly influence the suitability of an intervention.
The second lesson concerned the place of farmers in knowledge creation.
Scientific research remains essential to agricultural development, but farmers also possess valuable knowledge acquired through experience, observation and adaptation. Bringing these forms of knowledge together creates opportunities for solutions that are both scientifically informed and grounded in local realities.
The third lesson was that agricultural innovation is rarely the achievement of a single actor.
Farmers, researchers, extension workers, government institutions, markets and other development actors all influence how knowledge is generated, shared and translated into practice. Innovation therefore requires collaboration, coordination and relationships that enable different actors to learn from one another and respond to shared challenges.
Taken together, these lessons challenge agricultural extension professionals to move beyond their traditional role as transmitters of technical knowledge and become facilitators of learning, collaboration and innovation.
They also challenge universities to reflect on the meaning of research impact.
Should the success of agricultural research be measured only by the volume of data collected, academic reports completed and publications produced? Or should it also be assessed by the extent to which research strengthens communities’ capacity to understand and address their own challenges? For institutions such as Makerere University, whose teaching and research are closely connected to national development priorities, this question is particularly relevant. Field-based learning offers an opportunity to connect academic inquiry with the realities of the communities that research ultimately seeks to serve. It also reminds researchers that meaningful engagement requires more than arriving in a community, collecting information and departing with findings. It calls for listening, mutual learning, respect for local knowledge and a willingness to recognise farmers as partners in the search for solutions.
Agriculture & Environment
Makerere University Welcomes 50 Youth Skilling Program trainees under the Africa Climate Collaborative, Supported by Mastercard Foundation
By Damali Mukhaye
Laughter, excitement and renewed hope filled the Makerere University Agricultural Research Institute Kabanyolo (MUARIK) on 28th September 2026, as 50 young people who had previously been left out of employment, education and training opportunities gathered to begin their journey under the Africa Climate Collaborative (ACC) Youth Skilling Program.
The youth, selected from Lwengo, Rakai and Yumbe districts, are the first cohort under the Africa Climate Collaborative Youth Skilling Program at Makerere University, an initiative supported by the Mastercard Foundation.
Speaking during the day two orientation at MUARIK, the Program Director, Prof. Gorettie Nabanoga, said the youth will undergo a 10-week residential training programme at MUARIK, followed by a three-month industrial attachment with various organisations.
The youth will thereafter be assessed by the Uganda Vocational and Technical Assessment Board (UVTAB) and will receive government-recognised certificates upon successful completion of the program.
Prof. Nabanoga told the participants that the program was not designed to benefit them alone, urging them to think about how they would use the skills acquired to transform the lives of others in their communities.
“The bigger question is going to be, who is going to benefit because you came here? Don’t think about yourself. Who else?” Prof Nabanoga asked.
She challenged the youth to see themselves as future trainers who would pass on the knowledge and skills they acquire to other young people once they return to their communities.
“The reason you’re here is for us to skill you so that you can go back and skill others. We call you trainers of trainers,” Prof. Nabanoga said.
She encouraged the participants to approach the training with a learning mindset and focus on the skills they could take back home and use to create opportunities for others.
“As you interact, don’t ask what we are going to teach you. But just ask, what are you going to learn for you to be able to go and impact others? What skill are you picking and taking away for you to be able to impact others?” she said.
The Youth Skilling Program is part of Africa Climate Collaborative’s wider eight-year plan to equip 500 young people with practical skills and opportunities that can contribute to employment, entrepreneurship and community development.
Prof. Nabanoga said the 50 participants in the first cohort represent only a fraction of the program’s wider target and challenged them to set the pace for the cohorts that will follow.
The programme also seeks to create a multiplier effect, with each trained youth expected to share their knowledge and skills with others.
She said the ultimate goal is to see the skills translate into businesses, jobs and further training opportunities for other young people.
A section of youth to be supported to start own businesses
Beyond the initial training, Africa Climate Collaborative plans to support young people with promising innovations to develop and scale their ideas.
Out of the 500-youth targeted, 200 will receive support to develop innovations, while 100 will receive further support to establish and scale enterprises in their communities.
For the first cohort, 20 of the best-performing youth with promising innovations will receive support to grow their businesses, while 10 will receive additional support to accelerate and scale their enterprises.
The youths were urged to embrace innovation and strive to develop solutions that can be replicated and scaled.
“I would want to see that the first cohort give me the biggest number of the good innovations that are scalable,” she said.
The Director MUARIK Urged Youth to Turn Skills into Enterprises and Jobs
The Director of the Makerere University Agricultural Research Institute Kabanyolo (MUARIK), whose remarks were delivered by the Director of the Continuing Agricultural Education Centre (CAEC), Dr Christopher Mawa, said the program would equip young people with practical skills in green entrepreneurship, beginning with the poultry value chain, and described MUARIK as more than a farm but a centre for practical learning, research, innovation and enterprise development.
He encouraged the participants to take advantage of the wider learning opportunities available at the institute, including crop production, livestock enterprises, pasture and feed production, farm mechanisation, value addition, agribusiness and environmental management.
“As you begin your training, I encourage you to regard the whole of MUARIK as your classroom,” he said.
