Assessing the effect of Bambara nuts production on food security in Buikwe district

Abstract

The general objective of the study was to examine the effect of Bambara nuts production on food security in Buikwe district using a case study of Nyenga Sub County. The study was guided by the following specific objectives: to evaluate the effect of Bambara nuts production on smallholder farmer’s incomes in Nyenga Sub County; to determine the effect of Bambara nuts production on food availability at household level in Nyenga Sub County and to examine the effect of Bambara nuts on food accessibility at household level in Nyenga Sub County. A survey research design was used while employing both qualitative and quantitative methods. The study population consisted of 98 participants. A sample size of 72 respondents was selected using simple random and purposive sampling techniques. Quantitative data analysis mainly consisted of descriptive statistics (means and standard deviations) and inferential statistics (Pearson correlation and regression). Findings revealed that Bambara nuts production has no significant effect on farmer’s incomes in Nyenga sub-county and this is because most of the farmers grow it on small scale and the crop has low market potential. Further, Bambara nuts production has a significant and a positive effect on food availability in Nyenga sub-county. This thus means that without other foods, Bambaranuts can be available for home consumption, and lastly it was established that that Bambara nuts production has a significant and a positive effect on food accessibility in Nyenga sub-county. This thus means that most people have a possibility of getting food since Bambara nuts makes food cheaper and accessible to any person in the area. it was therefore recommended that there is need to initiate development of programs and deliberate policies that can enhance farmer’s adoption of production of Bambara nuts