Three Essays on Climate Smart Agriculture and Multidimensional Poverty in Uganda

Agriculture is the backbone of the Ugandan economy. It contributes about 23.1% to the gross domestic product and employs approximately 72% of the total labor force (World Bank, 2021). However, Uganda suffers from low agricultural productivity resulting from pests and diseases, changing climate, deteriorating natural resources, and lack of modern factors of production. In addition, land deterioration and fluctuating weather patterns lead to reduced crop productivity and cause food insecurity in the country. Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) can help transform the agricultural system and ensure food security in the country. The dissertation is written in a three-essay format. The first essay examines the adoption of the intensity of CSA Technologies in Uganda. This essay aims to identify the influence of socio-economic and farm characteristics on the number of CSA technologies adopted by farmers using parametric and semiparametric models. There are 19 CSA technologies considered in this study, are mulching, leguminous cover crops, crop rotation, agroforestry, deep tillage, fallowing, mixed cropping, grass strips, trash lines, trenches, live fences, soil bands, contour plowing, establishing waterways, no-tillage, reduced tillage, minimum tillage, legume intercropping and furrow irrigated raised bed. Results from the semiparametric model indicate that highly educated farmers adopt more CSA technologies. The second essay is about the determinants of willingness to adopt Climate Smart Agriculture technology adoption and the willingness to pay (WTP) values for these technologies in Eastern Uganda. This essay aims to estimate the major determinants of willingness to adopt CSA technology in Eastern Uganda and calculate the WTP values for CSA technology adoption at the household level. Farmer’ education level, rurality, and extension services were all positively associated with the willingness to adopt most CSA technologies. The mean WTP cost share value to adopt these technologies as stated by the farmers ranged between 50% and 60%. The third essay is about multidimensional poverty and food security in Uganda. Multidimensional poverty is typically captured along three dimensions and ten indicators. This argument makes food security of paramount importance when looking at multidimensional poverty. Therefore, this essay aims to highlight the role of food security on multidimensional poverty in Uganda. The results showed that farm households in Uganda suffer from severe multidimensional poverty. The indicators related to education and electricity had the highest contribution to the MPI. Policy implications and conclusions are drawn in the last chapter of the dissertation