Abstract

Access to information and new technologies avails smallholder farmers an opportunity to improve their production decisions. However, access to information on technologies per se may not be relevant if the technologies are not adopted. This study was aimed at determining the factors that enable participants to access information on integrated soil fertility management (ISFM) technologies and to apply these technologies in groundnut production. It was conducted in the major groundnut producing districts of Tororo, Mbale, and Bukedea; where 155 Producers were surveyed. Probit and Multinomial Logit (MNL) models were fitted to the data using STATA analytical package. The results reveal that on average, producers in production groups were more likely to access information and to use new groundnut production technologies compared to their counterparts without groups. In addition, group membership, sex of farmer, and education also pre-disposed producers and processors to access and use new groundnut technologies. Smallholder farmers should be encouraged to form and work in groups as they facilitate knowledge sharing and technology adoption.

Key words: Groundnut, capacity building, knowledge access, multinomial logit, Uganda.