Increasing Yield more than Maintaining Fertile Soils Motivated the Choice of Climate-Smart Soil Technologies among Greater Lira Pigeon Pea Farmers

Abstract

Pigeon pea farmers in Gerater Lira, Uganda, fight the adverse effects of climate change and deteriorating soil fertility. They are combining different strategies and adopting climate-smart soil technologies (CSS technologies) to maintain fertile soil and increase yields. The study explored how the motive for maintaining fertile soils affected CSS technologies' choice. A sample of 39 farmers participated in laddering interviews. Data was analyzed by the means-end chain (MEC) framework and the centrality index (CI) technique. MEC results indicate that farmers predominantly linked crop diversification, addressed dietary needs, increased yields, and increased incomes. In addition, they paid less attention to maintaining fertile soils. Results of the CI highlight goal priorities by gender subgroups with females aged at least 40 paying more attention to producing food, soil fertility, and improving health, while male farmers of the same age category were inclined to spread production risk. Results further showed that male farmers below 40 years of age tend to produce for markets and benevolent, while their female counterparts tend to maintain soil nutrients. Our overall findings could help in the development of targeted strategies to encourage a wider spread of CSS technology use for climate-smart agriculture. This could enhance agricultural resilience in the face of climate change. We recommend encouraging farmers to apply CSS technologies while considering the long-term effects they might have on soil fertility. we further recommend that farmers intensify residual retention to improve soil fertility without requiring money to purchase inorganic fertilizer.