Table 2 Top five most important constraints to sweetpotato production as ranked by farmers in the study districts of Uganda, August-October 2011
Constraints to sweetpotato production | Rank for each constraint (% households)* | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | Mean | |
No constraint mentioned/experienced | 0.5 | 8.3 | 26.6 | 55.7 | 81.8 | 34.6 |
Insect pests | 33.9 | 42.2 | 33.3 | 18.8 | 5.7 | 26.8 |
Poor yields of local varieties/soils | 12.0 | 10.4 | 6.3 | 1.6 | 1.6 | 6.4 |
Rats and rodents | 8.3 | 8.9 | 6.3 | 4.2 | 1.0 | 5.7 |
Drought/prolonged dry seasons | 10.9 | 3.1 | 4.2 | 2.6 | 0.5 | 4.3 |
High cost of labor/labor intensive/shortage of labor/weeds | 6.3 | 2.1 | 2.6 | 1.6 | 1.6 | 2.8 |
Lack of market | 3.6 | 5.2 | 2.1 | 2.1 | 0.5 | 2.7 |
Viral diseases | 2.6 | 3.1 | 3.1 | 2.6 | 1.0 | 2.5 |
Shortage of planting material | 5.2 | 1.6 | 3.1 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 2.2 |
Wild game (elephants, hippos, pigs) | 4.2 | 2.6 | 1.6 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.1 |
Others | 1.5 | 2.6 | 2.1 | 3.1 | 1.0 | 2.1 |
Millipedes | 1.6 | 1.6 | 3.6 | 0.5 | 2.6 | 2.0 |
Land shortage | 2.1 | 2.1 | 2.6 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 1.6 |
Floods/excess rainfall/storms | 1.0 | 1.6 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 1.0 |
Lack of money to hire labor/plant large fields/build drying places | 2.1 | 1.6 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.8 |
Domestic animals (cattle, goats) | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 0.7 |
Changed onset and cessation of rainfall in the seasons | 1.6 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.6 |
Alternaria blight disease | 1.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 |
Root rots | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.5 |