Shea Nut Oil Production and Household Livelihoods of Community in Adwari Town Council, Otuke District; Northern Uganda

Abstract

Despite many attempts by the government of Uganda to improve the livelihood of the people of Adwari Town Council, Otuke district through numerous livelihood support programs, there is still persistent problem of poverty up to 36%, low level of income and more than 50% of the people sleeps in houses with poor condition (UNICEF, 2020). The purpose of this study was to investigate the contribution of Shea nut oil production to the household livelihoods of the community of Adwari town council, Otuke district. It was guided by three (3) objectives, such as to investigate the contribution of shea nut oil production on household income, to examine the effect of Shea nut oil production on household assets, and to explore the contribution of Shea nut oil production on the household food security of the community of Adwari Town Council. The study adopted a sustainable livelihood theory coined by Conway in 1992. The theory states that a livelihood consists of assets, capabilities, and activities required for a means of subsistence. Theory is holistic in nature and approaches. A descriptive study design with both quantitative and qualitative data collection approaches was employed. The information was collected from 148 respondents using a questionnaire built using a five-point Likert scale and a structured interview guide. Data was analyzed in terms of descriptive statistics, spearman-ranked correlation, and simple linear regression using SPSS version 26 and Abstraction Analysis for qualitative data. The study concluded that Shea nut oil production has a strong relationship with household income and contribute by 12.9% to the income among households in Adwari town council. Therefore, the remaining 87.1% accounts for other factors outside Shea nut oil production. It was revealed that Shea nut oil production contribute up to 36.3% in enabling people to acquire assets like animals, bicycles, chairs, beds, land among others. The researcher concluded that Shea nut oil productive has a significant and a positive effect on the household assets. The study concluded that Shea nut oil production is positively and significantly associates with food security. It contributes to 7.3% among the people in the community. In conclusion, Shea nut oil production contributes to household income, household assets, and food security among the Shea nut oil producers (groups) in the community. Therefore, the study recommends that policy makers and the government should formulate and implement policies so as to protect Shea nut trees in the region; the government of Uganda should provide support to the Shea nut producers so as to enable them to upgrade and scale up the production of Shea nut oil with the community; and the community should be sensitized and trained on the benefits of Shea nut oil in the community.