The Contribution Of Crop Farming On Economic Welfare In Wanale Sub Region Mbale District Uganda~

ABSTRACT

Empirical studies across many developing countries document that improving crop farming is

the main pathway out of poverty .It’s for this reason that the main Objectives of the study was

to find out the contribution of crop farming on economic welfare and other objectives were to

identify major factors that affect crop farming and to establish the relationship between crop

farming and economic welfare. This study considered crop farming as the independent variable

and economic welfare as the dependent variable. The study used both primary and secondary

data. Primary data was collected from a sample of 100 respondents Documentary review was

used to collect secondary data. Data analysis was based on descriptive research design and

regression methods. Data was analyzed using SPSS (Version 15.0). Findings from this study

revealed that low crop farming Productivity has been the biggest challenge to agricultural crop

farming in Wanale sub region. Crop farming was found to be constrained by lack of capital,

pests and diseases, and limited farming skills. Land shortage, bad climate and weather, and

limited use of productivity enhancing inputs also limited crop farming; other constraints include

poor rural infrastructure, price fluctuation, landslides and post-harvest losses. This study also

established that the Wanale sub region economic welfare has not been inclusive; the factors

that constrained achievement of economic welfare include: corruption; lack of investment and

devastation of infrastructure; low access to assets and entrepreneurship; poverty and low

financial intermediation; underemployment and low salaries; and inefficient fiscal transfers. This

study concluded that in order for Wanale sub region to achieve economic welfare, enhancing

crop farming of the smallholder farmers should be mainstreamed into the national development

policies. In order to raise agricultural crop farming productivity, the study recommended

resource support for farmers, promotion of access to assets by the farmers, more investment in

research, development and extension, rigorous use productivity enhancing inputs and rural

infrastructural investment. To enable achievement of economic welfare in Wanale sub region,

this study recommended that government should reduce income gap between urban and rural

residents, improve health status of populace, promote more inclusive labor markets an improve indicators of economic development.