Can Agroecology Provide a Panacea for Sustaining the Adoption of Soil Erosion Control Measures? A Case of Smallholder Coffea arabica Production in the Rwenzori Mountain Region, Uganda

Thaddeo Kahigwa Tibasiima (), Deous Mary Ekyaligonza and Bosco Bwambale
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Thaddeo Kahigwa Tibasiima: Department of Sustainable Agricultural Systems, Division of Organic Farming, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU), Gregor-Mendel-Strasse 33, 1180 Vienna, Austria
Deous Mary Ekyaligonza: Department of Sustainable Agricultural Systems, Division of Organic Farming, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU), Gregor-Mendel-Strasse 33, 1180 Vienna, Austria
Bosco Bwambale: Faculty of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, Mountains of the Moon University (MMU), Fort Portal P.O. Box 837, Uganda

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 20, 1-18

Abstract: Agroecological approaches can provide context-specific and sustainable solutions to issues confronting farming communities, by enabling consorting of the socioeconomic and ecological constraints on the farm. This study is the first attempt to test this argument, based on the challenge of sustaining the adoption of soil erosion control measures among smallholder farmers producing Coffea arabica on the Rwenzori Mountain in Uganda. Here, the adoption of soil erosion control measures remains a challenge, despite the efforts of conventional agricultural advisory services in local governments. Using a qualitative research approach, we contrasted the elements of agroecology with the local discourses, to identify if they would provide a panacea for sustaining the adoption of soil erosion control measures. The results indicated that, generally, the agroecology elements harmonized with the local-context discourses on soil erosion control, in contrast to the conventional approach promoted through the agricultural advisory services. For example, the local discourse on a participatory process in developing soil erosion control measures linked with the Co-creation and Knowledge-Sharing element of agroecology; the discourse on concurrent and joint implementation of soil erosion control measures matched with the Synergy and Diversity elements of agroecology; and the argument for sustaining soil erosion control adoption through rewarding adopters and penalizing non-adopters, in line with the Responsible Governance and the Circular and Solidarity Economy elements of agroecology. Drawing conclusions on the implications of these findings, we argue that consideration of the Agroecology Elements at all stages in the process of soil erosion control would foster the sustained adoption of soil erosion control measures.

Keywords: agroecological farming; discourse analysis; mountain conservation; sustainable adoption (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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