Dr Mawa urged the youth to focus on applying the skills they acquire to create enterprises, employment opportunities and solutions within their communities.
“Do not therefore come here simply to complete a three-month course. Come with the mindset of acquiring skills that you can apply. Ask questions. Observe carefully. Participate actively. Learn from the trainers and from one another. Most importantly, begin to ask yourself: “How can I turn what I am learning here into an enterprise, employment opportunity or solution for my community?”.
Agriculture & Environment
After 10 Years Out of Education, Africa Climate Collaborative at Makerere University Opens a New Chapter for Okello
By Damali Mukhaye
For Alex Okello John Amoya, a refugee from Zone 5, Bidi-Bidi Refugee settlement, stepping onto the Makerere University Agricultural Institute Kabanyolo (MUARIK) was more than the beginning of a training programme. It was the fulfilment of his childhood dream that had remained out of reach for more than a decade.
As a young boy, Okello dreamed of studying at Makerere University and even remembers singing a song with other children about whether they would ever make it to the university.
Little did Okello know then that the words would follow him into adulthood.
After completing Senior Four (O’level) at Kanyara Secondary School in Morobo County, South Sudan in 2015, the 33-year-old youth could not proceed to Senior Six (A’ level) and university due to financial difficulties.
For the last 10 years, Okello has been trying different opportunities, but the dream of studying at Makerere remained out of reach, as he did not succeed in getting any scholarship to enable him to progress with his dream.
“My parents could not take me to university. Between secondary school, college and where I am now, it took more than 10 years. I tried different opportunities, but they could not work,” Okello said.
Now, at a stage in life when he had almost resigned himself to the possibility that the dream might never come true, Okello has finally set foot at the university, not as the student he once imagined becoming, but as one of 50 young people selected for the first cohort of the Africa Climate Collaborative Youth Skilling Program.
Okello’s dream, which he once sang about, finally became a reality on 28th September 2026, when he reported to Makerere University Agricultural Research Institute (MUARIK), where he and his other 49 counterparts from Lwengo, Rakai and Yumbe will undergo a 10-week residential training programme, followed by a three-month industrial attachment with various organisations.
The 50 youth, who are the first cohort of the Africa Climate Collaborative Youth Skilling Program at Makerere University, an Initiative supported by Mastercard Foundation will thereafter be assessed by the Uganda Vocational and Technical Assessment Board (UVTAB) and will receive government-recognised certificates upon successful completion of the programme.
The program, supported by the Mastercard Foundation, is providing the participants with practical skills and competences relevant for them to pursue employment, entrepreneurship and other livelihood opportunities.
For Okello, the opportunity has given him new meaning to a dream he had almost given up on.
“I used to dream of reaching Makerere when I was young. Today, that dream has come to pass. I really appreciate all the partners that made it possible for us to be here. I am very sure that this opportunity is here to change my life,” he said.
His dream now extends beyond acquiring skills. Okello plans to return to his community in Yumbe and establish a poultry enterprise specialising in egg production. He sees an opportunity in the limited local supply of eggs, which he says are currently transported from distant areas.
“My dream is to start a poultry business that can supply eggs within my neighbourhood. The eggs supplied there come from far, so I believe this business can make it easier for people to access them while also creating employment opportunities for me and others,” he said.
But Okello hopes the impact of the training will go beyond his own livelihood.
“I also aim to pass the information and knowledge I will receive in this program to others and empower them so that they can also stand on their own. I expect to learn the skills I need and make sure I implement them when I go back,” he said.
A chance to start again
For Jessica Kila-Edward, from Zone 5 of Bidi Bidi Refugee Settlement in Yumbe District, the program represents another kind of new beginning for her.
Jessica completed Senior Four during the COVID-19 period, after which opportunities for further education or employment proved difficult to find.
“Since I completed Senior Four during the Corona season, I had nothing to do. What I could do was farming, but I could not even manage things. Things were really rough for me,” she recounted.
When she learnt about the Africa Climate Collaborative Youth Skilling Program between June and July 2026, Jessica was determined to secure a place.
“I tried all the possible ways to make sure I was part of it, and luckily enough, I succeeded,” she said.
She now hopes to return to her community with skills that will enable her to become a change-maker and support other young people facing similar challenges.
“I am no longer going to be the same person I used to be in the village. I am looking forward to becoming a change-maker in my community and working with other young people who are also crying for opportunities like this,” she said.
Turning skills into income
For Carlos Magimbi from Lwengo District, the program presents an opportunity to strengthen his already existing business in poultry farming while improving his livelihood.
He hopes to use the knowledge gained during the training to support other young people in his community and improve his own income.
“After obtaining the skills from this training, I expect to go back to my community and share them with my fellow youth. I also hope the skills will help me transform my income and improve my life,” Magimbi said.
One of his immediate interests is improving poultry feed production. He says poor-quality feed has affected his birds and hopes the training will equip him with the skills to produce better feed himself. “I am expected to master the techniques, especially because I have been facing a problem with feed. The feed on the market is sometimes of poor quality. I hope that through this training, I can learn how to make my own feed and improve the yields of my birds,” he said.
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