In Uganda, where soil erosion and depletion of soil nutrients are widespread, land degradation is a major cause of declining productivity and increasing poverty. This study analyzes the effects of households' income strategies and land management practices in Uganda on agricultural production, household income, and land degradation. It also examines the impacts of policies and programs on income strategies and land management decisions, and assesses the trade-offs and complementarities among different agricultural and rural development objectives. The research is based on a survey of 107 communities and 451 households.The report provides a wealth of information to help decisionmakers in Uganda and other nations weigh their options for increasing agricultural productivity and sustainability.

Ephraim Nkonya, a research fellow at IFPRI, holds a Ph.D. in natural resources, econometrics, and statistics from Kansas State University. He has worked for IFPRI since 1999 and specializes in East Africa. He was outposted to Uganda, where he conducted research on policies for improved land management.

John Pender, a senior research fellow at IFPRI, leads its research program on policies for sustainable development of less-favored lands. Since joining IFPRI in 1995, he has focused his research on the impacts of policies, institutions, and technologies on livelihood strategies, land management, agricultural production, poverty, and natural resource sustainability in less-favored areas. He received his Ph.D. in agricultural economics from Stanford University.

Pamela Jagger's research focuses on sustainable development of less-favored lands, mainly in the East African highlands. She holds an M.S. in forest economics from the University of Alberta. She is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in political theory and policy analysis at Indiana University.

Dick Sserunkuuma is an assistant professor in the department of agricultural economics at Makerere University in Uganda. In 2001-02, he received a grant from IFPRI's East Africa Food Policy Network for his research proposal on natural resource management in Uganda.He has collaborated with IFPRI researchers previously for research on land management in Uganda.

Crammer Kaizzi is a research officer for the National Agricultural Research Organization (NARO) in Entebbe, Uganda. He holds a Ph.D. in soil chemistry/soil fertility from the University of Bonn, Germany. His research interests are in soil nutrient balances and integrated soil fertility management.

• Table of Contents, List of Figures, Foreword, Acknowledgements, and Summary
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• Chapter 1: Introduction
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• Chapter 2: Causes of Land Degradation in Uganda
  (PDF 79K)
  
  
• Chapter 3: Research Questions and Methodology
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• Chapter 4: Income Strategies and Land Management in Uganda
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• Chapter 5: Sustainability of Land Management: The Case of Soil Nutrient Balances in Eastern Uganda
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• Chapter 6: Summary of Findings, Conclusions, and Policy Implications
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• Appendix A: Descriptive Statistics and Selected Survey Results
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• Appendix B: Theoretical Dynamic Household Model
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• References
  (PDF 74K)