Understanding the factors influencing farmers' adoption decisions of the disseminated Banana Xanthomonas wilt (BXW) control package is critical for successful management of the disease. This paper analysed the determinants of farmers' decisions to adopt the control package by smallholder banana farmers in Uganda. A binomial Logit model is applied to household survey data collected from 350 households. Results from the study show that household labour availability, technology package attributes such as labour demand and perceived effectiveness of the practices in managing the disease; and agro-ecological location and banana production system significantly influence adoption decisions. These results suggest the need for adaptation of the technology package to better suit the needs and socio-economic conditions of smallholder farmers through a farmer participatory technology development approach that takes into account research findings, farmers' indigenous knowledge and resource constraints to enhance adoption.

a b s t r a c t a r t i c l e i n f oWetlands in southern Africa continue to be degraded and lost through conversion to agriculture and other uses. One of the major constraints to sustainable management of wetlands in the region is that wetland users and decision-makers have insufficient understanding of the consequences of alternative management and policy regimes on wetland functioning, ecosystem services and human well-being. This study developed an ecological-economic model based on the system dynamics framework to simulate the impacts of alternative policy regimes on wetland functioning and economic well-being. Results showed that wetland services (crop production and natural resource harvesting) are inter-linked with trade-offs involved through their competition for labour, land and water resources. Policy scenario simulation results showed that diversifying livelihoods out of agriculture simultaneously improves economic well-being and enhances wetland conservation. Pure conservation strategies impose significant losses in the economic welfare of local population unless supported with diversification of livelihood sources. Government policies that support livelihood diversification into off-farm livelihood opportunities for the rural poor are critical for sustainable wetland management.

Parallel to the preceding chapter, we synthesize the results of Chapters 6-17 here. The focus is on outcomes and impacts. Outcomes centre on varietal adoption and turnover; impacts refer to changes in on-farm productivity, poverty and food security. Hypotheses from Chapter 3 are revisited at the end of each thematic section. Varietal Adoption By crop The area-weighted grand mean adoption level of improved varieties in Sub-Sharan Africa (SSA) across the 20 crops in the project is 35% (Table 19.1). Two-thirds of the crop entries in Table 19.1 fall below the mean estimate. Starting at the bottom of the table, the limited uptake for improved field pea, which is produced primarily in Ethiopia, is not surprising. Internationally and nationally, field pea is arguably the crop species in Table 19.1 that has had the smallest amount of resources allocated to its improvement. In contrast, both chickpea and lentil have benefited from international agricultural research in the CGIAR (Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research) since the earlyto-mid-1970s. Although progress has been made, adoption of improved cultivars of both crops is concentrated in small pockets of production regions in Ethiopia where extension programmes have been active (Yigezu et al., 2012a). This apparent location specificity is typical of pulse crops, but it is surprising in light of improved lentil varieties that have reportedly significantly heavier yields than their local counterparts. Adoption levels of faba bean and chickpea are buoyed by a reportedly higher penetration of improved varieties in the Sudan. Indeed, chickpea in the Sudan is the only crop-by-country observation to have been at full adoption level in 2010, albeit on a very small area of 21,000 ha

Banana is an important food and cash crop and constitutes a large proportion of the total crop production in East and Central African (ECA) countries. Banana production has been threatened by Xanthomonas wilt (BXW) disease caused by the bacterium Xanthomonas campestris pv. musacearum. Besides being a threat to food security in the region, the disease has severe economic implications, which emanate from yield losses and management costs. Without proper management, yields in affected areas are reduced to zero. Management approaches of the disease include use of cultural practices and awareness creation among the stakeholders along the banana value chain. These efforts to control the disease produced partial results, and the disease has continued to encroach into previously disease-free areas and to resurge in areas where it had been controlled. One of the major challenges to sustainable management of the disease has been poor understanding by stakeholders of the factors influencing disease spread and severity. Awareness creation among stakeholders has not been sustained due to limited technical, financial and infrastructural capacity. Incorrect application of cultural practices and lack of appropriate methods for field disinfection of tools coupled with weak institutional frameworks for enforcing byelaws and quarantine measures are key drivers to the continued presence of the disease in ECA. It should however be emphasized that no single management option is adequate to sustainably manage the disease. In this paper, we review mechanisms of disease transmission and drivers of the continued disease presence, and suggest approaches for sustainable management of BXW.

No abstract