The effect of urbanization on livelihoods of households living in agricultural areas: A case study of Wakiso Town

Abstract

The study aimed at examining the effect of urbanisation on livelihoods of households living in agricultural areas of Towns. Agricultural areas/land was defined as the areas suitable for crops and grass for livestock. Where agriculture is taking place in towns. Much focus was put on finding out the change in acreage of agricultural land, effect of reduced land on livelihood and coping mechanisms to deteriorating agricultural land. Remote sensing techniques using GIS was used to captured land uses. Land use was extracted from Quick bird satellite image, previous land use plans and topographic maps while secondary sources of data included UBOS and primary data was got through interviewing respondents using interview guide and a self administered questionnaire was applied on key informants. This was integrated with spatial data and analyzed using GIS, SPSS and excel computer programme. It was found out that gender, marital status and income had a lot to do with agricultural land use change. Out of households headed by women, 67% engaged in agricultural related land uses while 82% of households headed by men engaged in both built-up and agricultural land uses. Also households spent 22% of household income on farming, 25% on livestock, 22% on home necessities and saved 6%. It was also found out that agricultural land use was decreasing at a rate of 3.2 between 1995 and 2008 while built up area was increasing at a rate of 12.96. The major effect on livelihood was reduced yields due to limited space. This had an impact on household income vis-à-vis provision of basic necessities in the home.

The study explored coping mechanisms and found that households have intensified cultivation on small plots so as to maximize output. Crops were mixed and livestock reared on the same small plots of land. On top of that the Local Authority has started implementing the Land Use Plan though constrained by the budget. A clear Agricultural Act (Law) was thought of as the only remedy to save the deteriorating agricultural land.