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There is widespread belief that intermediaries in African agri-food value chains have disproportionate market power. In this paper, the authors examine this belief by uncovering the purchasing and selling prices, costs and profit margins by farmers, intermediaries and retailers in the matooke (cooking banana) value chain in Uganda, and by analysing the prevailing value chain and market structures, seasonal entry and exit dynamics and the trading relationships in the chain.

Data for this study were collected along the trading routes from the main matooke producing districts in South-West Uganda (Kabarole, Bunyangabo, Bushenyi, Isingiro and Mbarara) to the main urban markets around the capital Kampala. A structured survey was administered with 383 producers, 172 collectors and wholesalers and 71 retailers. In addition, key informant interviews and focus group discussions were held.

The authors find that price mark-ups by intermediaries (selling prices minus purchasing prices) vary with the type of intermediary, season and location but generally reflect the costs of moving matooke down the value chain to the urban consumer. The authors do not find evidence for disproportionate market power among the intermediaries in the chain. Intermediaries enter and exit the market in peak and off-peak season, such that profits are kept in check. This seasonality does imply a small shift in market power in favour of farmers in off-peak season and in favour of intermediaries in the peak season.

The investigation concentrated on an important and relatively homogenous staple crop along its main trade route. More remote areas, where there is less of an abundance of matooke, might still be characterised by local monopsonies where intermediaries have more market power due to high search and transport costs. Similarly, (local) monopsonies might exist for products for which there is a smaller market (segment), for products with a stronger seasonal variation in supply and for more perishable products.

While there is an important literature on the role of intermediaries in African agri-food value chains, the evidence on intermediary market power is scant. Beliefs on intermediary market power are largely based on anecdotal evidence from farmers or inferred from observed prices or market structures. The paper contributes in addressing this important knowledge gap by studying the matooke value chain in Uganda.

Businesses have increasingly been urged to shift their emphasis away from a purely profit-driven economic perspective to a more sustainable approach to growth that holistically captures people, the planet and profits. Indigenous businesses are well suited to creatively integrate sustainability principles within their internal culture. This enables them to cope with the dominance created by non-indigenous enterprises while also promoting long-term business success. The Triple Bottom Line (TBL) concept has been applied to explore how indigenous businesses in Uganda manifest their best practices by incorporating sustainability principles for lasting economic performance. A multiple case study approach was adopted, and three well-established female-owned indigenous businesses were investigated using in-depth interviews. Integrating sustainability in the business is a fulfiling process if done holistically by embracing a range of interdependent variables that include environmental, social and economic dimensions. The author contributes an innovative culturally sensitive sustainability scope that reflects practical insights on how internal sustainability efforts can be streamlined for long-term economic prosperity without compromising the wider social and physical environment.

Beer-bananas in Central Uganda are important for smallholder farmers’ livelihoods, especially for those that process the banana into beer and spirits. The purpose of this paper is to understand how actors in the beer-banana value chain are affected and how they are managing disease has become an important issue since the outbreak of the bacterial banana disease Xanthomonas Wilt.

The authors conducted an exploratory study focusing on producers of beer-bananas; brewers and non-brewers, and on retailers in Central Uganda and in Kampala. The authors conducted surveys with these value chain actors and we used baseline data, collected through a household survey in the project sites.

Results showed that Banana Xanthomonas Wilt (BXW) has drastically reduced productivity of beer-banana systems, resulting in reduced sales volumes of beer-bananas and processed products and consequently reduced incomes. Application of disease control measures was generally higher among those farmers that brew.

This being an exploratory study, the samples for the different value chain actors were rather small. Future research should address: product quality and opportunities for differentiation; effects of beer-banana processing on rural communities; adoption of BXW control measures.

Beer-bananas are often neglected in research; this paper shows that is unfounded since beer-banana production and processing are important for many people’s livelihood. More insight into what motivates farmers to control the disease is essential to protect these people’s livelihoods.

This study aims at navigating the effects of climate change on the right to access to food within the East African Community region, using the case study of Uganda.

