Cultivating Household Food Security through Resource – Use Efficiency among Cash Crop Farmers: Evidence from Tobacco Producers in Uganda

Abstract

Poverty, food insecurity and malnutrition cases have been reported among farmers who prioritize cash crops such as tobacco. This is as a result of inefficient allocation of farm resources to tobacco production, with little or no allocation to staple food crops. To increase food production among such farmers, researchers have recommended optimum allocation of farm resources between tobacco and staple food crops. This study therefore aimed at determining the resource use efficiency for tobacco – food crop production, the optimal farm plans and the factors affecting resource use efficiency for food crops production. Data Envelopment Analysis was used to assess the level of resource use efficiency and the optimal farm plans while Tobit model was used to determine the factors affecting resource use efficiency for the optimal farm plans. The results from data drawn from 200 tobacco farmers in Western Uganda depicted that farmers were 61% efficient in their resource allocation to tobacco and food crops. Results for the optimal allocation plans suggested that farmers should optimally allocate their resources to tobacco and food crops in order to achieve household food requirements. Household size, pesticides use, farm income and support from the tobacco contract companies had a positive association with resource use efficiency for food crop production while input prices, land size and gender had a negative relationship with resource use efficiency. In conclusion, farmers are inefficient in allocating their farm resources between tobacco and other food crops which has far-reaching implications for availability of household foods. The study therefore recommends that the governments of SSA should increase the training and extension services on the adoption of optimum resources for cash – food crop production as well as supporting the farmers through inputs subsidies so as to increase household food production.