ABSTRACT
Agriculture, conservation and development have a complex, interdependent relationship. Moreover, poverty, food insecurity and a history of violent intra-state and inter-communal conflict (the latter often being rooted in attempts to control land and resources) pose critical threats to sustainable development. The vast majority of people in the country base their livelihoods around agriculture. Approximately a quarter of Uganda’s GDP comes from agriculture while some 70% of households obtain their livelihoods from small-scale farming (Deloitte, 2016). Agriculture as an industry is dominated by smallholder subsistence farmers, with around 75% of all agricultural production originating on small-scale farms (UNDP, 2013). Given the outsized significance of agriculture to livelihoods in Uganda, increasing agricultural productivity, and, as a result, incomes, could provide a significant development opportunity (UBOS, 2014).
