AgriFoSe2030 Report 21, 2019 An AgriFoSe2030 Final Report from Theme 1 - Social and economic dimensions of smallholder based agriculture and food security Women farmers in Uganda: Constraints Today more than 800 million people around the and ways forward world suffer from chronic hunger and about 2 billion from under-nutrition. This failure by humanity is challenged in UN Penninah Twinorugyendo Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2: “End hunger, achieve food security and improve nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture”. Department of Geography, Geo-Informatics and Climatic Sciences College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences The AgriFoSe2030 program directly targets SDG 2 in low-income countries by translating state- Makerere University, Uganda of-the-art science into clear, relevant insights that can be used to inform better practices and policies for smallholders. The AgriFoSe2030 program is implemented by a consortium of scientists from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Lund University, Gothenburg University and Stockholm Environment Institute and is hosted by the AgriFoSe2030 platform SLU Global. Agriculture for Food Security 2030 The program is funded by the Swedish - Translating science into policy and practice International Development Agency (Sida). News, events and more information are available at www.slu.se/agrifose ISBN: 978-91-576-9694-6 1 Summary This study is the result of a review of a large body of literature discussing the situation of women farmers in Uganda. The disadvantage of smallholder women farmers is principally due to their limited access to and control over important resources, labor force participation and gender-based decisions in production. There are also challenges associated with gendered participation in the markets. Salient drivers to gender differences in production participation and market access point to women’s time constraints due to their roles in the complex intra household labor division, limited participation in value chains, inadequate access to financial resources, control of revenue from cash crops by men, lack of ownership of land, limited access to agricultural inputs and mobility difficulties. These inequalities do not only severely curtail women farmers from achieving their full productive potentials and market participation, but also have negative repercussions for overall agricultural output and growth. The Government of Uganda (GOU) has, through different agricultural strategies, programs and plans, tried to promote women farmers through provision of critical agricultural inputs, improved access to credit, increased access to information through extension services, and by provision of technology and support of the commercialization of agriculture. Nevertheless, there remain many challenges to overcome in these and other areas in order to improve the conditions for women farmers. However, there are important lessons to be learnt from these initiatives, which are vital for redirecting policies and programs towards empowering women participation in agriculture and markets effectively. • Micro-credit institutions have not fulfilled expectations of improved credit availability for women farmers due to gender-biased decisions. • Cooperatives provide important marketing possibilities for women but are only successful when interaction between agents and farmers work and tend to fail to respond to local problems when men participate. • NGOs participation encourages market participation of female farmers. However, viability to participate in value chains is more likely to be successful with support of land resource and the promotion of input suppliers and model farmers with demonstration farms. • Farmer groups do not encourage effective participation of women in leadership structure when men are part of the groups. • It is more viable for women to engage in cash crop production within the framework of gender action learning systems that involve men and when certification of products enhances competitiveness in the local and regional markets. • As policies and interventions introduced to enhance the situation of women farmers so far have only had limited if any positive results, a strong political commitment at all levels is necessary to overcome remaining constrains and barriers. Page 2 of 58 Key words: Agriculture Market systems, Women farmers, Uganda Page 3 of 58 List of Abbreviations ASSP - Agriculture Sector Strategic Plan DFID - Department for International Development EPRC - Economic Policy Research Centre EU - European Union FAO - Food and Agricultural Organization GDP - Gross Domestic Product MAAIF - Ministry of Agricultural, Animal Industries and Fisheries MFPED - Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development MGLSD - Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development MTIC - Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives NAADS - National Agricultural Advisory Services NDP - National Development Plan NEMA - National Development Plan NGO - Non Government Organization NSS - National Statistical System PEAP - Poverty Eradication Action Plan FAO - Food and Agricultural Organization GOU - Government of Uganda MAFAP - Monitoring Food and Agricultural Policies NDP - National Development Plan DSIP - Development Strategy and Investment Plan PMA - Plan for Modernization of Agriculture UBOS - Uganda Bureau of Statistics PMA - Plan for Modernization for Agriculture UBOS - Uganda Bureau of Statistics UCA - Uganda Census of Agriculture UNDP - United Nations Development Programme UNHS - Uganda National Household Survey USAID - United States Agency for International Development WFP - World Food Programme UDHS - Uganda Demographic and Healthy Survey UN - United Nations UNPA - Uganda National Planning Authority SACCO - Savings and Credit Cooperative Organizations SDG - Sustainable Development Goals Page 4 of 58 TABLE OF CONTENTS Summary .................................................................................................................................................... 2 List of Abbreviations ....................................................................................................................................... 4 List of Tables .................................................................................................................................................. 7 List of Figures................................................................................................................................................. 7 List of Plates................................................................................................................................................... 7 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................................. 8 1.1 Objectives............................................................................................................................................. 8 1.2 Method and sources............................................................................................................................. 9 1.3 Structure of report ................................................................................................................................ 9 2. Overview of Uganda ............................................................................................................................. 10 3. Uganda’s Agricultural Sector ................................................................................................................ 11 3.1 Social and Economic Dimensions of Smallholder Agriculture in Uganda ......................................... 13 3.1.1 Economic Dimensions ................................................................................................................. 13 3.1.2 Social dimensions ....................................................................................................................... 15 4. Uganda’s Agricultural Markets ............................................................................................................. 16 4.1 Segments in Uganda’s Agricultural Markets ...................................................................................... 16 5. The participation of women in the agricultural system ......................................................................... 18 5.1 Labor Force Participation in Agriculture ............................................................................................. 19 5.2 Gender Based Decision Making ........................................................................................................ 20 5.3 Time Constrains of Women Farmers ................................................................................................. 21 5.4 Women’s Farmers Access to Land and Markets ............................................................................... 22 5.5 Transportation of Agriculture Commodities to Markets ..................................................................... 24 5.6 Unequal Access to Credit .................................................................................................................. 25 6. Legislation, Policies, Plans, Programs and Women Farmers .............................................................. 26 6.1 Institutional Framework ...................................................................................................................... 27 6.2 Sector Policies and Plans