69
Socio-economic Characteristics of Respondents
Table 2 indicates that the total number of respondents sampled for the survey was
179, with 105 respondents (58.7%) and 74 respondents (41.3%) from upland and
lowland rice production systems, respectively. The proportion of male-headed
households was 66.5% while that of the female-headed households was 33.5%. The
result reveals that about one-third of the sampled respondents were women which
suggests that there were less female farmers involved in rain-fed lowland rice production compared to their male counterparts. This may be attributed to the fact that
rice production is a labor-intensive activity, and considering the multiple roles of
females, more males are engaged in rice production than females. This finding
agrees with what Adekunle (2013) reported that there was low number of female
rice farmers involved in upland rice production in sub-Saharan Africa. He attributed
their low involvement to socio-economic constraints, including resource endowment, capital, and land. There were no marked differences in the socio-economic
characteristics of the respondents for both women and men within the two rice production systems. For instance, the average age for males in upland and lowland rice
systems was 41.5 years and 44.6 years, respectively, while that of women was
38.6 years and 40.3 years, respectively. This shows that rice farming is mainly practiced by the middle-aged group. The average years of schooling for respondents in
the two rice systems were generally low (i.e., 6.2 and 6.5 for men and 3.4 and 3.0
for women), with women having lower educational levels than men in both farming
systems. The low levels of formal education for many rural communities are mostly
linked to the vicious cycle of poverty among the rural folks. The findings also
clearly indicate that most of the respondents own the land that they cultivate and that
renting out and renting in of land under the two production systems is done to a very
limited extent.
The household size of the respondents varied from a minimum of 2 to a maximum of 20 members, with an average of 6 members per household. The number of
dependents per household was relatively higher with the majority aged 20 and
below, while the elderly were above 60 years. The Uganda Bureau of Statistics
Table 1 Household land
ownership under upland and
lowland rice production
systems
Land ownership
Upland
rice
Lowland/
swamp rice
Total area cultivated (ha)
10.5
15.2
% owned
81
93
% borrowed
3
30
% belonging to husband
91
75
% belonging to wife
2
1
% belonging to husband and wife 11
2
% belonging to sons
0
0
% belonging to daughters
0
1
% belonging to elderly persons
10
0
Gendered Adaptation and Coping Mechanisms to Climate Variability in Eastern…
Socio-economic Characteristics of Respondents
Table 2 indicates that the total number of respondents sampled for the survey was
179, with 105 respondents (58.7%) and 74 respondents (41.3%) from upland and
lowland rice production systems, respectively. The proportion of male-headed
households was 66.5% while that of the female-headed households was 33.5%. The
result reveals that about one-third of the sampled respondents were women which
suggests that there were less female farmers involved in rain-fed lowland rice production compared to their male counterparts. This may be attributed to the fact that
rice production is a labor-intensive activity, and considering the multiple roles of
females, more males are engaged in rice production than females. This finding
agrees with what Adekunle (2013) reported that there was low number of female
rice farmers involved in upland rice production in sub-Saharan Africa. He attributed
their low involvement to socio-economic constraints, including resource endowment, capital, and land. There were no marked differences in the socio-economic
characteristics of the respondents for both women and men within the two rice production systems. For instance, the average age for males in upland and lowland rice
systems was 41.5 years and 44.6 years, respectively, while that of women was
38.6 years and 40.3 years, respectively. This shows that rice farming is mainly practiced by the middle-aged group. The average years of schooling for respondents in
the two rice systems were generally low (i.e., 6.2 and 6.5 for men and 3.4 and 3.0
for women), with women having lower educational levels than men in both farming
systems. The low levels of formal education for many rural communities are mostly
linked to the vicious cycle of poverty among the rural folks. The findings also
clearly indicate that most of the respondents own the land that they cultivate and that
renting out and renting in of land under the two production systems is done to a very
limited extent.
The household size of the respondents varied from a minimum of 2 to a maximum of 20 members, with an average of 6 members per household. The number of
dependents per household was relatively higher with the majority aged 20 and
below, while the elderly were above 60 years. The Uganda Bureau of Statistics
Table 1 Household land
ownership under upland and
lowland rice production
systems
Land ownership
Upland
rice
Lowland/
swamp rice
Total area cultivated (ha)
10.5
15.2
% owned
81
93
% borrowed
3
30
% belonging to husband
91
75
% belonging to wife
2
1
% belonging to husband and wife 11
2
% belonging to sons
0
0
% belonging to daughters
0
1
% belonging to elderly persons
10
0
Gendered Adaptation and Coping Mechanisms to Climate Variability in Eastern…