Agro-pastoral farmers’ perceptions of drought in Kayunga district, Uganda

Drought is an important factor affecting agriculture and livestock and the most constraining climate extreme to livelihoods. The study highlights agro-pastoral farmers’ perceptions of drought in Kayunga district in central Uganda. The study employed a mixed methods approach and adopted a cross sectional research design. The study sample were 150 agro-pastoralists. Household questionnaires and interviews were used to collect the data and analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation tests and narrative analysis. The study findings revealed that, majority households (99.3%) had experienced drought, (59.3%) attributed drought to forest and wetland degradation, (42%) reported low food production and low incomes during drought, and (80.54%) reported increasing drought in the area. Drought was largely described in social economic terms. Government should support agro pastoral famers create income generating activities for alternative livelihoods and also include their perceptions in planning for adaptation policies, strategies and programs.