Abstract:

Agroforestry has been identified as the most sustainable remedy to counter declining farm
productivity, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. Based on this, state and non-state actors have
promoted several agroforestry technologies in Uganda's eastern highlands to improve farm
productivity. Using on-farm demonstration trials, agroforestry training sessions and field days,
smallholder farmers were expected to make choices on the recommended agroforestry
technologies and apply them to their crop fields in a scientifically recommended way for the
anticipated outcomes to be realized. However, socio-technological and intrahousehold decisionmaking
shape how smallholder farmers utilize agroforestry technologies because of heterogeneous
farm contexts. This study sought to establish the rationale for smallholder farmers’ adaption
practices of the agroforestry technologies to their contexts in Uganda's eastern highlands. The
specific objectives addressed by the empirical chapters in this dissertation were to; (1) determine
the influence of socio-technological factors on smallholder farmers’ choice of agroforestry
technologies for adaptation, (2) examine the influence of intra-household decision-making on the
use of agroforestry technologies, and (3) describe the smallholder farmers' modifications and
practices in suiting the agroforestry technologies to their contexts. The study used a mixed methods
research strategy that employed an exploratory sequential approach to collect the data. Results
indicated that the number of tree species desired by the farmer and the perceived value of the
technology were the most critical socio-technological factors commonly influencing smallholder
farmers’ choices of agroforestry technologies. The study also found male decision-makers
dominated pre-production, production and post-production agroforestry decisions. The only
decision where females' decision-making power was close to their male counterparts was deciding
which crops to plant in a particular agroforestry plot.
Furthermore, smallholder farmers made several adjustments to the recommended practices. They
devised their practices to make the technologies more applicable to their contexts based on their
knowledge, experience, preferences and priorities. The modifications and practices across the
agroforestry technologies were mainly intended to enhance tree seedling survival, diversify
benefits, optimize space utilization, minimize management costs, and shorten the waiting time for
tree-related benefits. Thus, there is a need for a hybrid (knowledge exchange) extension model
situated in the agricultural innovation system's thinking to allow smallholder farmers to contribute
to agroforestry technology development. This will help generate economically viable and socially
acceptable technologies for smallholder farmers.