The author used doctrinal review of different policies and strategies that have been developed and implemented by the EAC to address the growing patterns of food insecurity and climate change.

Findings show that besides climate change, there are other factors that have played a major role in contributing to food insecurity in the region such as the impact of the ongoing Russia–Ukraine war, absence of food storage reserves/banks, scarring effects of the COVID 19 pandemic, inadequate implementation of agricultural policies on climate change, high post-harvest losses and food waste amongst others.

This research paper is the author’s sole writing and has never been submitted for publication in any journal.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how social network capital may facilitate agricultural household market access in Uganda. Specifically, the paper investigates if social network capital has significant positive effects on the ability of households to receive higher prices for coffee.

In this paper, social network capital is modeled using a household utility maximisation problem that is dependent on consumption and social interactions. The authors assume that social network capital mediates economic benefits through its effect on information flow, market intelligence and collective bargaining. The paper uses two-stage least square econometric methods to investigate whether group involvement at the household level helps farmers to access markets with higher prices.

The findings indicate that social network capital, measured in form of density of participation and attendance score, and multiplicative and additive indices of these, have significant positive effects on the ability to receive higher prices for coffee.

The authors realise that several weaknesses in the approach could compromise the validity of the findings. These weaknesses include: the cross-sectional nature of the data, the omitted variable bias, the endogeneity concerns of social capital, sample size and the dimensions that the paper choses to capture social network capital. Future research should explore the factors that can help households to engage more in group activities.

The findings have important implications for government policy especially in areas of agricultural development and poverty reduction. Specifically, governments should pay close attention to various social groups as they can serve as important channels to achieve better market outcomes, as is the for coffee prices in rural Uganda.

Many governments in Sub Saharan Africa are constrained to provide basic public goods to the people. This is due to a combination of limited budgets and lack of good leadership. In such circumstances, the people have to rely on their collective/social effort to take advantage of markets opportunities. Such opportunities can be accessed using the existing social structures whose norms and the trust between members permit cooperation.

The study contributes to a small but growing empirical literature on social groups and how they can mediate social economic outcomes especially for rural households. The empirical estimations take into consideration the endogeinety concerns associated with social network capital. The paper will be useful for policy makers and researchers who may have a keen interest in the roles that group activities play in agricultural development and poverty reduction.

This paper reports on a pilot project to develop a 32-acre site made available by the City of Kampala for housing with the express purpose of promoting urban agriculture. Started in 2004 under the leadership of a city agronomist, with the aid of research teams from McGill University, Montreal, Makerere University, Kampala, and financial support from IDRC, the project is still ongoing. The process is one of participatory planning with the future residents, a group of mixed ethnicity and religions from all parts of the city, and includes training in house construction and agricultural techniques. Project implementation has been slower than anticipated due to unforeseen hazards such as mislaid title deeds, unavailability of government resources, communication shut-downs, the time required to transact business, acquire permissions, permits and the like, and most recently by the threat of a major power line from the Bujagali Falls to serve Kampala being thrust through the site. We nevertheless remain optimistic of ultimate success.

This qualitative research aimed to explore the relationship between adaptive dynamic capabilities and resident loyalty formation among African-ethnic restaurants (AERs) during COVID-19 in East Africa.

Anchored on the dynamic capabilities perspective, the study uses eight case studies to obtain data based on restaurant owner-managers' lived experiences.

The paper presents six factors: (1) sensory quality promise, (2) service personalization declaration, (3) openness of technology adoption, (4) healthy food and safety assurance, (5) authenticity pledge and (6) diversity provision as prerequisites for resident loyalty formation. The findings suggest adaptive capacity as an appropriate alternative for stimulating resident loyalty formation during difficult times.

The findings help managers in formulating strategies that facilitate residents' display of willingness to revisit and/or recommend others. The local restaurants can now keep modifying and adjusting their practices and processes so as to exhibit the ability to handle customer unique demands during difficult times.

