Small Scale Farmers’ Legume Production in Nangoma Agriculture Camp Area: Challenges, Local Solutions and Opportunities for Scaling Up

This study sought to explore the local solutions being used by small scale farmers to address legume production challenges in Nangoma Agriculture Camp Area and the existing opportunities for scaling up such local innovations. The study used a mixed method design which enabled the collection of both quantitative and qualitative data in order to have a comprehensive understanding of legume production challenges, local solutions and opportunities for scaling up such local innovations. The total sample size for the study was 254 in which 240 were legume small scale farmers selected using systematic random technique and 14 were key informants selected using purposive sampling. The findings of the study revealed that small scale farmers use local solutions such as village banking initiatives, loans from friends and personal savings to address the challenge of limited access to credit facilities. Additionally, the farmers use recycled seeds as a solution to the challenge of lack of access to improved and certified seeds. The study also found that farmers use oral history as well as learning from friends and successful farmers in their neighborhood on issues to do with legume production knowledge. This is done to address limited agricultural advisory services. For poor soils, the use of animal manure and intercropping as well as crop rotating cereals with legumes were found to be local solutions. While this was the case, the quantities of animal manure were found to be not sufficient to scale the practice. Additionally, problems of limited land among some farmers were resolved by way of land renting from farmers that have enough land and yet do not cultivate all of their land. Besides that, the use of boom paste, ashes and intercropping were found to be local solutions used to address legume production challenges related to pests and ants. The study also indicated that various opportunities existed for scaling up these local solutions in order to improve legume production. The use of village banks provided an opportunity for government to fund such groups to improve access to finance. Further, the use of animal manure to improve soil provides an opportunity for government to incorporate such manure into government support programs like FISP to promote large scale production from private sector. Besides that, learning from successful farmers, oral history and use of recycled seeds provides an opportunity for government and other stakeholders to employ more extension workers, promote out-grower schemes and village seed banks among others. Among other things, the study recommends that animal manure should be incorporated into the farmer input support program in order to scale up its usage and that government and other stakeholders should take keen interest in local solutions and scale them up to boost legume production among small scale farmers.