Perceptions of Deficiencies in the Basic Conditions for Farm Management and Quality of Life in Coffee-Growing Households: A Panel Analysis of a Rural Community in Eastern Uganda

Abstract

In the present study, information collected from 360 coffee-cultivating households (HHs) is used to investigate perceptions of deficiencies in three sub-counties in Eastern Uganda and to study changes in these perceptions between two survey rounds. The results of an explorative principal components analysis identify five factors affecting farmers’ perceptions. Whereas perceptions of deficiencies in the preconditions for farm management activities differ significantly between the three sub-counties investigated, indicators of deficiencies in general life quality are distributed more equally. Deteriorations are explained mainly by perceived changes in weather conditions. On the one hand, it can be assumed that the high constraint level will continue to increase in the future due to climate change and its impacts on life quality and the basic conditions required for farm management. On the other hand, access to resources such as water taps but also increased competition between buyers, have improved the situation. Results further indicate that if activities such as the expansion of information access and improvement of road conditions (after land registration) are implemented on a larger scale, these negative trends can be partly counteracted to help farmers maintain the conditions for effective farm management and improve their quality of life in the future.