Through this work, a model of adaptive capabilities as enablers of resident loyalty formation is proposed, hence contributing the existing body of knowledge.

This paper examined the factors influencing the participation of rice processors in short supply chains and the participation impact on the amount of rice processed, per capita expenditure of household and value of sales.

The Seemingly Unrelated Regression and Doubly Robust Augmented Inverse Probability Weighting Model (AIPW) were used to analyse the determinants of short supply chain participation and the impact of short supply.

From the results, the mean value of rice processed was GH₵18385 (US$ 3,069.28), with the minimum value being GH₵ 25 (US$ 4.17) and the maximum GH₵ 67200 (US$ 1,1218.70) per annum. Processed rice aroma and grade characteristics positively influence the value of processed rice sold via short supply chains as well as the expertise rate of the processor, Farmer-Based Organisation membership, and marketing information availability. Women rice processors' per capita expenditure, total sales value and the value of processed rice was positively influenced by the short supply chain participation.

Even though the sample size was appropriate, a larger sample size could further support the study's finding since a limited geographical area with predominant domestic rice processors was studied. Again, future studies should consider behavioural theories, such as the Theory of Planned Behaviour, amongst others, in understanding the reasons for the choices of short supply chains compared to other sales outlets.

Although there is a growing body of literature on rice, most of the studies focussed on the marketing outlet of rice producers, rice processing, constraints and opportunities faced by rice farmers and processors and an out-grower scheme involving rice processors amongst rice producers with none of these on the choice of short supply chains amongst women processors. Also, amongst all the studies on rice producers, none applied a theory; however, the Women in Development (WID) Theory was used to analyse the impact of the short supply chain on the impact on household per capita expenditure (poverty), the value of sales and amount of rice processed, a modest theoretical contribution of the paper to literature.

This study aims to explore the sustainable entrepreneurship practices undertaken in women-owned businesses, challenges and strategies that women business owners intend to adopt to implement more sustainable entrepreneurship practices using evidence from Uganda.

This study is cross-sectional and qualitative in nature. It involved conducting in-depth interviews with women business owners operating in Owino market and study results were analyzed using ATLAS. ti 8.

The results indicate that women business owners undertake social, environmental and economic practices in their businesses. However, participants are constrained by fire outbreaks, riskiness of their businesses and breakdown of machinery. Therefore, indicated plans of using energy-saving stoves and electronic tailoring machines digitizing their businesses and hiring skilled workers in order to improve sustainable entrepreneurship practices in their businesses.

This study offers maiden evidence on the sustainable entrepreneurship practices undertaken by women business owners, challenges faced and strategies undertaken to support uptake of more sustainable entrepreneurship practices in their businesses using evidence from Uganda.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the consumer acceptance of a functional meat processed product made with different meat sources, and to distinguish the existence of different market segments.

Non-probability sampling was used to recruit a sample of 411 consumers in Southern Chile, over the age of 18 and responsible for the purchase of meat products for their household.

Using a fractional factorial design for conjoint analysis, it was found in the total sample that the meat source of the meat processed product was more important than packaging, region of origin, price and the functional ingredient claim, with preference for lamb and pork meat processed products with omega-3. Two main segments were identified using a cluster analysis; these segments differed according to family size, presence and age of children, ethnic origin, general health interest, quality of diet and level of satisfaction with food-related life. The largest segment (56.0 percent) shows a high preference toward lamb meat processed product with dietary fiber and omega-3. The second (33.6 percent) preferred turkey meat processed product with antioxidants.

A differentiated marketing strategy with different meat sources and functional ingredients may give access to a large market share. People more willing to accept different functional ingredients in processed meat products may enjoy a better quality of life. The level of satisfaction with food-related life and quality of diet can be useful in explaining preferences for functional meat processed products.

This is the first study to evaluate consumer acceptance of a functional meat processed product made with three different meats and three different functional ingredient claims, which analyzed the relationship between acceptance, the consumer’s quality of diet and their level of satisfaction with food-related life.