THE ROLE OF SOCIAL NETWORKS IN THE ADOPTION OF CLIMATE-SMART AGRICULTURE PRACTICES IN SHEEMA DISTRICT, WESTERN UGANDA

The diffusion of agricultural practices is shaped by the relationships among actors in the social systems and this influences the extent of their adoption by the farmers. The objectives of this study were to assess farmers’ social networks and their explicit role in the diffusion and adoption of selected Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) practices in Sheema District of Uganda. The mixed-methods approach including both qualitative and quantitative measurements to contextually collect, analyze, and integrate data. Data were collected using a household survey of 220 randomly selected respondents, 28 in-depth interviews and 16 key informant interviews in the 7 sub-counties of Sheema district of Uganda. The R Software Version 3.6.2 was used for data analyses. The results reveal that more than 75% of the farmers knew how different practices contribute to the three pillars of CSA; - productivity, adaptation, and mitigation. The farmers occupied the central position in the social network and relied heavily on fellow farmers for the acquisition and use of CSA information. Only 26 relationships were observed in the CSA network with a density of 0.0172 indicating a low level of interaction among the actors and hence a slow speed of diffusion of CSA knowledge and information, calling for the optimum utilization of all possible links. The Multivariate Probit regression model results show that the adoption of CSA practices is significantly associated with varied social network characteristics (Network size, Network density, proximity of network members to their social ties, and contact frequency of the farmers with their social ties); institutional factors (access to agricultural credit, access to extension services, participation in climate change adaptation and mitigation training and membership to a social group; and socio-demographic factors (gender, age, land size, household income, and household size). The study recognizes three main pathways to increase the adoption of CSA practices western Uganda: i) utilizing farmers’ networks for dissemination of CSA knowledge and information; ii) tailoring CSA practices to specific agro-ecological zones and farmer types; and iii) addressing broader market and institutional failures.