Post-Graduate Dissertations (Education)

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Browsing Post-Graduate Dissertations (Education) by Subject "Agriculture"

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    Extension for Empowerment: An Analysis of the Role of Agricultural Extension in Masaka District: A Case Study of Kkingo Sub-County.
    (Uganda Martyrs University, 2007) Lutaaya, Ferdinand
    LUTAAYA FERDINAND (2007-MO93-10103) Extension for Empowerment: An Analysis of the Role of Agricultural Extension in Masaka District: A Case Study of Kkingo Sub-County This research study was about the role of extension services in empowering farmers in Masaka district, a case study of Kkingo sub-county. The major objective of the research was to explore the role of extension services in empowering farmers. The specific objectives of the study were: to study whether extension services empower farmers to decide on the type of advisory services they need to improve production; to examine how extension services empower farmers to build capacity to increase production; to investigate whether extension services empower farmers to adopt improved technologies in order to boost production; and to scrutinise the ways extension services provide farmers with market availability information needed for increased production. The research was a case study that employed qualitative methods of collecting and analysing data. Key findings showed that extension services mainly targeted groups of farmers and those who could afford to pay for the services, buy and maintain improved technology and left out the individual small-scale farmers. The conclusion from the study was that extension services to a certain extent empowered farmers in the areas of choice of advisory services, capacity building and use of improved technology to increase production but the same services did not empower farmers with market information which they need to improve on their incomes. The researcher recommended the mobilisation of all farmers into groups so as to have a common and strong voice, market their products collectively, employing extension staff on contract basis so as to monitor their performance regularly, more facilitation of extension staff, and repackaging capacity building of farmers to target every small-scale farmer. Key words: Empowerment, Extension, Agriculture, Agricultural
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    The Potential Role of Information Communication Technology in Promoting Agriculture.
    (Uganda Martyrs University, 2007) Okello, Tom Richard
    OKELLO TOM RICHARD (2007-MO93-10119) The Potential Role of Information Communication Technology in Promoting Agriculture. This study has been carried out in order to maximise the use of Information Communication Technology (ICT) in promoting agriculture. The study was guided by the following objectives; assessment of the past and current performances of ICT in promoting agriculture, identification of the ways on how to improve on agriculture using ICT, identification of challenges and recommendations. The study sample composed of 120 respondents of which 20 were peasant farmers without land who live by providing labour on other peoples‟ farms/fields, 60 were peasant farmers with land to farm on, 20 were those having relatively small farms and other 20 were those selected randomly from the institutions whose services were agriculture-based. This study analyses situations experiences and ideas of the sample respondents using ICT in promoting agriculture. Information generated is mainly qualitative although socio-demographic data such as age, sex, number of networks use by a single respondent, level of education has been basically quantitative and the report produced is a descriptive one. On the basis of findings, the results showed that most farmers have at least a means of communication at home and those who do not have can access them through their neighbours or use a localised private / public point. Marketing of farm products is made simple by accessing the consumers through the use of communication channels available and specialised mode of farming has been recorded the order of the farm activities. Dissemination of modern farming skills and technologies has been backed up through communication stations since not everybody could be trained in the demonstration farms. Most agricultural stakeholders focus on media centres (ICT) as a priority in reaching farmers either for their inputs or outputs. Packed audio/video, DVDs and CDs translated into local language is a modification of disseminating farming skills to the farmers currently in use. As a medium of exchange, transfer of money to acquire inputs has been facilitated through ICT networks, minimising the burden of unnecessary changes in agricultural prices/inputs. Despite the advantages ICT has in promoting agriculture, the findings reveal that, farmers have limited skills to operate handsets‟ receivers, use of alien language (English) already configured in the handsets, network disruptions, costly airtime, repair and maintenance of the handset receivers and the cost of acquiring of the handsets. The result for all these are poor adaptation of farming systems, use of traditional and less resistant seeds/animals breeds, poor storage facilities, loss of resources and time wastage which are demotivating factors to the farmers. This has been the reason for under taking this study. As a result of the findings above, the conclusion and recommendation were that: there should be an improvement in the network connectivity linking urban and rural areas; and establishing a central database for agricultural information. Manufacturers should modify handset receivers which translate languages including ICT in all education curricula and liberalising local telecommunication markets to foster competition. Key Words: Information Communication Technology, Agriculture.
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    The Role of Indigenous Knowledge in Sustainable Rural Agriculture: A Case Study of Farmers in Lwengo Sub-County.
    (Uganda Martyrs University, 2008) Magala, Ivan
    MAGALA IVAN (2008-MO92-30024) The Role of Indigenous Knowledge in Sustainable Rural Agriculture: A Case Study of Farmers in Lwengo Sub-County The research was done as a result of continued lack of sustainability in rural agriculture despite the interventions made by other programmes. The research objectives include; the farming methods based on indigenous knowledge, the benefits of indigenous knowledge in sustainable rural agriculture and indigenous knowledge fostering sustainable rural agriculture. The research used qualitative and quantitative approaches. The data collection methods used included; focus group discussion, interviews, observation and literature review helped the researcher in filling in gaps. The key findings include: farming practices influence each other and the crops that are grown. Various farming methods are used for different soils and different crops involved. Farmers have various skills in pest, crop, and soil management practices. Indigenous knowledge benefited farmers because it is cheap in farm implements and labour, there is easy knowledge transfer from generation to generation, the crops have better taste as compared to modern crops, and the practices are environmentally friendly. Limitations found out included: requiring a lot of energy to improve gardens, the use of family labour leading to low crop yields, limited plots for agriculture leading to renting of plots and growing food crops mainly for subsistence production. Despite its limitations in a few areas, there is a continued belief that indigenous knowledge in rural agriculture is still relevant and sustainable as seen with farmers engaging their children in agriculture and passing on the skills. The skills have been tested for generations and communities have trust and confidence. There is need to use farmer derived approaches in rural agriculture due to the knowledge that has been used over time. New approaches in agriculture should borrow ideas from existing ones and see how they can be improved. There is need for indigenous farmers to document their knowledge for easy accessibility and sustainable use. Farmers need to form groups in order to have better bargaining power and commercialise their agriculture as a way of reducing poverty. Key words: Knowledge, Rural, Sustainable, Indigenous, Agriculture