Expansion of Lowland Rice Production and Constraints on a Rice Green Revolution: Evidence from Uganda

In Uganda, rice production has increased rapidly in the past 10 years while the yield has been stagnant. To examine this mixed story in detail, we use data on 600 rural households with access to wetlands. The estimation results on the expansion of rice cultivation show that the high population density in upland farm areas has pushed farmers to rice cultivation in wetlands. Although applying proper cultivation practices such as constructing bunds, leveling, and transplanting is considered to be critical in yield enhancement, as well as using chemical fertilizer and improved varieties, such cultivation practices are rarely adopted in Uganda. The rice production function estimation results show that these practices do not increase the yield significantly once village fixed effects are controlled for. This suggests that these practices are not being adopted since the rice yield is not enhanced effectively by the cultivation practices. This is probably explained by the fact that the water supply in wetlands tends to be unstable and to suffer from drought and floods