Economic assessment of adopting cattle manure management practices that mitigate greenhouse gas emissions in Uganda

Abstract

This study focused on an economic assessment of benefits and costs associated with adopting cattle manure management strategies that mitigate GHG emissions in Uganda. It sought out to understand the factors that influence farmers’ adoption of the different strategies, the benefits and costs incurred and how adoption influences allocation of farm household resources. To achieve the study’s objectives, a cross-sectional research design using a sample of 435 cattle farming households was employed. To analyze the data, Ttests, multivariate probit, a Two stage residual inclusion model, cost benefit analysis and a multinomial endogenous switching regression model were employed. The findings reveal that farmers’ adoption of a manure management strategy that reduce GHG emission is mainly influenced by the age of the household head, household size, type of cattle kept, objective of keeping cattle, training, group membership, and involvement in off farm activities. The findings also reveal that both biogas production and manure composting are profitable to a farmer with composting requiring little investment. For biogas, labor and water contribute the biggest percentage of costs and are crucial for the success of the technology. Additionally, the results reveal that adoption of either biogas or manure composting is associated with an increase in household water usage and male hired labor hours but reduces female family labor hours worked. This study concludes that both biogas and manure composting can be adopted by farmers as they are both profitable. The study recommends that more effort in the promotion of manure composting is required since it costs less and can greatly benefit farmers who cannot afford inorganic fertilizer. Organizations promoting biogas production should bundle them with water availing and labor-saving innovations in order to guarantee the success of the technology. Lastly, organisations focused on gender could team up with organisations promoting these strategies since the results reveal that adoption of these strategies influences labor hours.