Abstract:
Technical approaches to food production are important to the food security of growing
populations in developing countries. However, strategic investments in research
and farm-level adoption require greater coherence in agricultural, societal, and local
policies. The Agricultural Innovation System (AIS) and formation of the Cassava
Innovation Platform (CIP) in Uganda were designed to stimulate interactions between
researchers and farmers, leading to the development of improved cassava varieties
through participatory plant breeding (PPB) and participatory variety selection
(PVS). Moreover, the establishment of a community-based commercialized seed
system called Cassava Seed Entrepreneurship (CSE) has made an important contribution
to the rapid multiplication and dissemination of clean planting materials
in Uganda. The impact of CIP participation on rural household welfare was measured
by household consumption expenditure per capita. The Endogenous Switching
Regression (ESR) model was applied to data from a formal household survey conducted
in the eastern, northern, and mid-western regions of Uganda. The education,
farm size, livestock size, access to credit, cost of cassava planting materials, access to
extension service, access to training, and social group membership are significantly
associated with CIP participation. CIP participation resulted in a 47.4% increase in
household consumption expenditure. This important evidence highlights the need to
promote agricultural innovation platform for improving rural livelihoods. Moreover, CIP participation has impact heterogeneity within the participant group that is conditional
on household characteristics such as the gender of the household head, pointing
to the need to tailor specific interventions and target specific groups within farm
households.
